


Gotcha! The Joke's On You

by QuellinesStories



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: I guess the versions I would choose would probably be, M/M, Wayne from Gotham knight, also this is heavily Gotham (show) based, and if you don't want to use actors as face claims, and the 1988 Joker, and they only feel platonic things towards one another until Wayne is 21 Jerome is 24, btw I know aging up characters for shipping can make people uncomfortable, feel free to choose whatever comic versions of Batman and Joker you want, however it does have stuff from other batman movies as well as comics and shows, in this Wayne is 14 and Jerome is 17, since he apparently played batman's voice for justice league or something, so don't worry there's no underage stuff :), so you can use that face claim if you want, so you're more than welcome to come up with a different face claim for 21 year old Wayne, tbh my face claim for him would probably be josh huchertson, then you can use comic characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2018-04-26 08:48:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 44
Words: 504,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4998367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuellinesStories/pseuds/QuellinesStories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What do you get when a chaotic seventeen year old that loves twisted 'jokes' fakes his death and is rescued by a justice-seeking fourteen year old that is only helping him for answers? </p><p>A 'friendship' Wayne really doesn't want to be in-- but who can blame him? Being pulled into a whirl of deadly consequences caused by Jerome is something most wouldn't particularly enjoy. </p><p>But what do you get after that? What do you get seven years afterwards? </p><p>A twenty-one year old Wayne with a secret identity, and ah look-- a twenty-four year old Jerome with a secret identity. Secret identities neither of the two friends know about. </p><p>Oh, and to top things all off? It's just about that age Jerome realizes Wayne is rather handsome, and Wayne realizes Jerome is quite attractive, and oh dear-- this was going to be such a mess. </p><p>(This takes place after episode 3 of season 2. It will usually be updated twice a week at most since it will correspond with the series as it goes on. Twenty-six chapters are the estimated length for this story, however that may change. Enjoy!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Regrettable Déjà vu

Nygma was practically beaming, still quite proud he'd seemingly managed to impress Ms. Kringle rather well when managing to rescue her in the Maniax rampage-- speaking of which, a member of that villainous organization consisting of criminals was laying on the table right in front of him, and that member was a red haired boy who seemed to of been the main leader of said law breaking group. 

What was this kiddo's name? Jerome something... Edward vaguely remembered briefly hearing about him from Jim when he'd first been investigated for the death of his mother. 

Poor boy-- dead at the age of, what was it? Seventeen? Huh. He looked like he was at least nineteen, then again becoming a crazed murderer seemed to make a lot of people look older than they actually were all things considered. In all truth Nygma almost felt bad for the teenager, knowing it couldn't of been easy to not only be a part of a circus which clashed with its own members, yet it also had to of frankly been a drag to have no home he could stay at with having to constantly move around and whatnot. Not to mention having an abusive parent along with their equally abusive partners was bound to of been to be difficult. 

Nonetheless, as one of Edward's favorite shows said-- "Cool motive, still murder." 

At least this examination wouldn't take too long-- it was obvious how Jerome had died since getting stabbed in the neck usually did that to people, however it was still the autopsy worker's job to make people look as good as new- or at least as good as possible- after dying, no matter how evil. 

Nygma hummed a tune, getting out his tools for the autopsy while wondering just what he should wear for his first dinner with Ms. Kringle, the man who spoke in riddles minding his own business when- 

'You're on a bit of a high horse.' A voice chimed out with a hum, causing Edward to tense up and purse his lips. 

"I told you to not bother me while I'm working." Nygma grumbled, glowering down at his laid out equipment as his mind began to race, for a quick moment forgetting how to do this thanks to his 'other' abruptly showing up out of nowhere. 

'Wouldn't you say it's a little hypocritical to act like you're any better than this guy? I mean, you both are homicidal killers.' 

Edward breathed out deeply in aggravation, mentally doing his best to calm his shaking hands. "He killed several innocent people, I only killed one, and he was the exact opposite of innocent." He defended while gathering himself the best he could and picking up a metal tool. 

His much more devious self shrugged, clicking his tongue and countering, 'Yeah, well-' He put on a snide smile, looking more cruel than ever. '-still murder.' 

"Can you please let me do my work?" Nygma practically begged, pulling the cloth away from Jerome's bloodied neck. "I don't want to have this conversation right now." 

'I mean, I would, but first you've gotta' admit the undeniable-- no matter how you look at it, you both share the same title: murderer.' The personality smirked somewhat bored. 'Besides, who are you to judge who is and isn't innocent? Isn't that to be left up to the corrupt judges who-' 

"Whoa there, buddy!" Jerome laughed and wait a second what the hell- "I already got one stab wound, and don't really want another!" 

Edward stared down at the boy who yanked his body upwards while wearing a crooked grin, the black haired man blinking a few quick times as his lips parted in confusion as well as disbelief, not sure as to whether or not this was in his mind or actually somehow happening. 

"Wha-" Nygma started, frozen in place as Jerome snatched his glasses right off his nose with a wicked smirk. 

"Here, lemme' get this for ya'-- it looks like these could use a cleaning." Jerome snickered, rubbing the red cloth used to dab away the blood over his wound against the glass, a red smudge appearing. "Whoops, sorry! You're not angry, are ya'? I mean, you're not the guy to normally see red when he gets mad, right?" He let out a loud crackle as though he'd just made the most clever joke in the universe, shoving the glasses back onto the bridge of Edward's nose. 

Oh dear DC-- Nygma was going to die. He was going to be killed before he even got the chance to finally go on his first date with Ms. Kringle at a five star restaurant he'd been waiting forever to open. This was it, this was the end, and it was better to accept it than to- 

"Well, I gotta' run!" Jerome stated a bit too gleefully, hopping off of the table and holding out a hand, resorting to grabbing Edward's and shaking it over exaggeratedly when the other didn't budge an inch, slyly snatching up a scalpel as he kept the wide eyed man distracted. "Oh, and glad to know I'm not the only murderer in this building, eh?" Jerome chimed with a wink, Nygma wondering if the jokester was always this, erm... would the word be friendly-

Wait. Jerome had called him a murderer-- oh. Oh no. No no no. Jerome had heard Edward talking to himself. His secret was out and oh look-- Jerome was out, too-- out the door that is. 

Nygma simply stood there for a moment, soaking in what had really just occurred; was that patient always so... outgoing? Disturbing? Confusing? 

'Well that went well considering we're sill alive.' The voice in Edward's mind piped up after a few long seconds of silence. 

"Oh dear..." This wasn't good at all. 

Jerome halted as he exited the autopsy area's doors while wrapping himself up in a white lab coat, eyes scanning the room filled with cops. This would certainly be a doozy to get out of, particularly when everyone knew his face and his neck had eye catching dried blood caking it. 

So, Jerome kept a low profile the best he could, which was actually quite hard for the out spoken and dramatic teen, although he managed... that is, until he bumped into none other than, of course, the Wayne heir. 

'Wayne' blinked, backing up somewhat irritatedly, knowing it was half his fault for not looking where he was going yet still being ever so slightly on edge after staying up all night to explore the recently discovered Batcave. 

"Sorry-" Wayne started in a mumble, looking up and feeling his eyes widen at the sight of the amused other with a smirk etched into his lips. Wait a second, was this- oh crap. How was this guy alive?! He'd seen him die! 

"Well, if it isn't my favorite orphan." Jerome chuckled while grabbing the younger boy's arm, stopping the poor thing from backing away. "Sorry kiddo, but I need to get out of here, and I need to do it without you tattling." He yanked the fourteen year old towards him, hooking an arm around his hip. "Now then, we can do this the easy way, where we both walk out of here without causing any fuss and I let you go when we get outside, or the hard way." 

The raven haired male glowered up at Jerome, swallowing thickly as he straightened up and attempted to look as courageous as possible, trying to ignore the arm hooked around his waist. "What's the hard way?" 

"The hard way is me pressing this nice little knife that I stole from the autopsy guy against your throat and we encounter a little déjà vu." Jerome hummed, pulling out a sharp tool and discreetly flashing it with his hand held low, earning a wary gaze. "What'll it be, kiddo?" 

'Brucie' pursed his lips into a thin line, glaring daggers at his captor. "The easy way." He eventually signed after a long moment of contemplating, reckoning that would be best since he'd be a hostage either way. 

Jerome quickly shoved the knife back into his pocket, trying to not let out a hoot of laughter as the smaller of the two flinched at the fast motion, Jerome's grasp tightening and the corners of his lips rising. "Easy it is." 

Wayne begrudgingly followed the other towards the exit, unable to do much else with the arm wrapped securely around his waist in what was less suspicious than it being around his neck, however it still looked off, and it was only natural for Alfred (who had reluctantly allowed the boy to drag him out to the police base in order to discuss matters with Gordon) to notice. 

"Master Wayne?" The butler questioned with a crinkled brow, not at all liking the way he was being suspiciously gestured around with a questionable arm hooked awkwardly around his hip. 

The pair stopped, a few good yards away from the door, 'Master Wayne's' eyes closing as he gulped dryly. 

Jerome sighed, swiping out the knife from his pocket and moving his arm up to his hostage's chest, tucking said arm underneath his arms and pulling him into a lock hold by his torso. "Sorry, 'Master Wayne', but it looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way." 

The captured male scoffed, jaw clenching as he anxiously bit his bottom lip, practically able to hear the smirk in Jerome's voice-- he knew the criminal probably preferred the hard way in any case. "Screw off." He meant to speak in a menacing tone, although it disappointingly just came out as shaky and meek. 

"Oh, tough guy!" Jerome laughed and dear DC it was that goosebump-inflicting signature laugh he'd heard when first meeting this guy. "Now then, considering I'd rather not get killed-" Jerome began, eying the police officers observing the pair uncertainly, the cops hands unsurely going towards their belts. "-I'm afraid I'm going to need a bit of leverage." 

Wayne let out a noise as the knife's edge pressed against his skin, just barely drawing blood on the scar he had from the last time this had happened. "Alfred-" 

"Any quick movements or sudden noises and Wayne-boy here will be dead before I am." Jerome interjected with a maddening laugh, taking his sweet sweet time carefully backing up towards the exit. "So I suggest you all remain very still and very quiet." He added in a suddenly eerie voice, threatening glower taking place on his face before his lips broke into another wide grin. "Just like old times, right Brucie?" He crackled once again with that same damn signature laugh. 

"Jerome," A familiar voice finally spoke up, detective Gordon weaving his way through the crowd of police, stopping in his tracks as he saw Jerome threateningly press the knife closer to 'Brucie's' throat, causing the poor thing to take in a hitched breath, hands clenching into fists and nails shakily digging into his palm-- why did this have to be happening again? Wasn't once enough? "That's enough," Gordon warned, hands going up in a non-threatening manner. "Just let the kid go, alright?" 

Jerome hooted with laughter, wondering if the cop honestly believed he'd magically do anything even close to what the man, who had locked him away, instructed him to do. 

"Oh yeah, sure-- I'll go on and do just that!" Jerome crackled in sarcasm, almost to the exit. 

"We can make a deal here," Gordon persisted, waiting for someone to have a clear angle which wouldn't result in the slightest possibility of the fourteen year old captive being injured in any shape or form. "If you let him go right now and come to us calmly, then we can make an arrangement." 

"An arrangement?" Jerome laughed, brow furrowing despite his unceasing grin. "Will you let me go?" He quipped knowingly with a chuckle, pausing at the exit. 

Jerome had stopped. Good. "No, but-" 

"In that case-" Jerome shoved Wayne towards the police closest to him, barging backwards through the double doors. "-I'm not interested!" He crackled, several police, including Jim, sprinting after him. 

"Master Wayne, are you alright?" Alfred questioned worriedly, kneeling beside the knocked over teen, who was thankfully fine other than the slight harmless cut on his throat. 

The shaken up boy swallowed, eyes narrowing and brow knitting together, lips pursing rather pissed off. "I'm fine!" He assured, pushing himself into an upright position and jogging off. 

"Master Wayne!" Alfred objected taken aback-- what the bloody hell was that little one doing? Chasing after the bastard that had nearly killed him?! "Wait!" He shouted, going after the little trouble maker with good yet foolish intentions. 

If you'd told Selina that the one she oh so roughly referred to as 'kid' would be using a shortcut she'd shown him when helping with 'training' to catch up with a criminal before the police did, she would've been proud. 

Jerome though? Jerome just found it unpleasantly surprising along with a bit frustrating, yet at the same time somewhat funny that an inexperienced and small as well as somewhat frail annoyance had gotten to him before the police had. 

Jerome laughed out of breath, vision momentarily blurring. "Nice to see you too, Brucie." He greeted while leaning over, hands on knees. 

Bruce continued to glare down at the badly injured break-out patient. "My name is-" 

"Yeah yeah, I know what it is," Jerome waved off with a chuckle, clenching the bleeding wound located on the crook of his neck. "But Bruce is just too serious-- I like Wayne better. Ooh, wait, what did that butler call you? Sir Wayne-" 

"Stop rambling-" 'Wayne' interrupted, growing impatient and ready to question the other. 

Jerome howled in laughter which ended up a cough, the gash on his neck burning with pain. "Well you sure are bossy for a nine year old." 

"I'm fourteen." Wayne snapped in aggravation. 

"Same difference." Jerome snickered with a pained smirk. "Now if you don't mind, I really need to be going." 

Wayne bravely blocked Jerome's pathway as the other straightened up, earning a taken aback arched brow and vaguely annoyed grin. 

"Not until you tell me how you're alive." Wayne protested stubbornly, arms crossing, standing firmly in place. "And I have some other questions too, questions you're going to answer, like who broke you out of-" He blinked, not at all expecting Jerome to sway and stumble as he attempted to step around him. "-Arkham." Wayne's eyes landed on the small pool of blood puddled atop the ground from where Jerome had been standing. "Are you okay?" 

Jerome scoffed at the question, doing his best to not just fall over and black out. "Peachy." He snidely laughed, trembling hand placed over his neck soaked with blood. 

Okay, yeah, Wayne may of not asked the brightest question. "Uh-" 

"Look, how about you just do me a favor and move, and I'll do you a favor where I don't murder you right here and now?" Jerome nearly menacingly growled despite keeping a tight smile on. 

Wayne's sympathy dropped considerably. "Murder me?" It was his turn to scoff. "I doubt you'd be able to do much in this state." 

Jerome parted his lips to crackle out a snappy comeback, yet stayed quiet as a distant voice rang out, "Hey, there's a trail of blood over here-- he ran this way!" Shit, he could've sworn he'd gotten rid of them. 

Wayne went from stern to worried, teeth sinking into his bottom lip as he eyed the way Jerome coughed up blood, eyes skimming their surroundings nervously-- if the cops got ahold of Jerome three things would very likely happen happen, as in things that Wayne really didn't want to occur.  
1) GCPD was rough with those they captured-- if anyone other than Gordon or Harvey got ahold of Jerome there was a good chance he'd die by unnecessary brutal handling before he could even be questioned. Or, with how many bad cops there were in that department, there could very well be one who would kill Jerome before he could give info needed.  
2) Wayne wouldn't get a chance to ask his own questions, and all things considered if GCPD handled the interrogating there was a big possibility they'd never get anything out of Jerome with their less than successful methods, which were in addition often quite inhumane. Wayne appreciated Gordon, he really did, but he also knew there were times it was best to just take matters into your own hands to get results.  
3) Jerome would be sent back to Arkham, and Wayne had learned Arkham was not at all a place for the mentally ill-- it was cruel, and if anything it would hurt its patients more than help them. Arkham was full of violent guards and unethical testings done on patients, and while Wayne despised Jerome with a burning passion, even he didn't wish for anyone to be sent to such a place, or at least not yet. 

So, Wayne sighed, moving next to Jerome and earning a curious look from the other who hesitantly wrapped his arm around the younger one's offered shoulders, allowing Wayne to help him over towards a rickety staircase in the alleyway they were in, watching rather interested as the smaller boy managed to just barely rip off a sliver of his sleeve. 

"Don't make a sound, and don't move." Wayne warned, tying the cloth around Jerome's neck tightly, mumbling a half assed quiet apology as the seventeen year old winced, Jerome deciding to do just that to find out what exactly the kiddo was planning-- what could Jerome say? He was intrigued. 

Wayne stood, walking back into the middle of the alleyway just as Gordon and seven other police came running towards him along with Alfred. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Gordon worriedly piped up slightly out of breath, Alfred sprinting over to Wayne. 

"What the blazes was going through your mind?!" Alfred questioned more relieved and flustered than furiously before Wayne could even answer the detective. "Are you alright?" He added concerned, earning a nod. "Well good, because you're right grounded Master Way-" Alfred paused, looking down at Wayne's wrist and grabbing it. "What happened to your arm?!" 

Wayne briefly looked towards where Jerome was hidden as Alfred examined his palm bloodied up thanks to Jerome's wound and the tear on sleeve. "Jerome attacked me." Wayne lied, looking towards the attentive cops. "He went that way." 

Gordon looked the way Wayne was pointing-- so he'd jumped the fence in the back of the alley... great. "Alfred, you got him?" The butler nodded. "Good. Come on men, let's go." The policeman urged, giving a brief and professional nod of relief to Wayne to show he was glad the boy was fine before running towards the gate and using his firearm to blast the lock open. 

Wayne somewhat meekly looked upwards at the sterner than usual Alfred as the detectives jogged out of sight, defensively saying, "I was just trying to-" 

"To what? Get your bloody self killed?" Alfred interjected sharply, earning a sheepish shrug yet slight glare, causing his demeanor to relax somewhat before an argument could outbreak, deciding it would probably be best to just give Wayne a break (for once) and diffuse the situation. "I-- well... Come on now, let's just get you on home before that looney comes back around." 

Wayne shuffled backwards. "I- I want to walk back." He insisted, Alfred narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Um, I want to train, and jogging back home from here would be a good opportunity to do so." He still didn't know how to lie all that well. 

Alfred gripped Wayne's arm, not forcefully or angrily, just gently although firmly. "You've had enough 'training' for today; I'm driving you home, and you are going to relax and have a cup of tea." 

"But-" 

"No buts, Master Wayne. You're going to take a break for an evening-- no training, no investigating that bat cave, and no hanging around with that cat gal either until tomorrow. Is that understood?" 

Wayne practically pouted. "Yes." He grumbled begrudgingly, reluctantly following Alfred out of the alleyway, glancing at the staircase with a frown. 

It looked like he'd just have to sneak out that night and hope Jerome was still there... and still alive at that.


	2. Secrets For Necessities

Wayne, who had snuck out at eleven at night, found Jerome wasn't under the staircase, however he was indeed beside the dumpster, which was only a few mere yards away from there. 

"Hey, orphan Annie." Jerome greeted in pain with a weak grin, looking much paler than usual, the cloth wrapped around the crook of his neck soaked with blood. 

Wayne briefly debated on just turning around and leaving that asshole to die the moment Jerome made the banter, although ended up simply standing in place and glaring at him for a good few seconds before kneeling in front of the criminal. 

"How are you still alive?" Wayne mumbled broodingly, knowing Jerome had lost way too much blood. 

"Eh, I may not be for much longer." Jerome admitted with a crackle that turned into a cough, choking out more blood. "I mean, it was fun acting like I was dead, but now-" More coughed up blood; this looked bad-- really bad. 

"Be quiet." Wayne irritatedly hushed, pulling out the sewing kit and alcohol he'd brought with him. "Take a swig." He directed afterwards, pressing the bottle against Jerome's lips and earning an arched brown and curious grin. "It'll help numb the pain if you're drunk." 

"Aw, have I got a puppy?" Jerome teased, earning narrowed eyes. "I mean, here you are following me around like a lost dog and caring about whether or not I'm in pain-" He wasn't able to finish, almost choking as Wayne bitterly shoved the bottle upwards, forcing the jokester to drink it, some of the alcohol splashing onto the ground. 

"Don't call me your dog." Wayne sighed irked, already feeling a migraine begin to come on. "Now stay still-- this may sting." 

"What-" Jerome started, still recovering from the liquid being poured down his mouth that began to make his throat burn. "Shit-" He hissed, body arching in pain somewhat as Wayne dosed his wound with alcohol, his vaguely dazed smile shifting into a bitter grin. "Well you're certainly kinda' an asshole, aren't you?" 

"You're the one that tried to kill me at the fundraiser and then kidnapped me just a few hours ago." Wayne countered, holding the bottle back up to Jerome's lips much too expectantly. 

Jerome willingly took a gulp of the alcohol this time, bracing himself as Wayne got ready to sew his wound up. "Touché." The red haired teen chuckled, flinching as Wayne carefully pierced his skin with the needle, sharply breathing in through clenched teeth. "Is there a reason you're being my knight in shining armor, kiddo?" He managed to laugh, trying to not wince. 

"I'm only helping you because you're going to help me." Wayne answered simply, not particularly wanting to converse when doing something which required quite a bit of concentration. 

"Funny, I don't remember agreeing to help you with anything." Jerome mused with a cocky smirk, Wayne debating on sewing his mouth shut as well due to quickly losing patience with this asshole. 

"I can leave you here with a needle stuck in your arm and take the sleeping bag along with the food I brought back." Wayne threatened, Jerome groggily noticing said sleeping bag and food beside them. 

Jerome pondered for a moment, eventually giving a brooding hum and for the love of all that was good could he not just shut up- "Okay, so what do you want me to do? Promise I'll help you with whatever you want? Because I can certainly do that." Wayne paused his sewing, meeting Jerome's eyes skeptically considering that bastard was suddenly using a tone that implied he was talking to a child, and Wayne wasn't a child dangit. "But of course there's always the chance I break my promises, so why bother?" 

Wayne knew what was going on-- this jerk was trying to analyze him. Nope. No no no. Jerome was not going to get into his mind. "If you promise me you'll help then I'll take your word for it, and if you end up going against your word then I'll be a fool and you'll be less than a man, because men don't go against their words," Wayne spoke as calmly as possible, hoping he sounded as professional as usual. "So we'd both lose." 

"Do you always try to talk so fancy?" Jerome snickered, Wayne knowing he would've probably given his signature crackle of abrupt laughter if that wouldn't mean coughing up more blood. 

"Do we have an agreement or not?" Wayne persisted, not taking the bait and instead focusing his seething mind on making sure Jerome was stitched up good enough, or at least what looked like it was good enough-- Wayne wasn't a doctor, after all. 

"Maybe." Jerome chuckled, and if a grin wasn't plastered on his face he would've glared at Wayne as the orphan roughly finished fixing his neck up in response, if one would even call such handiwork 'fixing' it. 

"Do you want food and a place to rest or not?" Wayne impatiently asked one more time, making it clear he wasn't going to play games, the heir obviously demanding an answer and this seemingly being Jerome's last chance to take the offer. 

"Who wouldn't?" Jerome laughed, attempting to ignore the worsening pain of badly done stitches in his neck by keeping his mind on the ongoing conversation that was about as pleasant as getting stabbed in the throat. Hey, that was funny! 

Wayne didn't know what Jerome was briefly laughing about now, and didn't want to. "So you will help me?" He needed clarification. 

Jerome's wide smile went even wickeder than it had been before. "Of course I will." His expression went deadly serious, or at least as serious as it could go. "Believe me, I'm a man of my word." 

Wayne honestly couldn't tell when Jerome was and wasn't being sarcastic. "Shake on it." 

Another grin stretched onto Jerome's face, reaching out to take Wayne's hand. "I scratch your back and you scratch mine then?" 

"More or less." Wayne confirmed, preferring Jerome's usual smirk over his rather eerie 'serious' expression. "You answer a question for me now and I'll give you food and a sleeping bag." 

Jerome knew how to take a hint on things that were non-negotiable. "What do you want to know?" 

What question should Wayne ask first... "Why did you choose me during the show?" 

"Oh, you mean why were you goose?" Jerome chuckled, deciding it'd be best to not beat around the bush with how the one thing that would get him much needed food was not at all in the mood for games. "My boss told me to choose you." 

"But why?" Wayne persisted, earning a laugh. 

"Sorry Brucie, but that's another question." 

Wayne's jaw clenched, shoving the sleeping bag at Jerome yet keeping the food, holding it up while bargaining, "Fine, then you'll get this when you answer it." 

What a little-- "You said I'd get both of them." Jerome countered, holding out his hand expectantly and to be honest he would of killed this kid by now if he hadn't lost so much strength from being stabbed in the freaking neck, and yes, he was not going to let that go anytime soon. 

"Why did your employer want you to single out me?" Wayne repeated ruthlessly. 

... Dangit, losing so much blood did tend to make one quite hungry. "His family has a grudge against yours starting from way back when, blah blah blah, wants to avenge his lineage, yada yada yada, and he's basically just an asshole. Now may I have the food?" He forced on a tight grin, teeth clenching as he added, "Please?" 

"Wait, what? Who's your boss? What's the grudge about?" 

"I answered your question-" 

Wayne was going to find out as much as he could ASAP. "I sewed you up, gave you a sleeping bag, and am offering you food-- that's three questions." 

Jerome almost admired Wayne's determination in being a conniving little arse, but it pissed him off more than anything at the moment, and his so called smile that really didn't look like what a proper smile should appear as made that more than clear. "The deal was I answer one question for the sleeping bag plus the food, and I answered two. Now I really would recommend keeping your end of the deal, kiddo." 

Wayne began to wonder if Jerome still had that scalpel, and decided he'd rather not find out. "Here." He finally grumbled in defeat, reluctantly holding out the brown paper bag of food. 

Jerome smirked pleased, taking said food and giving a wink that somehow looked evil and what the hell how did he manage to make even a damn wink look evil? "Good to see you're a boy of your word." 

A what of his word? "I'm not a boy." 

"Oh? My bad." Jerome mused, taking out a wrapped up pbj. "Good to see you're a girl of her word-- no judgement." He corrected with a shrug, smirking as Wayne glared daggers at him. 

"That's not what I meant." Wayne informed with crossed arms. "I would say I'm fairly mature for my age." 

Jerome scoffed out a laugh. "So what, I should consider you a man or something?" He inquired, biting into the sandwich. 

"I'm at least as much a man as you with how childish you are." Wayne answered snappily, eyebrows quirking as Jerome started to choke. "Are you okay?" 

Jerome could see his gravestone now-- Jerome Valeska, age 17, not so beloved clown, death caused by a spoiled fourteen year old brat that didn't know shit about making sandwiches and murdered him when putting too much damn peanut butter on a pbj. The last thing he heard was how a child wanted to be treated as an adult. Hilarious. 

"You want me to act like you're not just some kid-" Jerome coughed, hoping his death wouldn't be caused by something so petty after surviving getting stabbed in the neck (which he still wasn't letting go.) "-when I'm willing to bet you don't know the first thing about cooking?" 

Wayne stared at Jerome, who was gulping down water, quite offended. "I happen to know a lot about cooking." 

"Yeah?" Jerome scoffed with a bitter smirk, rummaging through the bag for food that wouldn't make him see his life flash before his eyes. "What's your favorite dish to make?" 

"Well, I mean, I've only made smores and hotdogs before, but I read a cook book and it seems simple enough." 

Jerome cracked up at that, and Wayne began to wonder if sticking around with this guy was even worth it-- he wanted answers, but if there was another way to get them he would prefer almost anything along with anyone over the immature serial killer. 

"If you ask me you need to read a book on loosening up a little." Jerome chuckled, biting into a green apple he'd pulled out. 

"Well maybe you need to read a book on not being such a jackass." Wayne muttered under his breath, not knowing just quite what it was that pissed him off so much about the other. 

Jerome snickered overly amused, swallowing down the chunk of the apple he'd bitten off. "You're easy to tick off, aren't you?" 

"No, I'm just-" 

"Don't worry-" Jerome began, placing a much too friendly had on Wayne's shoulder. "-you're going through puberty, probably have it real bad with being rich, and just lost mommy and daddy not too long ago-- it's completely normal for you to be cranky." Jerome mockingly comforted, his sarcastically artificial concern almost being as annoying as his constant overly amused personality. 

"We're done here." Wayne promptly decided bitterly, standing up irked and ignoring the maddening grin flashed up at him. "I'll be back tomorrow night to ask you some more questions." 

"Don't worry, I won't go anywhere." Jerome assured with a burst of laughter, Wayne deciding to be no fun and rolling his eyes at the other's stab at comedy; no shit he wouldn't go anywhere-- he could barely move around well enough. 

Wayne hesitated, looking up at the night sky filled with pollution above them and broodingly mumbling, "Do you want help moving back under to the staircase? If it rains you'll get wet here." 

Jerome placed his palm over his chest, lips stretching into a wide smile as he teased, "Aw, are we having a moment here?" 

"No. I just can't afford to have you die when there's still so many questions that need to be answered. Now do you want to move or not?" 

"Just trying to be friendly." Jerome defended with a chuckle, hands going up in a non-threatening manner. "But yeah, I'd rather not get pneumonia." Jerome answered, deciding it'd be best to not get soaked when it was under sixty degrees outside. 

Wayne nodded, kneeling next to Jerome and allowing the other to swing an arm around his neck, helping the dizzy villain make his way over towards the staircase before bringing the sleeping bag and food over to him afterwards. 

"Bye." Wayne mumbled with a reluctantly polite nod, deciding he should still have manners-- even if it was in the presence of a criminal. 

"See ya' around, kiddo-- don't get killed on your way back!" 

Wayne had began to walk away, rolling his eyes for what felt like the millionth time that day as Jerome let out a howl of laughter, not being the least bit fond of the criminal's nickname for him-- he wasn't a kid. 

Now then, all that was left for Wayne to do that night was get some blood for Jerome in order to make up for what he'd lost... This would be interesting. 

Now, Wayne hadn't quite planned out just how he would actually get the blood considering he'd literally just decided it was probably quite needed only a few hours earlier, however he did have prints of the hospital and whatnot, which he'd managed to find thanks to the wonderful thing known as Google. 

Nonetheless, prints were useless without a proper plan, and Wayne didn't know the first thing about breaking and entering, so it's needless to say he'd felt like a miracle had been bestowed upon him when stumbling upon Selina-- or rather, when she stumbled upon him. 

Selina had actually seen Wayne on his way to go meet Jerome, and considering she knew a kid like him usually wouldn't last two seconds out on the streets if someone decided to approach him, she had curiously and somewhat protectively followed her friend from a distance. 

To be honest, Selina was intrigued-- she'd seen Wayne go down a suspicious alleyway, and right when she'd started to go to check on him after he hadn't exited from such after a few moments, he came out. And now, he was standing warily outside a hospital building and staring up at it as though it was Juvy. 

"Hey," Selina greeted as Wayne practically beamed in relief, being both glad to see his friend he hadn't genuinely met up with in what seemed like ages and grateful to have the chances of doing this little scheme properly. "What gives?" 

"Selina!" Wayne laughed with a taken aback smile, walking up to the girl yet halting in his tracks and hesitating uncertainly. 

It took Selina a moment to realize what was wrong, causing her to pause before smirking and stepping forward, briefly wrapping her arms around the other-- she could be ever so slightly cold at times, but she didn't mind giving a small hug every once and a while. 

"What are you up to?" Selina asked once again, taking a small step back and crossing her arms. 

"I uh- I just-" 

"Don't-- you're a bad liar, kid." Selina interjected before Wayne could even try to fib. 

"I need blood." Wayne blurted out, causing Selina's eyebrows to raise. Well done, Wayne; that didn't sound weird or creepy at all. "For a, um, friend-- he's lost a lot of it." 

What the hell had Selina missed out on? It hadn't been THAT long since they'd hung out. "Who's the friend? What happened to him?" She interrogated, not about to even consider helping out if she didn't get the full story first. 

Wayne, on the other hand, wanted to keep this as secret as possible. "It's a long story." 

"I've got all night," Selina countered stubbornly, giving a shrug. "Now spill-- what's going on?" 

Wayne sighed, hand running through his hair broodingly, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip as he contemplated-- he could be strong willed, but it was undeniable Selina was even more so. He either told her the truth and got her help or kept quiet and risked her growing bored and running off. Frankly, Wayne wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, as in before he changed his mind by possibly chickening out, so it would probably be best to just accept he wouldn't win this even if he tried rather than deny such until being forced to come with terms that Selina was overall much more difficult to persuade than he was, even if Wayne would never verbally admit it. 

So, Wayne finally begrudgingly explained, and the more he did the more he regretted it as Selina's facial expressions got more and more set in disbelief. 

"So the guy that tried to kill you is alive?" Selina questioned just to be sure after Wayne had finished elaborating, earning a nod. "And you saved him?" Another nod. "Because you believe you can get more answers than the cops can faster?" 

"Yes." Wayne confirmed in a murmur. 

"So now you're stealing stuff for this guy?" Wayne looked downwards, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Stuff for a guy that's a murderer?" Selina scoffed, still not sure she fully believed that Wayne, of all people, was doing this. "And now you want me to just waltz in and help you?" 

"You're a cat burglar, okay? You know stuff about stealing so I just figured I may as well ask." Wayne snapped irritatedly, because when Selina put it like that... "Besides, you're a 'criminal' too-" 

"Yeah, sure, I steal stuff to live and kill people in self defense, but this guy? He murders people in cold blood for entertainment-- we're not exactly on the same level." Selina instantly corrected, not precisely wanting to be compared to someone who had almost gotten Wayne along with herself killed. 

Wayne didn't have time for this. He wanted to see Selina more, like he'd used to, and he missed her, he truly did, but he just wanted to go on and get through this. 

"Look, I don't expect you to help me with this just because we're friends, alright? You don't have to come with me," Wayne replied more stressed than upset. "But I have to do this-- I've got to figure out what Jerome knows, and it's okay if you don't feel comfortable or whatever with doing this." He chewed on the inside of his cheek, feet shuffling around as he swallowed thickly, mouth dry. "I mean, I miss you, and I want to hang out with you again, but I don't want you to reckon I only want to be with you when I need help with stuff like this, so it's-" He let out a strained breath. "It's really fine if you don't want to help, but I have to go." 

Selina's brow knitted together, watching as Wayne turned his back towards her and walked towards the hospital, the corners of her lips turning downwards when seeing Wayne enter the doors. Fine, if he wanted to help an evil asshole who had attacked them at a charity of all places, then he could help him-- she didn't care; this was all on Wayne. This wasn't her problem. 

... 

... Dangit. 

Wayne blinked, feeling a hand grasp his shoulder, looking over at the stern Selina slightly taken aback. 

"You owe me. And you've got to promise me you'll keep on your guard around Jerome no matter what, okay? Because if you let yourself get killed I will kick your ghost ass." 

Wayne felt a grin tug at his lips. "Got it."


	3. Companions Wanted

Wayne yawned, rubbing his eyes exhausted and begrudgingly going through the private school's gates in a groggy fashion. Mondays were bad enough with just being, well, Mondays, but they sucked even more when one only got a mere thirty minutes of sleep. 

Wayne had finished talking with Jerome at midnight, and when he'd gotten to the hospital, where he had also spotted Selina at, it was half past twelve considering it had been a thirty minute walk. Breaking into the hospital, stealing the blood packet (while of course leaving a hefty wad of cash which equaled out to one would've paid for such in its place-- the only reason Wayne hadn't simply asked for said blood being because that would raise too many questions considering it wasn't him that needed it) along with an IV (which was also paid for) that he stuffed into a small cooler he'd brought with him, and then sneaking back out of the hospital took around an hour. Being the gentleman he was, Wayne insisted to walk Selina back home, AKA to an underground camp full of homeless teens, after she declined his offer to come back to Wayne manor and stay with him-- that took thirty more minutes. Wayne then took the safe way back home, deciding Jerome would just have to wait for tomorrow to get the blood considering he was exhausted and didn't want to risk Alfred finding out he was gone anymore than necessary; the walk back took an hour and thirty minutes. 

By the time Wayne had taken an hour long shower, brushed his teeth, and gotten into his pajamas he remembered he had an essay to write along with a few math equations to solve and science problems to figure out, and reluctantly did so, that taking around two hours and thirty minutes. 

It was 7:09 A.M. when Wayne began to go to bed, and he usually got up nine minutes earlier than that. 

So Wayne sighed, looking up at his prestigious school with a burning hatred in his eyes. He would be sleeping in class today. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne had found sleeping in the classes he had was practically impossible. 

His math teacher was too loud, his English teacher kept waking him up with a loud snap of the yard-long ruler to his desk, his science teacher threatened to send him to the principal's office the moment he began to drift, his art elective teacher was too nice to the point he'd feel bad for falling asleep in their class, and it was basically impossible to fall asleep in P.E. 

To make matters even worse, Alfred apparently decided that day of all days would be a good one to officially start Wayne's training. 

Alfred had began to drive off, Wayne holding the gym clothes in his arms while watching the limousine leave with the most unfair expression-- Alfred felt like he'd just left a defenseless kitten on the side of the road to fend for itself. 

So, Alfred turned around, driving back up to the relieved Wayne while rolling down his window and saying, "If you've changed your mind about this rubbish training then you're more than welcome to climb in and come home with me instead, Master Wayne." 

'Rubbish training?' Wayne's chin rose stubbornly, strong-willed jaw clenching as his lips pursed determinedly. "No thank you, Alfred; I would like to go on and start this as soon as possible." He straightened up stiffly, posture improving poshly. "Although I am expecting to meet up with a friend, so it may take me longer than ninety minutes to a couples of hours." 

Alfred stared at Wayne from the driver's seat for a moment, realizing Selina could very well be the 'friend' Wayne was talking about, particularly because he knew the boy didn't have many friends if any at the time. 

Perhaps Alfred shouldn't of just slapped Selina... for more reasons than one, at that. In any case, the butler could only hope he wouldn't have to face any dire consequences despite his actions if Wayne managed to find out about such. 

"Right, well, be home before dark, eh?" Alfred finally replied, forcing on a smile while driving off. 

Well, at least Wayne had remembered he was supposed to meet up with Selina to go see Jerome with rather than riding off with Alfred as he'd almost done. Nonetheless, he still didn't feel like training with how fatigued he was. 

Wayne waited for a good hour for Selina to show up, nearly falling asleep a few times as he leaned against the school fence, letting out a tired breath when still seeing no sight of her and forcing his exhausted self to stand up. 

It looked like Wayne would be meeting up with Jerome to give him the blood by himself... hopefully Selina wouldn't be too upset considering they'd agreed to go together, mostly for Wayne's safety. 

~*~*~*~ 

"I didn't know what blood type you were, so I just got you O+ since that's supposed to work with everyone." Wayne informed, adding in a mumble, "Well, except for O-..." 

"Uh, hate to break it to you, Brucie, but I am O-." Jerome informed with an apologetic grin, snickering slightly at Wayne's expression as the boy glanced up at him. 

"What?" Wayne spoke in disbelief, lowering the IV he had connected to the packet of blood. 

Jerome's smile widened. "Joking-- I'm type AB+." 

Wayne glowered at the trickster. "I could decide to not give you this." He threatened irked. 

"Aw come on, I'm just playing around!" Jerome crackled out, hands going up defensively as he shrugged innocently-- he was weak, and he actually really needed that blood with how much he'd lost, so there was a good chance Jerome should probably keep his mouth shut until receiving such... but it was just so damn fun to get a rise out of the little guy! 

Wayne, however, did not find anything 'fun' about the other 'getting a rise' out of him. 

"Hold still." Wayne grumbled, wrapping a thick rubber band around Jerome's arm and searching for a vein. 

"Do you know what you're doing?" Jerome laughed, an edge of nervousness in his tone. 

"I read about this in a book during recess." Wayne assured, earning an anxious chuckle. 

"Well I sure do hope you read that book better than you did the cookbook-" Jerome chuckled uneasily, wincing as Wayne stuck they needle in his skin before laying a piece of tape over in order to make sure it stuck. 

"Does that feel okay?" Wayne asked, the semi-concern on his clueless face not making Jerome feel any better about the needle just shoved into his arm. 

"As far as I know," Jerome answered with a uncertain laugh, examining the needle curiously. "To be honest, I've never been in a hospital before, so I wouldn't have the slightest clue on how this is supposed to feel." He added, unsure smile tense. 

Wayne tilted his head. "Really? You've never broken anything or had to go for being sick before?" 

Jerome glanced at Wayne, and couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever been that naïve when he was his age. "Let's just say I've never quite had the money for it," Jerome chuckled, eyes averting back down towards his arm. "Being in the circus kinda' took away the luxury of being able to afford doctors, ya' know?" He explained more so, smirk turning bitter. 

Jerome had broken several bones, and fractured even more, that usually being thanks to his mother and her abusive 'boyfriends', and there had been more than one occasion in which he'd been deathly sick, often due to not having the proper clothes to stay warm when sleeping in a circus tent during winter, although he had learned to tough it out and just do the dishes anyhow, like his nagging mother had always directed him to. 

But Wayne didn't need to know about that-- Jerome was only interested in jokes nowadays, and that wasn't funny. 

Wayne studied Jerome's distant expression, wondering what exactly could even be going in the mind of a guy that did so many ruthless actions without even a moment's hesitation, before piping up, "I may be late tomorrow." 

Jerome seemed to snap back into reality, returning his attention to Wayne. "Oh? Why? Got a date?" He teased with a wicked grin. 

"What? No." Wayne's nose scrunched; as much as he respected Mr. Theo for courageously saving his life he wasn't about to date him, of course-- a bit too old for his taste. "I'm having dinner with Mr. Galavan," He could've sworn Jerome's eyes narrowed at the name, realizing he probably shouldn't of just told the other that. "You know, the guy that, uh-" 

"Believe me, Brucie, I know who you're talking about-- the guy that rammed a knife into my neck, righto'?" Jerome scoffed with a sour grin. 

Wayne met Jerome's pissed off smirk with a glower. "Yeah, him-- as in the guy that saved me from you cutting my throat open in the first place." 

Jerome waved Wayne off carelessly. "Eh, details details..." He murmured with an eye roll, cracking a smile as Wayne glared at him in aggravation. 

"Am I just supposed to forget about the detail where you tried to murder me?" Wayne snapped in annoyance. 

"Apparently you've forgotten the detail about you being my favorite volunteer." Jerome defended jokingly. 

"Oh yeah, right, sure-- I'm sorry, Jerome, it's an honor I was your favorite volunteer, that totally makes up for the fact you took me hostage and nearly killed my butler. My mistake, so sorry!" 

Jerome let out a fit of laughter. "Ooh, someone is certainly acting a bit feisty-- what's wrong, kiddo, stayed up past your bedtime? Or did your butler forget to polish your shoes for today?" 

"Haha, very funny, asshole." 

"Oh ho ho, name calling now, are we? What's wrong, don't have any good comebacks?" Jerome's lips spread into a devious smirk. "Are you even allowed to use that language, young man? What are you again, twelve?" 

"I'm. Four. Teen." Wayne corrected through clenched teeth. "And I happen to have a lot of good comebacks-- I'm just not stooping to your level." 

"Let me guess, comebacks you read in a book?" 

"At least I know how to read." Wayne muttered under his breath. 

"Aw come on, just because I was a part of a circus doesn't mean I don't know how to read-- wouldn't you say that's hitting a little below the belt?" 

"Believe me, if I hit you below the belt below the belt you wouldn't be making wisecracks right now." 

Jerome shivered over dramatically, grin wide as he put his hands up mockingly in defense. "By golly, you sure are terrifying!" 

These sarcastic quips were growing old. "You know what? Let's skip the small talk and get down to business." As far as Wayne was concerned, 'business' was the only reason he bothered with chatting with the trickster. 

"Business?" Jerome laughed, lounging back against the concrete staircase comfortably, staying atop his sleeping bag. "Whatever you say, tough guy-- I'm assuming you want me to tell you something in exchange for the blood?" Wayne nodded, expression stern and moody, yet otherwise blank. "And here I was figuring you just wanted to be my friend." Jerome teased, unable to keep his fake pout on as a smile broke through his lips, Wayne continuing to stare at him impatiently. "Yeesh, lighten up some, kiddo. In any case, if I were you I'd steer clear of Theo-- he's a bit of a self-righteous attention hog." 

That was it? That was Jerome's tip? After all Wayne had gone through-- breaking and entering, stealing, not to mention being out past curfew, that was the damn tip he got in return?! 

Needless to say, Wayne didn't realize Jerome was somewhat looking out for his sake rather than just letting a grudge against the man who had attempted to murder him fester. 

As far as Wayne was concerned, Jerome was just saying this because Theo had 'saved' Wayne from the Arkham patient, not at all knowing Jerome's ex-mentor's true intentions. 

"I want a tip for me, not a tip for you-- Mr. Galavan saved my life, no thanks to you; if anyone should 'steer clear' of him it's criminals-" Wayne made a point of emphasizing that last word, glowering at Jerome in order to make it crystal clear he was referring to him. "-not innocent people." A long pause went by. "Now give me a real tip." 

Jerome groaned, both palms pressing against his face. "You're a bit ditsy, aren't you?" He sighed, hands rubbing down his face before falling to his sides. "Listen, friend, amigo, pal, buddy-" 

"Acquaintance." Wayne corrected coldly. 

"Geez, cold much? Fine-- listen, my 'acquaintance', the truth is I'm not being 'greedy' with these tips, so take my advice and stay away from Theo." 

"Why?" Wayne interrogated, brow crinkling uncertainly. 

"That's another question." Jerome mused with a shrug, smirking not at Wayne's stare that that was the expressional equivalent of the words, 'really?' 

"I don't have anything else for you-" 

"Not my problem if you don't have anymore ways to pay me for answers." 

Wayne abruptly stood, snatching up his backpack and swinging it over his shoulder. "I have somewhere to be." He spoke sharply, stepping forward and swaying slightly while blinking, vision blacking out for a few quick seconds-- exhausted. Wayne felt absolutely exhausted. 

"Are you okay?" Jerome questioned, eyebrows raising as he cracked a grin. 

"I stayed up all night." Wayne admitted, begrudgingly sitting back on the ground for a moment. 

Jerome noted the dark circles under Wayne's eyes, head tilting as he offered, "I'm not exactly asleep at the moment-- you can use the sleeping bag if ya' want." 

That surprisingly sounded rather nice, but... "Thanks, but I don't really feel being stabbed in my sleep." 

"Aw, come on, I wouldn't attack ya'," A pause lingered. "Well, at least not yet-- you're too entertaining." 

"Thanks," Wayne scoffed with an eye roll, not sure as to whether or not that was intended to be a compliment. "Although I'm not exactly all that keen on trusting you." 

"That hurts, buddy, it really does," Jerome replied mockingly, hand jokingly resting on his chest, smirk growing. "I may be considered 'insane', but I still keep my word." 

"Sorry, I have to recline, but thanks for the offer." Wayne insisted, standing up and feeling his stomach grow nauseous-- he really shouldn't of pulled such a dramatic all nighter, particularly when having to run a mile on track that day. 

... 

... Dangit. 

"Wake me up before it gets dark." Wayne sighed fatigued, laying down on the sleeping bag as Jerome snickered and scooted aside. 

~*~*~*~ 

When Jerome woke Wayne up it was five, only feeling more exhausted due to getting two mere hours of sleep. 

"You look even worse than you did before." Jerome commented as Wayne groggily stood, heaving his backpack with him. 

"Good to know." Wayne huffed while rubbing the sleep out of his eye with the back of his hand, debating on finding a restroom to change into his athletic clothing Alfred had given him before deciding he just wanted to get home as soon as possible without any delays. "I'll come by tomorrow." 

"See ya' then," Jerome chimed, before adding in a hum, "Oh, and Wayne?" The other looked at him tiredly. "As a friendly tip-- look out for people who take a strange interest in you after 'fateful' encounters, yeah?" He examined Wayne's confused expression, curious as to whether or not the kid understood what he'd just said. "Just don't feel obliged to pay back anyone's heroic 'favors.'" He waved off when Wayne continued staring at him blankly. 

What the hell was Jerome talking about? "Uh, yeah, sure." Wayne waved off while yawning, guessing he had to just be too sleep-deprived to understand what the jokester meant. "Thanks?" 

Jerome nodded, a wide and crooked smile breaking out on his mouth as Wayne began to walk away-- he wondered whether or not the boy would survive his little encounter with Theo, and couldn't wait to see what the entertaining odds would turn out to be. 

If Wayne died then that would be a bit of a bummer considering that would result in Jerome not being able to have a bit of (potentially cruel) fun with the other, however if the heir did manage to survive an encounter with a backstabbing (well, neck-stabbing, that is) jackass, then that would be quite entertaining... 

~*~*~*~ 

Dinner with Theo started out innocent enough. 

Wayne had been cautious at first, deciding he saw no harm in heeding Jerome's warning pertaining to needing to be careful around Mr. Galavan, doubting there was much need for him, an innocent person, to be uneasy around the other, however it was always better to be safe rather than sorry. 

Wayne began to put his guard down as the two made small talk when waiting for a table, finding the older man seemed harmless enough as they spoke about how Theo planned to run for mayor as well as how Wayne was doing recovery-wise from the traumatic night at the magician's show. 

They finally got called upon and sat down at a table near a window as Alfred left the pair alone, and then Theo Galavan just had to decide to bring up Wayne's parents, and to be frank that was the last thing Wayne wanted to discuss. 

Wayne averted his gaze, jaw clenching as he attempted to keep a professional expression on, swallowing dryly as he began to feel ever so slightly sick, turning his attention towards anything but Theo-- hey, who was that girl outside? 

"That's Silver." Theo eventually informed when noticing where Wayne's gaze continued to linger towards every time he tried to talk to the other. 

"I- I'm sorry?" Wayne stuttered embarrassed, not meaning to seem rude by averting his attention. 

"Silver St. Cloud," Theo corrected, a vague smile tugging at his lips. "Her father was my step-brother... he passed, sadly-- she's my ward now." A pause. "Would you like to meet her?" 

Wayne returned the slight smile, nodding at that. "Yes." He'd like that very much, in fact. 

~*~*~*~ 

Silver spoke as sweet as she looked. 

As far as Wayne was concerned, she was incredibly kind, which was a bit odd yet pleasant, even if she did hold an ever so slightly mysterious aspect strangely enough. 

"So do you know anyone that will be attending prep?" Silver asked with a kind smile, sitting on the fountain edge with Wayne. 

Wayne glanced over at Theo, who was taking a call with someone named Ozzy or Oswald or something off to the side a few yards away, before turning his attention back to Silver. "I-" What was he supposed to say? 'Not really, but the ones I do know are all bullying assholes.' That wouldn't be proper. "-yes, I've spoken with a few." 

"Just spoken?" Silver giggled, head tilting. "Who all are you friends with there?" 

"I don't have any friends." Wayne confessed without realizing what he'd just said until afterwards. "I mean, I don't have any friends at school."

Silver smiled warmly. "Oh? Who do you usually, ah, socialize with then?"

"My-" Wayne mentally reminded himself to not say 'butler.' "-guardian, Alfred. And detective Gordon, as well as Ms. Lee, not to mention Mr. Harvey I guess." 

"Do you have any friends your age?" Silver quipped, not rudely or anything of the sort, just intrigued and friendlily. 

"Uh-" Crap. "Yes," Wayne answered, mind racing. "I know a girl name Selina," His chest tightened when mentioning his old friend's name. "And-" Another name, Wayne needed another name. "- Ivy," He added, recalling meeting the strange red haired girl with Selina. "Uh, and, um-" Silver was staring at him with an expectant yet caring smile. "-well-" Who else did he know? "Oh! Jer-" Crap, wait, no, he couldn't say Jerome-- this was Theo's niece, and she was bound to know the name of the guy her uncle had saved Wayne from. "-ry. Jerry." Sure, there were probably a lot of Jeromes in Gotham, but he didn't want any possible suspicions arising. 

Silver gave a soft laugh. "Well I'd love to meet them sometime." 

Shit. Selina was who knows where, Wayne had only met Ivy once, and he was not about to let Jerome meet Theo's niece of all people considering he'd rather not risk her life. 

Wayne laughed nervously, internally screaming at the situation he'd just gotten himself into. "Yeah, sure, that would be great." Shit. 

"Okay, how about tomorrow?" Silver piped up with a gentle chuckle. 

Shit. Shit shit shit. "Tomorrow?" 

"Does that work alright with your schedule?" 

"Uh-" Wayne forced on a smile. "Sure." 

Silver practically beamed. "Really?" Before Wayne could answer she chimed, "Yay! I can't wait-- I'm sure they're wonderful! What time would work best for you?" 

Wayne continued trying to come up with a way to get out of this. "After school?" 

"That would be perfect! Here, let me give you my number." Silver hummed while scribbling something down on a notepad she pulled out from the purse laying beside her, ripping it off right as Theo called her name. 

"Silver, it's time for us to get going home, dear." Theo shouted as Silver handed the sheet of paper to Wayne. 

"Coming, uncle!" Silver yelled back, standing up and giving one more smile to Wayne. "See you tomorrow, Wayne!" 

Wayne nodded and gave a wave goodbye to both Silver and Mr. Theo as the Galavan heir thanked him for coming to dinner, tight smile falling as the other two walked off. 

Oh boy, this was going to be hectic. 

~*~*~*~ 

It was lunchtime when Wayne finally spotted Silver, quirking a brow when seeing she'd already made quite a few new friends, smiling and fixing to go up to her before growing wary as to whether or not that would be a good idea and deciding to simply keep walking, halting when hearing his name called by a feminine voice and cracking a grin. 

Although, Wayne's grin fell the moment Silver added, "So what time are we going to meet your friends again?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to the lovely person that made this wonderful work of art for a short jeromeXwayne drabble I wrote on Tumblr! 
> 
> You guys should totally follow blaakycat-- they're a real sweeheart :) 
> 
> http://quellines-stories.tumblr.com/post/131440569676/bittersweet-comforts


	4. Altered Negotiations

Wayne had to meet with Silver in an hour, and he had little to no clue on where Selina was after searching everywhere she'd usually be: Fire escapes, abandoned buildings, water sewers-- all of them, empty. 

Not to mention Wayne couldn't even remember what that Ivy girl had looked like other than her red hair. 

The only person his age that was left over was Jerome-- unless Wayne hired some kid to tag along when meeting Silver, however Alfred would certainly notice missing money and question Wayne if he did decide to do so. 

So, Wayne was forced to approach Jerome begrudgingly. 

Jerome was looking better, Wayne saw. He wasn't as sickly pale, and it was easier for him to stand without swaying, not to mention he was no longer coughing up blood. Sure, he was still somewhat weak, but didn't nearly look as bad-- even his stitches were, thankfully, healing up vaguely nicely. 

"Okay, so we pretend to be all buddy buddy, and I get what?" Jerome snickered, hands shoved down into his pockets. 

"I can get you a pillow and some more food." Wayne offered with a stone cold expression. 

Jerome grinned, pondering on the possible exchange. "Ya' know, I'm not sure that's worth it, I mean, this is Theo's kiddo, isn't it?" Jerome shrugged. "Hanging out with the guy's niece that tried to kill me? Afraid I'm gonna' need a bit more than a few comforts for that." Jerome was well enough to get his own necessities now-- he wanted something else. 

Wayne didn't like the sounds of this. "Fine, what do you want?" 

"From now for every favor and answer I give you, you do an-" He contemplated on a word, tongue clicking. "-adventure-" He decided on. "-for me." A pause, Jerome flashing a wicked smile. "Or I guess the proper way to put it would be 'with' me." 

Wayne stared at Jerome with narrowed eyes. "What?" 

"Let's put it this way-" Jerome began to elaborate with a smirk. "-you ask a small question, we do a small, er, 'fun' activity-- like just stealing something. You ask a big question though, we do something else-- like, oh I don't know... break someone out of Arkham." 

Wayne didn't like where this was going. "So if I wanted you to tell me why you were in Arkham, then you'd make me steal something or whatever, but if I wanted you to tell me who broke you out of the asylum and why, then I'd have to break someone out of Arkham or something?" 

"Well, yeah, it's all a matter of perspective when it comes to how much a certain favor 'costs', but you've more or less caught on." Jerome confirmed amused. 

"And we'd do that stuff just for kicks and giggles? We'd break laws for entertainment?" Wayne inquired despite knowing that's exactly why Jerome wanted to make this deal. 

"How else are people supposed to have fun?" 

"Normally, like watching T.V., writing, making art, listening to music, doing sports, or playing video games, etcetera..." 

"But that's boring! None of that old junk is thrilling, don't you wanna' have more of a rush?" Jerome persisted enthusiastically. 

"Not particularly." Wayne answered truthfully, expression not faltering. 

"Eh, you'll come through after a few-" 

"-'adventures?'" Wayne offered with an eye roll. 

Jerome smiled deviously, giving a nod of confirmation. "Let's go meet this Goldie chick." 

"Wait" Wayne objected. "What do I have to do? Since you're agreeing to meet her and all? And her name's Silver, not Goldie." 

Jerome decided to go easy on Wayne for the first time around. "Just steal something cheap. Or trespass somewhere harmless-- up to you." He reached out, ruffling up Wayne's hair. "That shouldn't be too tough for starters, right?" 

Wayne jerked back, his own hand running through his hair to fix it as Jerome snickered. "Fine, let's just hurry up and go already-- and don't touch my hair." 

"Ah yes, don't touch the hair I'm sure that butler of yours probably brushes one hundred times with a golden comb as you read books with lace paper on how to act older for a ten year old." 

Golden comb? Books with lace pages? Alfred brushing his hair? Even Wayne wasn't that bad when it came to being, well, wealthy. 

"I brush my own hair, and my guardian's name is Alfred," Wayne corrected somewhat heatedly. "And I'm fourteen, not ten-- is it really that difficult to remember?" 

"Looks like this kitten's got claws," Jerome continued to jest, Wayne beginning to wonder if taking this guy to meet Silver was such a good idea. "The pampered, rich, pertinacious kitten, that is." 

"Let's go." Wayne sighed, reckoning it would be best to just go on and get this over with rather than giving Jerome the satisfaction of snapping back, stopping in his tracks right before leaving the alley whence noticing the dried blood on the collar of the taller one's white coat, which he was still wearing from Nygma's lab. "Actually, let's get you some new clothing first." He mumbled, rummaging through his bag for anything to cover the red spot up. 

"What, you don't see this as stylish? I could start a new trend like this!" Jerome jested with a chuckle, earning a look from the other. "Kidding, as usual." 

"Here." Wayne offered, standing up and holding out a black jacket.

Jerome attempted to fit his arms through the sleeves, settling for just letting the clothing rest over his shoulders. "You're certainly a bit small." 

"I'm growing." Wayne defended, zipping up his bag and throwing it over his shoulder before walking off irritatedly, a snickering Jerome following. 

The pair entered a rather fancy shop, as in a shop where the only two choices were fancy dresses or expensive suits. 

"How's this one? I'd say it really brings out my eyes." Jerome kidded while holding a bright red cocktail dress in front of him. 

Wayne still couldn't tell when Jerome was and wasn't joking. "Sure." 

Well, at least Wayne wasn't judgmental, even if he didn't know how to take a joke. 

A few minutes went by, Wayne following Jerome around patiently, waiting for something that caught the other's eye and arching a brow as the criminal approached a dark purple suit with a white shirt to go underneath it, black trousers along with shoes and a light emerald shaded necktie being part of the suit's set. 

Yeah, that definitely looked like Jerome, even if it was a bit strange for Wayne's taste-- the billionaire kiddo often preferred black and gray. 

"Two thousand and seven hundred dollars?" Jerome scoffed in disbelief. "This is worth twenty-five dollars, at most-" 

"You can get it." Wayne assured, earning a taken aback look. 

Jerome snickered and gave a half smile. "Thanks, but I'm fine with just going somewhere like Ross or Walmart-" 

"It's fine, you can get it." Wayne insisted with a shrug. 

Jerome stared at Wayne quizzically, eventually stepping away from the suit. "Don't worry, I'll get a normal one." He chuckled, knowing a purple and green suit probably wasn't all that common. "Don't want your supposed new girlfriend finding your friend 'Jerry' weird, now do we?" He snickered, referring to the name Wayne had given him. 

"You can get that one, too." Wayne offered, causing Jerome to stare at him curiously, as though this was some sort of trick. "You may as well have a suit you actually like along with a proper one." 

Needless to say Jerome wasn't quite used to anyone acting... would the the word be nice? Well, other than Theo, and look at what that asshole did to him... 

Jerome smirked, head cocking-- he'd never had a rich 'friend' before, then again, Jerome didn't have friends-- he had playthings. 

Wayne ended up getting Jerome the suit he'd originally liked along with a 'proper' blue sweater and black jeans as well as shoes, and an earthy green trench coat to go with it. 

Was this kid made of money or something? Theo wasn't kidding when he talked about how the Wayne family consisted of billionaires... or at least it did, considering there was only one billionaire now. 

Wayne and Jerome left the store after Jerome had changed and adjusted the collar of his suit so it covered his face somewhat considering he'd rather not be recognized, the older of the pair wondering how exactly a fourteen year old was able to use a credit card before remembering this was indeed law-breaking Gotham and Brucie was, after all, a Wayne. 

Silver was waiting for Wayne outside the school gates, the pair of boys managing to get there right on time, Wayne already worrying about how Jerome would act and what he would say, instantly beginning to regret- 

"Hey there," Jerome greeted, and what the hell? That was a surprisingly charismatic smile he was wearing. "You must be Silver," He spoke charmingly, holding out his hand politely. "I'm Jerry-- Wayne's told me so much about you." 

"Oh, uh-" Wayne had talked about her? That was... sweet. Silver's cheeks turned pink, a small giggle leaving her lips. "-pleased to meet you, Jerry!" She laughed, shaking Jerome's hand and smiling softly. 

Wayne visibly relaxed-- okay, good, she didn't recognize Jerome, although that may of been thanks to the trench coat covering up his face ever so slightly considering he'd been all over the news. 

"The pleasure's all mine." Jerome mused while giving a small bow, kissing the back of Silver's hand and flashing a captivating smile before releasing his grasp and straightening back up. 

Wayne glanced in between the two, observing Silver's bashful personality and catching a small smirk Jerome sent his way-- what was he up to? 

"So, what do you two want to do? We can't just hang around this boring place all day." Jerome quipped, gesturing towards the school with his thumb. 

Wayne wasn't sure he liked this-- Jerome seemed... different. He wasn't wearing that constant wide and wicked grin he usually did, not to mention his usual crooked as well as mischievous personality was replaced by something much more fetching. 

Jerome was instead just barely smirking in an appealing fashion, and he was acting in a way that made him seem absolutely magnetic-- it was a bit unsettling to see just how good of an actor he was. 

"Uh-" Wayne started, watching Jerome uneasily. 

"We could go to the park a few blocks away from here!" Silver offered, smiling at Wayne warmly. "My uncle told me it's absolutely lovely," She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, catching Wayne's uncertain gaze and adding, "Only if you two want to, of course." 

Wayne tore his gaze away from the amused Jerome's, looking at Silver and replying, "Yeah, um, of course-- that sounds great." 

The corners of Jerome's lips tugged upwards bitterly. "Well I'm sure it's just positively astounding if your uncle says it is." 

Wayne let out a nervous laugh to ease the tension rising in the air-- this was going to be awkward. 

The trio began to walk to the park, a brief awkward silence lingering until Jerome helpfully broke it by saying, "So, what all do you two have in common?" 

Was Jerome helping Wayne make conversation with Silver? Because it felt like he was. That was almost nice of him. 

The pair pondered for a moment, Silver eventually answering, "Well, I guess we're both-" She paused, realizing this probably wasn't the best similarity to bring up. "-orphans." 

Wayne's expression fell at that. "Yeah..." 

Yeesh, that sure was a downer. "Alright, but what kinda' hobbies do you have?" Jerome corrected, hands cupping as he blew hot air into his palms, mentally noting it was getting chilly out. 

Silver perked up once more. "Oh! Well, snorkeling for one, and going to art museums is always fun, not to mention I adore walks in nice parks." She looked at Wayne kindly. "What about you?" 

Thank goodness that subject had been changed. "Just the usual-- reading, attending events, and plays can be entertaining I suppose." 

Jerome looked away from the two for a brief moment, eyes rolling-- okay, so Silver was more of an outdoors person who loved artsy scenery while Wayne preferred staying inside. Silver was miss sunshine and rainbows while Wayne was angst angst angst and a mysterious angry kiddo. Silver was basically a golden retriever and Wayne was grumpy cat. 

They were complete opposites-- this would be... difficult. Heck, the only thing they had in common was they were both rich orphans. 

"What about you?" Silver inquired intrigued. "What do you like to do, Jerry?" 

Jerome looked back towards the two on his left, Wayne being in the middle of him and Silver. "Magic tricks, telling jokes, circus stuff-" He grinned, throwing an arm around Wayne's neck. "-hangi'n out with my best buddy." 

Wayne put on a tight smile, tensing up as Jerome wrapped the arm around his shoulders and forcing out a laugh. "Yep." He spoke begrudgingly, and if Jerome didn't get that damn arm off of him he was going to- 

"You're a magician?" Silver questioned impressed, finding it sweet the pair obviously cared so much for each other when seeing how close they were as Jerome kept an arm around Wayne. "And a comedian? That sounds so fun!" She laughed sweetly. 

"Sure am," Jerome confirmed, deciding it would be best to let go of Wayne considering he'd like to keep his arm. "Wayne helps me with coming up with jokes though, and he's even been my assistant for a magic show before-" He gave a crooked grin. "-what can I say? Brucie is my favorite volunteer." He expression went back to being more charming than ever. 

Wayne gave a glare at Jerome, not finding the inside joke funny. 

The three eventually arrived at the park, the conversation flowing much easier and Jerome staying quiet the majority of the time, only charismatically speaking up whenever another icebreaker was needed or when asked a question. 

The park was quite lovely compared to most of Gotham, not being so foggy nor gray, actually looking rather lovely surprisingly enough. 

A couple of calming hours which Wayne enjoyed, yet Jerome found boring, went by, Silver eventually having to go home and giving a wave goodbye to Wayne and her new 'friend' called 'Jerry' before running off towards a limousine awaiting her. 

"Well that was almost fun." Jerome snickered deviously, and yep-- the old Jerome was back, the older boy no longer acting so captivatingly. 

"Thanks," Wayne mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck and averting his gaze. "For doing that, or whatever..." 

Jerome's grin was practically beaming. "Did the heir of Wayne enterprises really just compliment me?" He gave an overdone gasp. "I'm incredibly humbled-" 

"Do you always have to be so sarcastic?" Wayne sighed, already regretting his word of thanks. 

"I'm just joking around with ya'." Jerome chuckled, fingers pressing against the stitched up area where he'd been stabbed, wincing slightly-- it was still rather painful, and this brisk cold wasn't helping. 

Wayne actually looked quite concerned despite everything, and Jerome found that kind of sweet considering this kiddo was worried about him even though he'd tried to, well, kill him. 

"Are you okay?" Wayne asked with a frown, eying the irritated pink area in Jerome's skin. 

"I'm fine." Jerome waved off, hand lowering and brow raising as Wayne stepped forward and went up on the tips of his toes. 

Wayne pushed back the trench coat's collar, examining the healing wound and contemplating before grabbing Jerome's wrist and stomping off. 

"Whoa there, where's the fire?" Jerome laughed curiously with a cross between a smirk and a grin. 

"You said I had to either steal something or trespass in exchange for you acting like 'Jerry', so I'm going to steal anti-bacterial medicine to make sure you don't get an infection." 

Jerome halted, holding back his snicker as Wayne nearly fell down from the sudden stop, the hand around his wrist tightening. "Look, kiddo, al things considered you did buy me this pretentious suit, so I'd say we're even just this one time." 

Wayne stared up at Jerome broodingly, pondering as he looked to the side and chewed on his bottom lip unsurely-- no, Wayne had made a deal, and he wasn't about to feel like he owed the other, no matter how 'even' Jerome (possibly mischievously) claimed they were. Maybe Wayne was stubborn when it came to promises in general, or maybe he had poor judgement in right and wrong when it came to keeping agreements, and maybe this was puberty messing around with him for all he knew- yet either way he was going to keep his word. 

Maybe Wayne was just a little too justice-based considering he wanted to perhaps be an over the top man of his word. 

"We made a deal, and I intend to keep it." Wayne insisted with a strong willed tone. 

Jerome couldn't help the wide smile that broke out through his lips-- did Wayne want to commit a crime, even if it was just petty theft? Was Jerome rubbing off on him? Oh, corrupting this boy would be fun, even if that would be a bit cruel, although Jerome was not at all known for his kindness. 

"In that case, where would you like to go?" Jerome mused, cracking a smile and head cocking. 

Wayne began to walk away again, Jerome following. "There's a store not too far away from here that treats its employees horribly, and has been accused of partaking in shady business with Falcone-- we'll go there." 

Jerome nearly sighed-- okay, so Wayne still had a hero complex even when he was being, well, bad, yet that wouldn't be too hard to break apart in order to replace with a more entertaining villainous one. 

This would be a interesting little 'project'-- seeing whether or not the Wayne heir could be pushed far enough to be anything but noble as the other Waynes had been, and it would give Jerome a way to pass the time. 

When they arrived at the small shop Jerome did have to admit it looked rather suspicious, however this was Gotham, and everything in the city of crime was relatively questionable. 

"Oi, where's your parents?" The grumpy cashier grunted in a rough voice, setting down his paper and staring at Wayne with a sneer. 

Wayne froze up, knowing he probably stuck out like a sore thumb and parting his lips to make up a lie, yet no sound came out. 

"He's here with me." Jerome assured, flashing an award winning smile, suddenly going back to the charismatic person he'd been around Silver. 

"How old are ya' runts?" The cashier scoffed with narrowed eyes, pulling a cigar out of his mouth. 

"I'm eighteen and he's fifteen," Jerome lied, adding a year to both of their ages just to be safe. "We're just here to pick up some-" This looked like a tourist attraction, which Jerome forced himself to not laugh at considering Gotham was not the place people went for vacations. "-souvenirs." 

"Where are you two from?" The employee continued to interrogate, Wayne beginning to realize the misplaced souvenir shop was probably just a coverup all things considered, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was covering up. 

"We travel a lot," Jerome smoothly answered with a simple shrug, charming grin not faltering. "Road tripping get tiring, so we decided to pass through here for the night." 

"Why would you be traveling during a school year?" 

Jerome stopped himself from rolling his eyes-- suspicious much? "We're homeschooled." 

The older man stared at Wayne and Jerome for a good long moment, eventually looking back down at his newspaper. "We close in twenty minutes." 

Jerome gave a smile and nod before turning towards Wayne and smirking, patiently waiting for the other to simply pluck something off of one of the shelves before being on their way. 

Now, Jerome realized he had some work to do with how damn obvious Wayne was behaving. 

Wayne was cringingly tense, and his eyes were unbelievably wide, not to mention he absolutely refused to make even the slightest eye contact, and the poor boy jumped at every tiny sound. 

It was going to take a while to get this kiddo to loosen up and have some fun. 

Wayne glanced at Jerome anxiously whence seeing no sight of any anti-bacterial spray, although the red haired boy was too busy amusedly examining a toy firearm, which perhaps looked a bit too realistic, that had a small flag with the word, 'Bang!', pop out of it when the trigger was pulled. 

Jerome blinked as Wayne snatched up the toy, looking at him taken aback before feeling the corners of his lips tug upwards as Wayne stuffed it shakily into his coat. 

Before Jerome could even manage to say a single word Wayne was already rushing out of the store while practically hugging the stolen object, and wait no-- Jerome nearly face palmed himself at how obvious the much too innocent and inexperienced boy was being as he raced out of the shop the same way a sinner would've ran out of church. 

"Hey!" The cashier shouted, Jerome sprinting after Wayne. "What did you little punks steal?!" He snarled, chasing after the pair. 

Wayne halted at the edge of a sidewalk, looking around desperately as his mind raced, cars zooming by and crowds of people suddenly seeming to be much too close, and oh dear DC he didn't know what to do- 

Wayne's expression fell, feeling a hand grab his arm, ready to accept his fate and already go to jail at the age of fourteen, wondering what Alfred would say- wait, no, this wasn't the cashier's hand-- it was Jerome's. 

Jerome tugged Wayne off with him, forcing the boy with locked up legs to run, the pair jogging through the crowd and weaving through bunches of people, Wayne nearly getting lost in the sea of humans several moments, yet being yanked beside the other each time, the furious employee spitting death threats at them while trying to keep up. 

The moment the two boys got into a clearing they bolted towards an alleyway, sprinting behind a pile of boxes and crouching down, the kneeling males peeking out from the side and feeling their breaths catch as their pursuer stopped and looked around, glancing towards their hiding place while glowering before suddenly letting out a series of cuss words and stomping off. 

Jerome let out a hoot of breathless laughter, lounging against the brick wall and grinning wickedly. "That was fun." 

"No it wasn't." Wayne grumbled, earning an eye roll from Jerome, because this kid was apparently never going to allow himself to have even the teeniest bit of entertainment- "But thanks, for uh-" Jerome couldn't tell if Wayne was blushing in embarrassment or just hot from running. "-helping me back there, or whatever, instead of just, um, ya' know... leaving, I guess." 

Jerome's eyebrows quirked at the unexpected gratitude, a cocky smile spreading on his lips. "Don't mention it," He waved off with a snicker. "It'd just be too boring to not have you around to rile up all the time." Wayne was still new to Jerome, and Jerome wasn't, well, bored with him... yet. 

Wayne decided to take that as a compliment rather than get 'riled up.' "Here." He mumbled, pulling out the fake firearm he'd stolen and holding it out. 

"First you buy me a coat and then you steal me a present? If I didn't know better, I'd say I was growing on you." Jerome mused teasingly, looking over the prank toy with a half grin. "In any case, here," He hummed, digging in his coat pocket to pull out a rather similar object, holding it out to the confused Wayne while explaining, "I wanted to steal something for the hell of it-- a five dollar piece of junk makes us even for the two thousand dollar coat you bought me, right?" He joked with a grin. 

Wayne took a mental note that Jerome was apparently quite the trickster (as he'd figured) before taking the object which showed, 'Pow!', when used rather than, 'Bang!' 

"I have to get home," Wayne informed after giving a nod of thanks, realizing it was almost dark and knowing Alfred had to be growing worried. "See you tomorrow?" 

"Sure, but let's meet somewhere different." Jerome suggested, standing up and offering a hand. 

Oh great, what did Jerome have planned now? "Where?" Wayne questioned, hesitantly taking the hand and allowing Jerome to help him up. 

Jerome observed Wayne curiously, clearly knowing something the cautious boy didn't. "Do you know who Oswald Cobblepot is?"


	5. Little Moments

Wayne gulped, looking up at Butch and wondering why he'd even agreed to meet Jerome at the Penguin's mansion of all places. 

"Jerome told me to meet him here." Wayne informed shakily, forcing himself to stay in place rather than running off. 

Butch gave a scoff, eyes rolling. "You're with that crazy kid?" Wasn't this the heir of Wayne enterprises? What was a runt like that doing in a place like this, and with a guy like Jerome? 

Wayne nodded, standing his ground nervously. "Yes, he's an acquaintance of mine." 

Butch studied Wayne broodingly, eventually stepping to the side and gesturing for Wayne to enter. "I doubt Penguin will take you anymore seriously than he is Jerome." 

What the hell was Wayne even doing here? Seriously, would it of been that difficult for Jerome to just tell him what was going on? 

Wayne followed Butch down the hall, swallowing thickly as he examined the dark interior, shrinking into himself as he caught sight of several rather strange as well as menacing bodyguards which glowered down at him. 

Sneaking out at nighttime to meet Jerome without even knowing why they were meeting at a criminal's household had proven to be an absolutely terrible idea. 

~*~*~*~ 

The chaotic virus of Gotham, who spread a contagion known as laughter, was meeting with the deceiving king of Gotham, who dished out discipline without order, and Jerome found that quite entertaining. 

You see, the very day Jerome had began to feel well enough to set out once more, that being the day after Wayne had stolen blood for him, as well as the day he got to meet little miss Silver St. Cloud, was the day Jerome had decided it was time to get back into the game. 

So, Jerome had figured the best thing to do would be to plan revenge on Theo, and what better way to do such than by befriending the biggest criminal in Gotham? Sure, Oswald Cobblepot could end up being a washout, although for the time being he was the ruler of this corrupted city. 

Nonetheless, Jerome could tell Penguin was slipping with how jumpy and spaced out he was, although he didn't know what had his feathers so ruffled-- no pun intended. 

"How old are you? Nineteen?" Oswald laughed bitterly, fingers tapping against his chair's armrest in a jittery fashion. 

"Seventeen, actually." Jerome admitted with a shrug, only grinning as Oswald scoffed. 

"Oh, perfect, even younger!" Oswald snapped irritatedly, eye gaze constantly averting from place to place. "What do you want? I don't have time for this!" He glanced at Jerome impatiently. "How did you even manage to get in here? Why did Butch let you in?!" Before the other could answer Butch walked into the room with Wayne, earning a stare of disbelief from his boss. "Oh, another child-- splendid! How old is this one? Twelve?" 

Wayne's lips pursed. "Fourteen." He answered irked, noticing Oswald's peculiarly skittish behavior. 

Oswald paid no mind to Wayne's answer, instead glaring at Butch. "Why did you allow these two underlings inside?" 

Butch frowned, brow crinkling. "You said you wanted to meet with the ginger when I told you he was the kid from the news, boss." 

Oh. Right. Yes, Oswald had said that-- his memory was a bit jumbled with how stressed he'd been lately considering he'd, well, ya' know, had his mother kidnapped by a maniac. 

"I did," Oswald confirmed, nails sinking into his palms, body tense as he continued attempting to relax in his chair. "Because I had hoped he'd perhaps have some valuable information on Theo for me," Oswald knew Theo had broken Jerome out, just as he had the other Maniax. "Yet he's about as useful as a pen without ink!" His fist slammed down on the table, Wayne visibly flinching as Butch twitched somewhat. "Now get both this clown and that boy out of here this instant!" 

"You wanna' know Theo's weak spots-" Jerome urged as Butch grabbed Wayne by his upper arm, watching the body guard stomp towards him while the younger boy struggled to get out of his grasp. "-and I know them, along with a whole lot more." He continued to insist, Butch grabbing him by the back of his shirt. "Come on, we can make a deal!" 

Oswald's teeth clenched, hand raising, causing Butch to halt. 

A tight and sour smile briefly spread on Oswald's lips as he stood, and if there was ever such a thing as a demeaning smile then Oswald had it down to a tee. "This is a big boy game," He informed, kneeling over with his hands on his knees to look at the frowning Wayne and smirking Jerome. "And to be frank, I don't like dealing with chaotic freaks or pampered orphans," Oswald added with a careless shrug. "I am a man of order, and I know what it's like to have to start from the bottom in order to climb my way to the top-" A pause. "-so I will not having some jokester coming in here and tearing apart everything I've worked for while his little rich friend acts like he knows what it's like to be in the real world." Oswald straightened up, another tight smile pulling into place. "In any case, it was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Wayne, and to be honest I really would be careful about the people you hang out with-" He gave a wink that somehow managed to hold a mix of sarcasm and hatred. "-we wouldn't want you going off and ruining your image, now would we?" 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne let out a yelp as he was tossed into the air, Jerome giving a slight grunt when hitting the grass laced with dew, Butch brushing off his hands before pulling the doors shut. 

"Well that went well." Wayne grumbled sarcastically, sitting up on his knees and brushing himself off, earning a laugh from Jerome. 

"What can I say? We tried." Jerome shrugged off, standing up and patting away strands of grass from his knees before stretching out his arm. 

"What exactly did 'we' try to do in there anyways?" Wayne interrogated with narrowed eyes, taking Jerome's hand as the other helped pull him to his feet. 

"Get on Penguin's side-- was that not obvious?" Jerome teased with a snicker. 

"I know that, but why?" Wayne persisted, suspicious of Jerome's motives. "Are you trying to get me to help you go up against Mr. Galavan or something? Because that is not happening." 

"Taking the side of the man that stabbed me?" Jerome gave a fake gasp, dramatically bringing his hand up to his lips. "That's horrifically cruel." 

"The man that saved my life." Wayne corrected annoyed. "Speaking of Theo, how exactly do you 'know his weak spots?'" Wayne inquired further, referring to what Jerome had told Oswald. 

"I did my research on him before you and I went to go meet Silver the other day is all." Jerome lied, not about to let Wayne know he'd been in cahoots with Theo, or at least not until making a deal to tell the other about such when asked who the person that broke him out was, which Wayne would almost definitely do, and probably soon at that-- this game of 'you do this and I tell you that' was fun, and Jerome wasn't bored yet, so he'd keep the facade up a bit longer. 

"Well I'm not helping you plot against him, so next time you try to do something like this leave me out of it." Wayne huffed, arms crossing as he stared at the smirking Jerome in irritation, blinking whence seeing red on the other's suit's white undershirt. "You're bleeding." 

Jerome's eyebrows arched. "Huh?" He murmured, nearly shuffling away taken aback as Wayne stepped forward and stood on the tips of his toes to peel back his collar and examine his wound. 

"Some of the stitches came undone." Wayne sighed, pulling away and contemplating for a long moment before finally giving another sigh, hand rubbing the back of his neck. "We need to go to my place." He decided begrudgingly. 

Jerome wasn't sure as to whether or not he'd heard that correctly. "Excuse me?" He chuckled, head quirking and curious smile spreading. 

"You need a place to stay where you won't have to risk being mugged, not to mention most of Gotham is filthy and we can't risk you getting a deadly infection or something either-- plus, you probably need a shower, and a warm place to stay considering it'll most likely be snowing in a month." Wayne's gaze averted, reluctantly yet mostly embarrassedly, if not shyly, concluding, "So you should stay with me." 

Jerome considered the offer, smile tugging at his lips as he hummed, "Well, the alleyway is a pretty gloomy place to live," He hesitated, pondering for a quick moment and piping up, "Then again, I doubt your butler would approve considering I threatened to kill him and, ya' know, took you hostage." 

Wayne nodded in confirmation. "That's why we'd have to keep it a secret." He didn't want to do this, he really didn't, but he couldn't afford Jerome dying on the streets. 

Jerome's grin grew widely at that. "Ya' know kid-" He mused, swinging an arm around Wayne's shoulders and walking down the sidewalk. "-you're beginning to seem a lot more fun." 

"Thanks, now let go of me." 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome had almost forgotten what warm water felt like as the clear droplets rained down on his skin, actually letting out a relieved sigh at that. 

Of course the Wayne manor would have hot water even at nighttime. 

Jerome reached for the soap after simply standing under the stream of water for a long stretch of time while relaxing wonderfully, snickering when seeing said soap was one of those fancy flower shaped ones that you could only find in expensive hotels while also being quite useless considering no one ever used them due to not wanting to mess up their design. How prestigious. 

After washing away all the dirt and scrubbing off the dried blood from his neck with what Jerome was willing to bet was a fifteen dollar washcloth that could've been bought for two dollars, he begrudgingly dabbed some soap onto his stitches, wincing slightly yet deciding feeling a small burning sensation would probably be better than getting an infection. 

Jerome eventually turned the shower off after standing under the warm water for a few more minutes, exiting the tub only to see a bag of new clothes set by the door that Wayne had apparently snuck out to get while he was in the shower-- had Jerome been in there that long? Oops, the water bill would possibly be a bit higher that month, although Brucie was still a Wayne, so he doubted it would be all that big of a problem. 

The red haired teen changed into a light emerald tank top and dark purple pajama pants, smirking when seeing a red robe in the bag and putting on that as well; Wayne certainly knew his taste in clothing. 

Jerome exited the restroom, walking down the rather long hall and- shit, wait, what door was Wayne's again? The sixth one on the right? Oh shit, no, that was another bathroom. Crap. The seventh one? Yep, that was it. 

Wayne rubbed his right eye with the side of his hand, giving a yawn and forcing himself to stay awake as he beckoned Jerome over to sit on the edge of the bed, picking up a bandage beside him as Jerome did so. 

"This should help with the loose stitches." Wayne explained fatigued, wrapping the white cloth around Jerome's neck. "You can sleep on the bed, I'll sleep on the floor." 

Jerome's eyebrows raised, intrigued grin taking place. "Is there a reason you're giving me your bed?" 

"You've been sleeping in an alleyway for a few days now." Wayne answered with a shrug, almost dozing off as he gathered up his pillow and a blanket, simply dropping them on the floor. 

"I can go to another room," Jerome offered, almost feeling bad-- almost. "Or at least you could." 

"I don't trust you to be anywhere I'm not," Wayne objected, more or less just letting himself fall off of the bed and onto his blanket in exhaustion. "And I have to be in here when Alfred comes to wake me in the morning, or he'll be suspicious about me switching rooms, so you'll need to make sure you're in a position where he can't see you at seven A.M." 

"And he won't find you on the floor suspicious?" Jerome countered with an amused chuckle. 

"I'll just tell him I fell off." 

Jerome stared at Wayne for a moment, eventually gathering up some of the fancy silk and lace pillows before lining them up down the middle of the mattress. "There, I'll stay on my side and you'll stay on yours, deal?" 

Wayne was quiet for a a long while, Jerome beginning to wonder if he'd fallen asleep before seeing the boy sit up to examine the barrier he'd made. "Honestly? I don't particularly trust you." 

"Aw come on, it's not like I'm going to make a move on a fourteen year old." Jerome scoffed with a laugh. 

Wayne stared at him for a few lengthy seconds. "What? No, I meant I don't trust you to not suffocate me in my sleep or something." 

Shit. Well done Jerome. "Oh." Seriously, why the hell did he have to go and figure that's what Wayne was talking about? "Well I could do that to you even if you were down there." Jerome defended, because this honestly wasn't his fault, and dear DC, why did he say that? It was perfectly rational to reckon that's what one would mean when referring to sharing a mattress, however Jerome still really, really wished he hadn't said that, even if he had meant it considering Wayne was a bit too young for his taste. 

Wayne found Jerome's assumption on what he had meant reasonable, although it was admittedly rather fun to see the other nearly act flustered, even if it was just nearly. 

"Fair enough." Wayne spoke, this time being the one with the smirk and Jerome being the one with a forced smile that practically screamed regret; oh how the tables had turned, because this was awkward as hell for Jerome while it was more amusing than most things had been lately for Wayne. 

Wayne stood, climbing into his side of the bed and shimmying under the sheets, turning the lights off and Jerome basically just staring at the ceiling in complete denial those words had truly left his lips, when suddenly Wayne quipped, "So does that mean you're gay then?" 

Oh gosh, this wasn't happening right now. "Why would it mean that?" Jerome mumbled, not finding this very funny. 

Wayne cracked a snide grin. "I mean, why else would I even have to worry about you making a move on me if I'm not a girl?" 

"You're not a girl?" Jerome gasped in fake shock, attempting to change the subject, and surprisingly enough he actually heard Wayne give a laugh, a pleased smirk returning to Jerome's lips at that. 

Wayne wasn't offended by the jest, because he got that this was a touchy subject which he was (attempting) to discuss with Jerome, not to mention Wayne was being a bit teasing himself at the moment, even if it wasn't with ill intent, so he knew it would be unfair to joke around with the other only to get upset when the other joked back. So, Wayne didn't mind giving a laugh to ease the tension. 

Or maybe Wayne was just too tired to be offended at the moment and was simply not acting like himself due to an awkward subject. 

In any case, Wayne decided to leave it at that rather than risking cornering a, well, murderer, and he had almost drifted off after a few minutes of nothing but quietness when he heard, "I guess it's the least I could tell ya' considering you bought me those clothes and are letting me stay here, right?" 

Half of Jerome hoped Wayne was asleep, yet the smaller boy perked up over the line of pillows in between them, Jerome seeing him lay his cheek on one of said pillows. 

"This could just be a favor," Wayne assured, and yeah, maybe has Jerome grown on him a little, or maybe this was just another result of being sleepy. "You don't have to give me anything back." 

Jerome had to admit, Wayne was a sweet kid, even if he was a stick in the mud sometimes, and he would've felt bad for almost killing him due to Theo's orders- which that asshole had gone against at the last minute- if Jerome could feel bad for anything, because frankly he couldn't, or at least he didn't know how to for the time being. 

"I'm-" Jerome stared at Wayne, realizing he honestly wasn't sure on how to answer the question, because it was quite complicated. "I dunno'." Jerome admitted, gaze turning back to the ceiling. "I mean, I haven't really been attracted to anyone for a while now." He was still smiling of course, yet it was a bit more forced than usual. "My last crush was on a guy in the circus when I was eight, and I never really liked a female, so..." He trailed off. 

Eight? That was a long time ago, and it couldn't of been anything more than a puppy crush Wayne assumed. 

"I'm bi." Wayne offered whence realizing Jerome probably felt pretty uncertain about talking about something so, well, serious-- he got the feeling Jerome hated being serious. 

Jerome's brow quirked, eyes looking back over at Wayne. "You're fourteen." 

"So? You said you had a crush when you were eight." 

"Touché." Jerome chuckled, sitting up slightly so he could lock his hands behind his neck before laying back down, relieved he had the luxury to finally stretch out on a bed once more. "So your butler comes in here at seven?" 

Wayne accepted the change in subjects and went back to his side of the bed, curling up in a ball while yawning. "Yep." He had school in four hours-- joy. "Night, please don't kill me." 

Jerome snickered at that. "Night." 

They were both most likely just a bit exhausted, so they'd be back to themselves in the morning, and that was that. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Is there a reason you built a fort of pillows, Master Wayne?" Alfred inquired, holding a tray of food out for the raven haired boy laying down. 

Wayne gave a groggy grumble of objection to being woken up at first, before his eyes suddenly snapped open, the boy bolting into an upright position and glancing beside him, relieved to see no sight of Jerome, although at the same time wondering just where exactly the ginger was hiding. 

"I-" Wayne sucked at lying, but hey, when you gotta' then you gotta'. "I have nightmares and this helps." That was such bullshit, literally anything else would've made better sense and sounded more realistic. 

Alfred's brow arched. "Nightmares?" He questioned more concerned than suspicious. 

Wayne was relieved he didn't catch onto his fib. "Yeah, nightmares." He had to avert his gaze to keep from slipping up. "I'd uh, I'd rather not talk about it." 

Alfred eyed Wayne worriedly, yet gave an understanding nod and set the tray of food on the bedside table. "Right, well I'll go on and get the limousine revved up and whatnot-- you just come on out when you're ready." 

Wayne gave a nod of thanks, waiting for Alfred to leave before scanning his room, broodingly leaning over the bed and peeking underneath it, eyes landing on Jerome. 

"You get driven to school in a limo?" Jerome scoffed with a smirk, moving out from underneath the mattress and brushing his knees off. 

"Yes." Wayne admitted in a defensive mumbled, taking a bite of his bacon before holding the plate out towards Jerome-- Alfred always did make too much for Wayne, which would work out nicely with an additional mouth needing to be secretly fed. 

Jerome took an orange slice, sitting cross legged on the bed with Wayne. "You got any siblings?" 

Wayne shook his head, standing up and walking over towards the door. "No, it's just me and Alfred." He answered, locking said door-- Wayne would rather his guardian not stumble in on them when the guy that had nearly killed Wayne was there, knowing that would be a difficult thing to explain. "What about you? Do you have any other family?" 

Jerome smirked somewhat bitterly. "Nah, just had my mom and pops." 

Wayne sat back down on the mattress, picking a grape off of its vine. "Why'd you kill them?" Was that rude to bring up? "If I may ask." Wayne politely added in a mutter. 

Jerome gave a nonchalant shrug. "You know how mother's are-- they nag too much." He explained vaguely, picking up a link of sausage and deciding he could get used to this sort of lifestyle, even if he did have to stay hidden. "And let's just say my father and I didn't exactly have the best father-son relationship." 

That was it? No way, there had to be more; people didn't just... snap out of nowhere, did they? "You're not telling me all of it, are you?" 

Jerome's lips spread into a smile. "Nope." He admitted with a chuckle, watching as Wayne got up to gather his school clothes. "How about I tell you why I killed dear ol' daddyo if you ditch school and we go somewhere?" 

Wayne wouldn't at all mind skipping school, although that would mean not being able to see Silver as well as going back on his promise with Alfred... Then again, it also met not having to deal with snobby bullies and boring classwork. 

Nonetheless, Wayne pointed out, "Just your dad? What about your mom?" 

Jerome gave a hum, pondering on what a proper exchange would be. "We go check out those fires that have been happening lately." Vaguely dangerous, yet not too risky-- just right for beginning adventures... they'd get to the fun stuff later, and Jerome was patient. 

Wayne's eyes narrowed, knowing Jerome had to be talking about the fires set to his buildings. "How do you know about those fires?" 

"I may or may not of used your laptop last night to see what all I've been missing out on." Wayne glared daggers at Jerome. "What? It's not like I got any viruses on it." 

Wayne continued glowering at Jerome, eventually letting out a defeated breath. "Deal. I'll meet you outside the school gates." 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne had just finished talking with Silver, apologizing about having to leave early, yet at least having the chance to talk with his new friend a bit, waiting by a tree after she went off to get to class early, as usual. 

Now, Wayne was just minding his business, being as innocent as a golden retriever, when he heard an all too familiar voice shout, "Wayne!", causing his stomach to sink. 

Wayne glanced towards the group of teenage boys walking towards him, swallowing dryly and clenching his backpack strap tightly, eyes wide. 

Not good. 

"Hey buddy, what are you doing our here?" The 'leader' of the boys asked with a menacing tone, said leader being the boy Wayne had gone and punched with a damn watch a while back because Alfred had convinced him it was a swell idea, and while at the time it was, this boy had grown. 

Wayne casted his gaze downwards, trying to look as defenseless as possible, hoping that would maybe inflict at least a bit of sympathy. "Waiting for a friend." They were way too far away from the school building-- no one would see him getting beat up if these assholes decided to attack him. 

"Oh yeah? Who?" The older boy laughed, not believing Wayne in the least. "I mean, unless you're talking about Silver, you two are friends, right?" He stepped forward, Wayne shuffling back. "Or I guess I should say pity friends considering she just feels bad for the orphan boy, yeah?" 

Wayne clenched his jaw, teeth gritting. "No, not Silver." He didn't want her to get caught up in this. 

"Aw, are you blushing?" The bully chuckled, close enough to where he was invading Wayne's personal bubble. "Look at ya', getting a crush on the new girl!" 

Wayne wondered if these guys honestly enjoyed taking the time out of their day to pick on him with mediocre comments that were made up for with unfairly painful punches as the taller male swung an arm around his shoulders in a rather unfriendly fashion, causing Wayne to sink into himself. 

"Please leave me alone." Wayne practically begged, knowing threatening to report him wouldn't do a thing since his rich parents would probably just pay the school to forget about this little incident. 

"What was that?" The fifteen year old questioned in a sharp tone, grasp tightening and Wayne's eyes closing uneasily. "Come on, I told you I don't like mumbling." The teen snickered, getting Wayne into an uncomfortable lock hold and giving him a painful noogie, Wayne unsuccessfully attempting to struggle out of his grasp. 

Wayne gave a particularly hard yank, that being when the stronger boy just so happened to release his grasp, causing Wayne to fall back on his ass. 

"Look-" Wayne started cautiously, really not wanting to get beat up today. 

"No, you look-" The bully began, starting to step forward threateningly yet halting as he looked behind Wayne, blinking a few times. 

Wayne furrowed his brow, wondering what the other was looking at when suddenly he saw a familiar red haired seventeen year old step in front of him. 

"Are these friends of yours?" Jerome mused, keeping his body in between the group of boys and Wayne, and strangely enough his overly relaxed and bored stance almost looked... would the word be animalistic? No, Wayne's eyes were just playing tricks on him the way they usually did whenever he got, well, noogied. 

The bully eyed Jerome somewhat warily, knowing this guy looked familiar, yet not being able to quite place where he'd seen him from. "Yeah, Wayne's our best pal." He lied, forcing on a grin to meet Jerome's amused smirk challengingly. "We're just horsing around." 

Jerome's head cocked, the right corner of his lips tugging upwards. "I wasn't asking you." 

Wayne had seen Jerome act charismatically captivating around Silver, and he'd seen him act like a complete jokester most of the time they hung out, but this? This was a new attitude-- Jerome was suddenly managing to begin to seem rather terrifying, which was strange considering there was only two of them and seven bullies. 

The main bully swallowed thickly, not sure he liked the way Jerome's smile didn't look proper at all; smiles were supposed to be happy and warm, but his smile? It was wicked-- it was amused and bitter, and everything a smile shouldn't be. 

"I'm fine," Wayne murmured, standing up and walking beside Jerome, keeping his eyes on the ground. "They're just some guys I know is all." He may of hated these peers, but that didn't mean he wanted Jerome to go off and scar them for life... mentally or physically. 

Jerome glanced at Wayne, noting the kiddo still sucked at lying; well that just wouldn't do-- they wouldn't be able to have any fun if Wayne went and got himself beat to a pulp. Plus, as far as Jerome was concerned, he was the only one who could pick on Wayne, and when it came to teasing these jerks were overdoing it. 

"Is this your boyfriend or something?" The main jackass scoffed, his friends nervously laughing as Wayne visibly sunk into himself at the words, instinctively shuffling behind Jerome somewhat. 

Jerome gave a brief, quiet, chuckle, Wayne hoping the poor soul of the main student would rest in peace as the criminal's neck cracked from side to side, a much too friendly smile taking place on Jerome's lips. "Let's talk." He beckoned, walking forward in an eerily calm fashion. 

The troublesome student blinked, shifting backwards towards his friends. "What?" He questioned, tensing up as Jerome swung an arm around his shoulders, his buddies exchanging anxious glances and not knowing what to do as Jerome walked himself and the poor fifteen year old boy over towards the school gate. 

"Listen-" Jerome began, gripping the bully by his shirt and abruptly heaving him up against the gate, effortlessly holding the teen above the ground as though this was perfectly normal. "-I'd rather keep a low profile, and I'm sure you'd rather keep, well, ya' know-- your life, so how about we just cut to the part where you agree to screw off, yeah?" Jerome threatened, smiling charmingly the whole time. "Any objections? No? Good." He mused, not even giving the male a chance to answer, releasing his shirt and letting him fall on his feet, Wayne watching unsurely as the bully stared up at Jerome quite frankly scared shitless, leaning against the wall for support with how shaken up he was. "If I see you doing shit like this again-" Jerome warned, knuckles slamming into he wall, fist mere centimeters away from the other's ear. "-you'll be six feet under ground in less than a second." His smile hadn't faltered in the least. "Now then, anyone else want to have a chat?" He chimed, fixing the other's ruffled clothing by patting it down and smoothing its wrinkles out nicely before spinning around to face the group of boys, earning hurriedly shaken heads. "Perfect. Ready to get going, Wayne?" 

"Uh-" Wayne had almost forgotten it was the bullies that needed to be scared of Jerome rather than him. "Yeah." He mumbled, giving a nod and gulping somewhat. 

Jerome swung an arm around Wayne's shoulders, and this time Wayne didn't really mind the gesture, actually even perhaps enjoying the way he now had something standing in between him and the bullies as the pair walked off. 

"Thanks." Wayne mumbled after they finally turned the corner, Jerome's arm releasing from around Wayne and falling to his side. 

"No problem," Jerome shrugged off with a cheeky grin, hands shoving into his pockets. "Those kids were way too serious-- just wanted to get them to loosen up a little is all." He let out an amused snicker. "Not to mention the look on their faces was a plus." 

Wayne couldn't tell if Jerome meant that or if he was just using it up as a cover up, however then Wayne remembered the other could probably care less for anyone's well being. Either way, Wayne was grateful. 

Wayne cleared his throat, growing awkward as silence lingered. "Ready to go check out the fires that flame girl has been starting?" At least this would benefit him as well if anything-- after all, it was his buildings that were being burnt to a crisp. 

Jerome nodded, gesturing for Wayne to follow, noting the way the boy seemed a lot less tense and cautious than usual. 

Maybe they were finally going to get along... 

"So, does this make us buddies now?" Jerome quipped with a chuckle. 

"Hardly." Wayne almost instantly answered in a sharp tone stubbornly. 

Ouch-- cold much? Okay, so they were at least not going at each other's throats by bickering as much, and they'd almost had a moment... that was at least a start. 

~*~*~*~ 

Oswald was giddy as he examined the knife with a 'W' encrusted in its handle, an absolutely diabolical plan forming in his mind which only got more and more devious each moment his dear ol' mother was gone. 

Butch stared at the anxiety-driven Oswald, unsure as to whether or not he'd heard that correctly. "You want the Wayne orphan and that ginger kid to come back and work for you?" 

"Yes, Butch," Oswald confirmed, and this was nothing personal-- it was just good business. "Now. go. find. them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you guys know that wonderful artist, Blaky (Blay-kee), that made an amazing picture of Jerome hugging Wayne for a drabble I wrote? If not, feel free to refer to the end of chapter three to see that lovely picture. 
> 
> In any case, she made another piece of rad art pertaining to the scene where Jerome teasingly tells Wayne he wants a dress while Wayne can't tell if he's joking or not in chapter four, and if you have the time I'd say you should totally check it out, because her art style is super pleasant and her artwork itself is incredibly well done. 
> 
> Check out the fan art here-
> 
> http://quellines-stories.tumblr.com/post/131954158926/blaakycat-quellines-stories-give-me-life-i 
> 
> -and follow blaakycat's tumblr!


	6. Two Fish and a Penguin

School was out, and Wayne as well as Silver were leaving the school grounds when the raven haired boy's eyes landed on a familiar group of bullies, Wayne eying them cautiously as they looked his way his way warily, Silver frowning as the 'leader' of the group murmured something to his friends before starting to make his way towards them. 

Silver gently gripped Wayne's sleeve assuringly, holding her chin up bravely as Wayne clenched his backpack strap uneasily, watching as the bully came to a sudden halt, his eyes widening as he glanced behind the pair. 

"Hey," Jerome spoke, nudging Wayne with his elbow and giving a nod of greeting towards Silver. "Everything okay here?" 

"Uh-" Wayne looked towards the other peer, a relieved smirk quirking at his lips as he spun on his heel and walked back towards his friends. "-yeah." 

Silver observed Jerome curiously, head tilting as the trio left campus. "They seem a bit frightened of you." She pointed out bluntly, yet more intrigued than anything; Jerry was so sweet and charming-- why would anyone be scared of him? 

"They do?" Jerome questioned innocently taken aback, Wayne wanting to scoff at the convincing naïve expression-- Jerome was a good actor, he'd give him that. "That's strange, I wonder why." He mused, almost sounding concerned about this 'new information.' 

Silver shrugged, adjusting her hold on her books. "Perhaps I'm mistaken." She shrugged off, giving a soft smile. "In any case, I'm glad they may finally leave Wayne alone-- he needs a good bodyguard." She teased lightly. 

Wayne gave a forced laugh, looking at Jerome and reluctantly keeping his smile on, because he knew that smirk-- that was the smirk that Jerome got before saying something annoyingly sarcastic, and for the love of all that was good Wayne was mentally attempting to communicate to Jerome to not do it- 

"Oh yes, I would say little ol' Wayne needs a bodyguard-" Jerome teased, flashing a charismatic smile as he patted Wayne on the back. "-poor innocent thing can hardly defend himself, it's almost just too precious." 

Wayne gave a tight smile-- Oh. My. Ra. He was going to kick Jerome's ass, or at least he wanted to at the moment. 

Silver nodded sympathetically, placing a hand on Wayne's shoulder. "We'll both look out for you." She swore, not catching Jerome's jest. 

Wayne glared daggers at the amused Jerome, who was trying to not snicker, giving a sharp laugh and keeping his rather pissed off smile on. "Right," He gave the friendliest tone he could, which proved to not be very friendly. "Thanks." 

Jerome decided he should probably change the subject before Wayne decided to kick him out of his house- er, mansion- considering he'd rather not end up living in an alleyway again. 

"So, where are we going today?" Jerome asked, Wayne continuing to glower him. 

"I chose last time, where would you two like to go?" Silver replied kindly. 

Wayne gave a shrug of the shoulders, realizing he probably should've recommended something when seeing Jerome's grin tug into place. 

"How about we go check out the boat harbor?" Jerome offered musingly, Wayne staring at him in disbelief. 

"The boat harbor?" Wayne questioned with an irked smile, knowing Gotham's boat harbor was really just the place criminals went to participate in rather suspicious activities. 

"I'd be fine with that!" Poor, sweet, innocent Silver chimed naïvely. "What about you, Wayne?" 

Dangit. "Yeah, sure." Wayne laughed anxiously, vaguely wondering how much his stress levels had risen since deciding to hang out with Jerome. 

Jerome hid his pleased expression the best he could-- if Penguin wouldn't take him in then they'd just have to look for another criminal to do so, and where better to find such a criminal than the place bodies were disposed of and questionable deals were made? 

When the trio arrived at the boat harbor Wayne was more than on his guard, Silver was curious, and Jerome was patiently waiting for some sort of opportunity to show up. 

"It's a bit dreary, but in a lovely sort of way I suppose." Silver noted, she being the first to set foot into the shady place, Jerome following nonchalantly as Wayne gulped and reluctantly shuffled after the other two. 

"Jerome." Wayne mumbled in a quiet wary tone, tugging at the taller one's sleeve and moving closer towards him, not at all liking the looks of this place, and particularly growing weary when seeing a faded red stain on black asphalt. 

"Oh wow, the water looks beautiful! Well, beautiful in an eery sort of way." Silver piped up, going on up ahead towards the water. 

Jerome looked down at the frightened Wayne, not that the kiddo would ever admit to being scared, of course. "Relax," Jerome chuckled amused, nudging him slightly. "I'm your bodyguard, remember?" He joked in a friendly tone, attempting to calm the other considering he doubted they'd be able to have much fun with a terrified fourteen year old who was sticking to him like glue. 

"I'm not sure I exactly want the guy who took me hostage as a bodyguard." Wayne admitted sourly, nonetheless shifting closer towards Jerome when hearing a bird abruptly flutter off. 

"You're never gonna' let that go, are ya'?" 

"I don't know Jerome, are you gonna' let go of the fact that Theo stabbed you?!" Wayne hissed sarcastically, keeping his eyes on Silver, who was a few yards in front of them, to make sure she didn't wander out of eyesight. 

Jerome nearly cracked up at Wayne's sarcasm, having to cover his mouth to make sure he didn't let out too loud of a laugh, clearing his throat as Silver looked back at them and giving a magnetic wink, causing Silver to blush and giggle before returning her gaze forward. 

"Fair enough." Jerome accepted with a hum, halting as a loud clatter of what sounded like metal poles falling onto pavement rang out, feeling Wayne shuffle behind him uneasily, watching as Silver froze in her tracks before backing towards them uncertainly. 

"What was that?" Silver whispered, also hiding behind Jerome. 

Jerome gave an eye roll-- great, apparently he was the human shield of the trio... he sure got the short end of the stick. 

"Probably just a raccoon or something knocking some shit over." Jerome waved off, not sure as to whether he was attempting to calm the smaller two or himself more. 

"I don't like this, Wayne." Silver spoke softly, Wayne blinking as she wrapped both of her arms around his left arm. "Let's go somewhere else." 

Jerome was going to find someone to help him bring Theo and his men down, even if it meant having to find them here. "We're fine," Jerome assured, walking forward and earning a noise of objection from Wayne. "Let's just hang around here a little-- it's not like we have anything better to do." He was going to find out what that noise was. "Unless-" He paused, looking over his shoulder with a smirk. "-you guys are too scared." 

"Yeah-" Wayne started, just wanting to get out of there. 

"No!" Silver huffed at the same time, causing Wayne to stare at her in disbelief. "We're not scared at all!" She huffed stubbornly, grabbing Wayne's hand and looking at him determined. "Right?" 

Wayne glanced down at their hands, feeling his cheeks heat up before looking back at Silver. "Um-" 

"Yeah, you're not scared, right Wayne?" Jerome teased with a smirk, earning an annoyed glance from the younger boy. 

Wayne chewed on his bottom lip, observing Silver's strong willed expression before letting out a sigh. "Of course I'm not." 

Silver practically beamed, the corners of Jerome's lips twitching upwards as Wayne glowered at him while Silver tugged the begrudging younger boy towards Jerome as she suggested, "We should get a better view of the water." 

'You're welcome' were the words Jerome amusedly mouthed at the pissed off Wayne as the pair walked by him, referring to how he'd at least more or less gotten the pair to hold hands. 

Wayne, on the other hand, mouthed back something a bit more upset while subtly giving Jerome a rather rude gesture, earning a chuckle from the taller male. 

Jerome decided to let the two 'love birds' go on ahead, wanting to stay behind and investigate what that noise had been, doubting they'd notice. 

Silver and Wayne made their way onto the boardwalk, the girl releasing his hand so she could kneel down in order to examine the water and beginning to take off her shoes to dip her feet into said water, when suddenly a deep voice boomed, "Hey!" 

Shit. 

Silver stood up quickly, spinning around to face the keeper of the voice yet letting out a yelp of pain as a splinter pierced her heel, falling backwards into the water. 

Wayne's eyes widened. "Silver!"

"There's some kids over here!" The rugged man warned, Wayne glancing at Silver as she coughed up water before looking around for Jerome, gut dropping whence seeing no sight of the other male, attention returning towards the intimidating man who was waving some other rather menacing men over. 

"Wayne, run!" Silver abruptly urged, earning a reluctant look. "I'll be fine, just go!" She insisted hurriedly, quickly diving into the water and disappearing before anymore could be said at all, Wayne hoping she could hold her breath long enough to swim to safety. 

Wayne sprinted down the dock, hearing the man that had spotted him yell, "Wait right there, runt!" Wayne continued running nonetheless, making his way towards a large metal container. "I said stop!" He snarled, firing a warning off right at Wayne's feet, causing the boy to only go faster, managing to dive behind the container right as they fired at him once more, this time aiming to kill, yet missing. 

Wayne stood, hands and chin scratched up, although otherwise fine, the poor boy suddenly beginning to feel very, very alone when hearing a voice yell, "Kill the kids, no survivors!" 

Wayne scanned his surroundings desperately, looking for an escape route or at least a good place to hide, eyes landing on a shack a few yards away, causing him to swallow down his fear the best he could with a gulp before racing forward, only getting about half way there as he decided to jog behind a pile of scrap metal whence seeing one of the men begin come into view after looking over his shoulder. 

The fourteen year old boy watched the man search the spot he'd just been hiding, looking around when finding no sight of him, Wayne jerking out of eye range as the other's eyes landed on his hiding place. 

Wayne's eyes squeezed shut, his pulse racing and heart pounding against his chest, nails digging painfully into his palms as he tried to even out his anxious breathing, doing the best he could to calm down before carefully looking around the pile of scrap metal again, glad to see the man was still searching his hiding spot. 

The boy being hunted gathered up the little courage he had once again before quietly making his way over towards an abandoned car across from where he was crouched in order to stay out of view whence making his way over towards the shed, Wayne giving a nervous breath of unbelievably relieved laughter as the man didn't look his way, leaning against the car and forcing his stomach along with trembling to calm down the best he could, feeling sick yet forcing himself to run towards the shed, at least now able to do so out of sight- 

A man walked into view from the right, causing Wayne to skid to a halt like a deer in headlights, watching as the male, who thankfully didn't see him (yet) approached the shed's window, breaking it open with his firearm and peeking inside, Wayne gradually shuffling towards a stationed boat, only a few mere feet away- 

A crack was heard, Wayne's breath catching in his throat, his shoe's heel sunken down into a broken glass bottle and the criminal pulling away from the window to turn his attention towards Wayne, weapon raising right as the orphan sprinted behind the boat, a bang ringing through the air while Wayne felt something just barely scrape his calf, causing him to let out a noise of pain as he continued running despite the injury. 

Wayne passed a heap of old ship parts, stacked crab traps, and piles of barrels until finally finding another hiding place, shimmying his way underneath a metal container through a small hole in the ground underneath it. 

This was all happening way too fast, and it was horrifying. 

The sound of heavy boots stomped down the pavement, Wayne ignoring the burning sting in his leg the best he could as he saw a pair of shoes run in front of him, watching as they came to a sudden stop and shifting back somewhat, further into the hole, seeing the boots walk around broodingly, everything seeming to go silent as those very boots turned towards him and began to walk forward. 

There were a few droplets of blood on the pavement leading right to Wayne's hiding spot. Shit. 

Wayne felt hopeless-- he felt scared. This guy was going to kill him if he didn't do something right now... oh, who was Wayne kidding? What could he even do? This was it for him. 

The shoes stopped in front of Wayne, the man getting ready to kneel down, causing Wayne to bury his face against his arms and waiting to be yanked out and done away with, brow furrowing as he heard a choked out sound and a thump, letting out a noise as he felt a pair of hands tug him out of his hiding place by his shirt, opening said eyes right as he punched his captor square in the jaw- 

"Ouch! Shit Wayne, a 'you're welcome' would've been nice." Jerome huffed, letting the boy go and rubbing his bruising cheek with a semi-pout, stuffing the shard of stained red glass, which he'd found on the ground, into his belt. 

Wayne stared up at Jerome taken aback, glancing down at the man who had hurt his leg on the ground and realizing his throat had been cut, causing him to glance back at Jerome with a frown. 

Jerome sighed-- aaand here it came. Wayne was going to be upset he'd gone and killed someone, or ask where Silver was and not give a shit Jerome had just saved his life, or act like he had it all under control because he had probably read a damn book on this shit since Wayne apparently had read a book on everything- 

Wayne's eyes began to gloss over, visibly trembling as he leaned against the container, looking like he was on the verge of tears and about to be sick. "Th-thanks." Wayne choked out hoarsely, frankly feeling unbelievably terrified. "Thank you." He repeated, sounding more sincere, his own arms wrapping around himself shakily. "Sorry- I'm sorry-" He mumbled, not meaning to hit the guy that had pretty much just saved his life. 

Jerome stared at Wayne ever so slightly surprised, knowing the poor boy had to be in shock and not at all knowing how to properly deal with such. "Yeah, uh, sure-- you're welcome." His smile was somewhat awkward at the moment, meant to look assuring yet really just being more uncertain than anything. "It's alright, okay? It's fine," He added, hoping Wayne wouldn't freak out and punch him again or something as he reached out to grasp his shoulders, earning a wince of fear yet nothing more. "I mean, it's just a bruise, yeah? It's not like you stabbed me in the neck or anything." Wayne gave a soft laugh at that, still trembling, yet his muscles relaxed somewhat, eyes watery-- at least he was seemingly calming down. "We need to get out of here, alright?" Wayne hesitated until eventually nodding, taking in a deep breath and gathering himself the best he could. "Come on." If it came down to it, Jerome would of course just look out for himself when it came to, well, surviving, although it was more entertaining to take a few risks here and there, so he didn't mind helping Wayne out. Besides, Jerome would rather not lose the one thing letting him have a place rather than having to stay in an alleyway. 

... maybe Wayne was possibly growing on Jerome a little, too. 

Wayne blinked, feeling Jerome grab his hand and nodding, following the other. They certainly weren't holding hands romantically or anything like that, and definitely not the way Silver and he had been holding hands-- it was platonic, being used as a way to make sure Wayne could keep up, and nothing more. 

Yet they only got a few feet forward when Wayne suddenly stopped. "What about Silver?" 

Jerome wanted to save Silver about as much as he would want to save Theo, causing no him to joke, "Yeah, sure, let's go steal some silver." Honestly, Silver seemed like a real sweetheart, and her middle name was frick'n Saint, so he was pretty sure she'd be all g if she ended up moving onto a better place, but Jerome? Well, he wasn't exactly a saint, so he couldn't help but reckon he'd probably go to a not so good place at the time all things considered. 

"Ha ha, not what I meant." Wayne huffed sarcastically, still shaken up, although coming to his senses. "We're not leaving her." 

Dangit. "Well do you know where little miss Ariel swam off to?" Jerome scoffed, smirking somewhat irritatedly-- he'd seen Wayne run away from the men after them, and Silver swim away, although he had gone to hide before he got to see where the girl had gone to. 

"No, but we have to find her." Wayne persisted, attempting to walk away and narrowing his eyes as Jerome's grip tightened. 

"What do you suggest we do? Wander around until we find her or one of those men find us?" Jerome snickered with a scoff, pulling Wayne towards an escape route.

"We can't just leave her." Wayne persisted, more or less allowing his body to fall back and forcing Jerome to stop, relieved the other halted rather than simply letting his hand go and allowing him to fall. 

"You wanna' go look for her? Fine, go, but I'm leaving." Jerome challenged with a irked smirk, having half a mind to release Wayne's hand and allow him to fall on his ass for being such a little shit. 

"Then let go." Wayne challenged right back, straightening up and glaring at the other. 

Jerome stared at Wayne for a few long seconds, eventually letting out a sigh. "Fine, but if I see someone I'm killing them, got it?" He wasn't about to just wander around an area where they were being hunted and refuse to kill people simply because Wayne had some sort of high horse. 

The corners of Wayne's lips tugged downwards, yet he nodded nonetheless. "Okay." It was either agree with Jerome and save Silver or refuse and risk an innocent girl getting killed. 

Jerome was saving a Galavan-- Wayne owed him, big time. 

The pair snuck off, Wayne staying behind Jerome as the other tugged him along, their searching amongst the harbor bank actually going rather well... until Jerome abruptly came to a stop, Wayne shuffling behind him unsurely at that. 

Jerome peered out from the side of the abandoned boat they were hiding behind, eyes landing on one of the criminal's looking for them. Great. 

"If we get killed I'm haunting you." Jerome half joked, deciding to just wait for the other to leave, cussing under his breath as the rugged man began to walk their way, hand going downwards for the shard of glass in his belt, eyes narrowing whence realizing this guy looked kinda' familiar- oh. Oh, that was one of Theo's men. 

This was Galavan business going on-- what a splendid coincidence, and by splendid Jerome meant flipping awful, because Theo could not find out he was alive until Jerome wanted him to, and Jerome wanted it to be a damn big surprise that he got to deliver. 

The man turned the corner, freezing whence seeing a raven haired boy vaguely hiding behind the red haired teenager that was holding out a shard of glass, the adult deciding to not raise his firearm considering he'd rather not risk getting lunged at and stabbed with such small distance between him and the other two. 

"Well this is awkward." Jerome mused, not being able to help the grin that tugged at his lips as a look of recognition spread on the male's face. 

However, the male wasn't just recognizing who Jerome was-- he was also recognizing who Wayne was. Mr. Theo wanted to kill this kid himself, although Jerome? He could kill Jerome as far as he was concerned with how this damn teen was supposed to already be dead in any case, so he gradually backed up, acting as though he was going to let them go, although Jerome wasn't ditsy, so he simply made a quick move forward, having to drop the glass in order to grab the other's weapon, the two wrestling over it as the man in his forties attempted to turn off the safety lock, Jerome eventually managing to pry the firearm out of his hands and throwing it to the side. 

That was the easy part, but now? Well, now they were both weaponless. 

Jerome gave a slightly nervous laugh, it sounding ever so breathless due to the cold as he gave a shrug, taking a readying stance. "Truce?" The taller and more muscular man ran at him. "Yeah, figured as much." He gave a grunt, feeling the other tackle him. 

The pair struggled for a good long while, and by struggled I mean Jerome attempted to not have his windpipes crushed as the other basically began to beat the crap out of him-- Jerome may of had ambitions, and knew how to manipulate more or less any given this situation, although this guy was bigger than him, and many tricks Jerome had had up his sleeves had been stripped away thanks to the autopsy that took all his toys, such as knives and whatnot. 

The buff man held Jerome down, hands wrapping around his throat, Jerome managing to sarcastically bite out, "You're clearly having a bit of an anger issue with me right now, care to talk about it?" If these were going to be his last words they were going to be funny, dangit. 

The man's thumbs pressed down into Jerome's windpipe, the seventeen year old's vision blurring- 

"Get off of me!" The suddenly man grunted, abruptly releasing Jerome's throat and reaching behind him, attempting to get a tiny boy off of his back. 

Jerome coughed, taking in a few gulps of air and looking up at the rigid man as Wayne kept his arms around his neck, managing to get the man to stumble away from Jerome before getting yanked off and tossed to the side like a rag doll. 

Wayne hit the ground, hurriedly forcing himself to get up and letting out a pained noise as the adult pressed his boot against his jaw menacingly, forcing him back onto the ground while growling at him to, "Stay down!" 

Wayne let out a whimper, curling up into himself defenselessly, yet instantly scrambling back as Jerome tackled the towering man before he, too, got shoved to the side. 

Jerome scurried back up nonetheless, grabbing Wayne and helping him get to his feet as the other stomped towards them, the pair only getting a few feet forward before Jerome got picked up by his shirt by the buff man, causing Wayne to kick their attacker where it counts, earning a string of cuss words as the furious criminal grabbed at him right when a bang suddenly rang out. 

Wayne blinked, watching as the bigger male froze up and made a confused, pained expression, before simply falling down and going still. 

A rather beat up Jerome and Wayne exchanged glances, brow furrowing as they stared towards the dead man before looking around for whoever had saved them, eyes landing on a group of men coming their way. 

Jerome's head tilted, examining the men curiously and taking note they weren't pointing any weapons towards them, guessing that had to mean they weren't Theo's minions, however they definitely looked menacing enough, so he grabbed Wayne's wrist just in case-- better to be safe than sorry. 

"Come on." Jerome beckoned, turning around and pulling Wayne with him, yet halting as more men blocked off the route he'd intended to take, jumping somewhat as multiple bangs along with shouts rang out, getting the feeling Theo's men and whoever these guys were had to be going at it. "Shit." Jerome mumbled under his breath, he and Wayne both backing up uncertainly. 

"Jerome..." Wayne murmured, shuffling behind the other and gulping, feeling his back bump against a metal container. 

Jerome had no clue as to whether or not these guys were friendlies, his eyes darting around anxiously, nervous smile spread on his lips. "You assholes mind screwing off?" He chuckled uneasily, stepping more so in front of Wayne-- hell, if he was going to go out then he may as well go out a hero, right? That would be fun. 

One of the men's eyes narrowed, an unamused smile pulling on his lips bitterly, giving a quiet and empty chuckle before gesturing his men forward. 

Two men walked towards the boys, one grabbing Jerome and the other Wayne. 

"Stop!" Wayne shouted, struggling to get out of their grasp, easily being retained. "Let go of me!" He screamed, he and Jerome being pulled opposite ways. "Help!" Wayne called out, kicking and twisting around as he got lifted into the air. "Jerome, help!" He pleaded, a black bag being pulled over his face, eyesight being blocked. "Jerome!" 

Shit. Shit shit shit. This wasn't good. Jerome elbowed the man attempting to pull him wherever the hell they were going, managing to get out of his grasp by stomping on his foot, sprinting towards the man dragging Wayne away and more or less leaping onto his back, causing the suited individual to release the smaller boy, Wayne falling on the ground and Jerome attempting to get him up before being jerked away by two other men. 

"Screw off!" Jerome laughed in a pissed off tone, continuing to struggle as Wayne got picked back up and carried away again, the seventeen year old tensing when feeling a suddenly cloth press against his nose, vision blacking in and out, Wayne's shouts fading... 

Crap-- that hadn't gone well at all; Jerome and Wayne both really needed to learn some self defense. 

When Jerome woke up he found himself laying down on a strangely luxurious bed, the groggy male gradually recalling what had happened and stumbling out of said bed, falling against a wall and swallowing, letting out a dizzy laugh as he continued to recover from the chloroform before forcing himself to walk out of the room to hurry up and figure out what the hell was going on. 

Jerome tripped his way down a long hall, vision blurring as he continued leaning against the wall for support, managing to make it into a... dining room? His eyes landed on Wayne who was sitting timidly at a long dinner table along with none other than Oswald Cobblepot. 

"Oh, you're awake!" Oswald chimed, giving a smile as Jerome warily made his way over towards a chair in front of Wayne, a sway in his steps. "As I've explained to Wayne, I deeply apologize for the misunderstanding between you and my men-- they were supposed to escort you here with manners, not, well, kidnap you." 

Jerome swallowed, throat dry, looking back towards Wayne, cracking a grin and chuckling at how roughed up the two of them were. "You alright?" The poor boy looked terrified-- the least Jerome could do was make him smile. 

But Wayne just nodded, Jerome noticing he was trembling ever so slightly. "I'm fine," He croaked out weakly, lip busted and cheek bruised. "I just wanna' go back home." 

"And you can!" Oswald assured, almost gulping as Jerome's jaw clenched despite his smile, growing wary at the pissed off smirk the other was wearing. "I just need you to know I accept you as an employee." 

Jerome's eyes narrowed, grin staying on nonetheless-- this guy had just kicked them out not at all too long ago, and now he wanted to accept their request to work for him? What gave? 

"Thank you, but I'm not interested." Wayne mumbled, Jerome able to tell this was probably not the first time he'd said that. 

Oswald's smile fell. "Wayne-" 

"He said no." Jerome interjected, meeting Oswald's pleading gaze with an intense glower and wicked grin. "And that means no-- even I know that." He gave a hoot of laughter after stating such, as though he found Oswald entertaining. "And frankly-" He began whence composing himself. "-I'm not sure if want to work for you anymore, either." 

Oswald's lips pursed, chin inclining. "Wayne, would you mind stepping outside?" 

Wayne looked up at that. "What?" 

"Anything you have to say to me you can say to him." Jerome informed, keeping his irked smirk tugged into place. 

"Please? Just a moment of one on one conversation is all I ask for, no more and no less." Oswald persisted, growing slightly annoyed. 

"No," Wayne objected, and Jerome reckoned he was just saying that because he didn't want to be left out of the loop... or at least he did, until Wayne added, "I'm not letting you talk to either of us alone after what you did to at the boat harbor." 

Jerome quirked a brow-- did Wayne actually possibly care about what happened to him, even if it was just barely? That was... sweet. Irrational considering Jerome could care less about Wayne other than when it came to entertainment... 

... okay, fine, Wayne had grown on Jerome a little, too, but just slightly. 

"I am truly sorry for what happened back there-- my men were not supposed to act so violently, and they have all been punished for doing such," Oswald spoke with an impatient tone, forcing on a smile. "However, I really would appreciate the chance to speak with Jerome alone, if it is not too much to ask." 

Wayne parted his lips to protest once again, although Jerome interjected, "You have sixty seconds." He glanced towards the unsure Wayne. "I'll be fine," He assured, earning a frown. "Glad to know you care so much, though." He teased with a wink, managing to get Wayne to glare at him before grumbling something under his breath and reluctantly allowing one of Oswald's bodyguards to usher him out of the room. 

Jerome had already figured out just how exactly to push Wayne's buttons properly. 

Alright, Oswald had sixty seconds to explain, and he knew this teen would keep track... here went nothing. 

"You hate Theo, I hate Theo." Oswald began, not beating around the bush. "Long story short? He kidnapped my mother, and I want him dead just as much as I'm sure you do considering he clearly betrayed you." Jerome already looked interested-- good. "As for Wayne? Theo wants him dead," Jerome arched a brow at that. "Simply put it's an old family feud between his family and the Waynes that he's obsessed with." Oswald quickly explained. "I figure we would make a good team considering you and Wayne are clearly close in some way, and you want Theo dead-" 

"Wayne and I aren't friends." Jerome informed, fifteen seconds up. "He's fun, and I'm not bored with him yet-- that's all." Jerome's lips tugged into a smirk, catching the way that obviously made Oswald uncomfortable-- he knew the Penguin had a bit of a thing for Jim, and dismissing friendship as a means for using someone as entertainment got Oswald to consider his and Jim's 'friendship.' "But you hurt or kill him before I'm done having fun, then you have a problem with me, got it?" Thirty seconds left. 

"Of course." Oswald agreed, giving a nod. "Nonetheless, it would benefit us both to work together, and it seems like Wayne would listen to you more than he would I when it comes to convincing him to join us." Oswald paused, hesitantly adding, "With Wayne we can get valuable information on Theo considering he's apparently taken an interest in socializing with him, while with you I can get through to Wayne, and with me you can have the chance to get vengeance much better than you could without." Fifteen more seconds up. 

Jerome pondered on the offer. "Fine, but on only one condition-" Jerome leaned forward, smiling deviously with how Oswald was listening oh so intently and hopefully. "You don't let Wayne know Theo broke me out, and you don't let him know he's a bad guy-- I get to do that when I decide to." He was still having fun with the little game of 'I tell you this if you do that', and wasn't about to have it ruined by having one of the biggest secrets just being up and told-- that wouldn't be any fun. 

Oswald's brow crinkled at the peculiar request-- it complicated things a bit, however he needed as many opportunities as possible to find out where his mother was. "Agreed." Jerome would talk to Wayne about this at his mansion. 

The minute was up. 

After Wayne was finally able to leave Oswald's home and finished assuring Alfred that he'd just gotten beat up by a couple of bullies as well as calling Silver only to find she had, thankfully, escaped, Wayne went up to his room and laid down on the bed next to Jerome, who had come in through the window and gone ahead to set their pillows up in between them. 

Jerome picked up one of the pillows, tossing it to the side so he could get a better view of Wayne, smirking whence seeing the bruised up boy-- Wayne was almost beginning to look tough. "You okay?" 

Wayne shrugged, tongue subconsciously running over his busted lower lip before he stared at Jerome, noticing a cut on his cheek. "Are you?" 

Jerome nodded, watching as Wayne sat up and reached into his bedside drawer. "What are you doing?" 

"Sit up." Wayne simply replied, Jerome smirking and doing so, waiting to see what the smaller boy was up to. "This may sting a little." Wayne warned, turning around and setting down a few cotton balls along with an unopened bottle of water and some bandaids. 

"I should call you Doctor Wayne." Jerome teased, this being the third time the other patched him up. 

Wayne poured some water onto a cotton ball, pressing the damp object against Jerome's cheek, causing Jerome's muscles to vaguely tense, yet do no more than that. "Thank you," He muttered quietly. "For sticking with me in the harbor today." 

"Told you I was a good bodyguard." Jerome jested, wincing slightly as Wayne dabbed a cut on the corner of his jawline. 

Wayne was silent for a few lengthy seconds, eventually muttering, "You agreed to work for Mr. Cobblepot, didn't you?" 

Jerome felt Wayne press a bandaid against his cheek, deciding to truthfully answer, "Yeah." Now all he had to do was convince Wayne to- 

"What would we do for him?" Wayne sighed, Jerome's brow raising at the word 'we.' "I'm not saying I'm going to work for him, too, I'm just asking what we'd do if I did-- I know you're going to try to get me to join regardless." He added, placing a bandaid against Jerome's jaw. 

"You'd get him dirt on Theo." Jerome mused bluntly, not sugar coating things. 

Wayne scoffed, fixing to put the cotton balls and water bottle back up, yet pausing as Jerome shooed his hands away. "And why would I do that?" 

"Because Theo isn't as good as you believe he is," Jerome gave a sour smirk, gripping Wayne's chin and dabbing at his lower lip with a damp cotton ball, this time he being to one to help patch Wayne up. "He's blackmailing Penguin." 

"What?" Wayne's brow knitted together. "Why? How?" 

"And where and when?" Jerome kidded, Wayne staring at him unamused. "Just joking around a little." He defended with a snicker, moving onto a cut on the bridge of Wayne's nose. "Does it really matter? Even if Oswald's a criminal, I'd say it doesn't give anyone the right to commit a crime that affects him, now would it?" 

Wayne knew Jerome was just trying to get him to agree by twisting his views around, and he had to admit... Jerome was good at knowing what to say and how to say it-- he manipulated people well. Nonetheless, Wayne wasn't swayed easily. "I suppose it can depend-- the right way isn't always the best way." 

Jerome cracked an amused smile, placing a bandaid over Wayne's nose. "Ya' know, I did save you today." 

"You want me to pay you back by working for Oswald?" Wayne questioned just to be sure, Jerome's smirk being enough of an answer, causing the boy to sigh, "You're not going to tell me how or why Theo's blackmailing Penguin unless I do what then?" 

Jerome pondered on the question, eventually humming, "If you want to know why then you'd have to, oh I don't know... rough up one of those assholes at your school. But if you want to know how?" That was gonna' cost more. "You'd have to tell me just where exactly that detective Gordon lives." Honestly, that cop just pissed Jerome off, and he wanted to get revenge on the jackass that had gotten him locked up in the first place. 

Wayne's expression fell at that, the fourteen year old contemplating on the offer for a long while. "Looks like I'm not finding out how Theo's blackmailing Penguin." He grumbled, willing to get in a fight with a bully, yet not willing to put Jim's life in danger. 

Jerome grinned. "Fair enough." 

Jerome noted Wayne was certainly loosening up a bit, and that made him all the more fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So KayReaper made a wonderful piece of art for chapter 5, and I absolutely love it! You guys should totally check it out-- Jerome looks super mischievous ;) 
> 
> You can find it in the link below, and you should definitely check out this writer's rad fanfics as well! 
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/5102993


	7. A King and a Pair of Princes

Wayne wanted to be tough. He wanted to be able to defend himself. He wanted to know how to fight. 

Wayne would be ready. He would be ready to fight any bullies that came at him. He would be ready to make sure no one could kick his ass like those men at the boat harbor had. He would be ready to- ready to be punched in the damn face by Alfred, and oh ouch-- that actually really hurt. 

Alright, so maybe Wayne still wasn't ready to kick ass, but he was getting there-- he just needed to focus more. 

Nonetheless, Alfred was at least training him, and Wayne knew he'd never get anywhere with his butler going easy on him, so that was good, and the fact that Silver had apparently invited him over for dinner was also good, even if that little revelation had been the distraction that gave Alfred an opening. 

What wasn't good though? Alfred saying, "Have you been having someone over, master Wayne?", wasn't good. 

Wayne held the cloth against his nose, staring at his guardian with wide eyes. "What?" 

Alfred eyed Wayne quizzically, studying his expression. "I was looking for some documents the other day and heard you talking in your room." 

Jerome. Alfred had heard Wayne talking to Jerome. 

"I may of been talking in my sleep?" Wayne lied with a shrug, pulse racing as he averted his gaze downwards towards the floor. 

Alfred's hands went behind his back, chin inclining. "Talking in your sleep, eh?" 

Wayne knew Alfred could tell he was B.S.ing him. "Probably." 

"Funny, I don't recall you ever doing that before, Master Wayne." 

Wayne needed to get out of there before he began to act too suspicious. "Yeah, well, I wouldn't know if it's normal considering talking in your sleep requires you to be asleep." 

Alfred's eyebrows quirked at the sass-- sometimes he got tired of Master Wayne's shit, even if he loved the kid. "Have you been speaking with Selina?" 

Wayne stood, not returning Alfred's stare. "No actually, I haven't seen her for some time now." Wayne admitted, hesitantly meeting Alfred's questioning eyes. "I'm going to go get some rest now-- thank you for training me." 

Selina and Silver were literally Wayne's only friends-- or at least the only ones his age, and the only ones Alfred knew about, so as far as the butler was concerned his fourteen year old godchild had better not be sneaking gals into his room. 

Then again, Wayne knew Alfred would rather girls be who he was sneaking in than the criminal that had nearly murdered his guardian before taking Wayne captive... 

Wayne began to walk up to his room, feeling Alfred's suspicious gaze follow him until he was out of sight-- he had to make sure Jerome was kept secret. 

"Are you alright?" Jerome quipped, a grin spreading on his lips, head cocking curiously as Wayne walked inside, noticing the boy's roughed up appearance. 

"Alfred and I were training." Wayne explained in a mumble, locking the door. "You need to go into the closet." 

Jerome couldn't help but smile widely at that. "Oh, do I now? That isn't very fair, Brucie-- making me go in the closet after I came out to you? For shame." 

Wayne rolled his eyes as Jerome let out a fit of laughter at his own joke, walking over towards his walk-in closet and pushing its doors open. "I'm being serious, Jerome," He sighed, grabbing a spare twin mattress laying against his wall and pulling it onto the floor. "Alfred knows I've been sneaking someone in here." 

"And you reckon he won't check your closet if ends up doing a search?" Jerome brought up with a smirk. 

"You'll at least not be out in the open if he does." Wayne resorted, pulling out a balled up sheet and spreading if over the mattress, growing frustrated as it continuously kept popping off. "Jerome?" 

"Yes?" 

Wayne was practically tangled up in the sheets. "Help." 

Jerome smirked, standing up and walking towards the other, kneeling beside him and shooing Wayne off of the mattress. "You've never made a bed before, have you?" Wayne grumbled something under his breath. "I'll take that as a no." He glanced up at Wayne amused, giving a chuckle while turning his attention back towards the mattress, cockily humming, "Lemme guess-- you've read a book on it though?" 

"Bug off." Wayne huffed, grabbing a pair of pillows and chucking the objects at Jerome, hitting the chuckling other with both of them as the raid haired teen put his arm up as a shield, Jerome giving a devious smile and Wayne blinking. "No, wait, don't-" 

Jerome grabbed one of the pillows, hurling it towards Wayne and earning a small noise, snickering as Wayne stumbled back to avoid the cushiony object, slipping and falling on his ass, Jerome crackling at that. 

Wayne's glare looked more like a pout, Jerome about to apologize before the other could get all huffy and blinking as the pillow was abruptly pitched right back at him, reflexes not fast enough to stop it from hitting his face-- not that it hurt, of course, although now Jerome just simply had to get revenge on the smirking Wayne. 

Jerome flung the pillow back towards Wayne, causing the boy to grin and duck the throw while teasing, "Haha, missed-", when a second pillow went flying into him, managing to make the other sway back and let out an, 'oof', not expecting that one. 

Wayne sat back up, cracking a half bitter and half determined vague smile along with a slight glare as Jerome gave a series of laughs. 

Jerome's laughter came to a stop as Wayne practically lunged at him with the pillow, smirking as the other swung it against his cheek, snickering slightly as Wayne's proud expression. 

"Gotcha'." Wayne teased childishly, sticking his tongue out and blinking as Jerome swung a pillow right back into his cheek, nearly getting knocked over, yet managing to keep his knees on the mattress. 

"Joke's on you." Jerome chuckled with a shrug, eyebrows arching as Wayne tackled him, or at least attempted to, and the fact Wayne honestly believed he could actually manage to wrestle with Jerome and win was almost cute. "Nice try, kiddo." Jerome snickered, managing to easily pin Wayne down, cocking his head as Wayne stared up at him disappointedly. "Training not really paying off, eh?" 

Wayne attempted to shimmy his wrists out of Jerome's grasp to no avail, trying to kick him off and letting out a huff as Jerome simply kept Wayne's legs pinned down with his own. "Uncle." Wayne grumbled reluctantly, Jerome grinning cheekily. 

Before Jerome could get off, however, a knock was heard at the door, causing Jerome to instinctively cover Wayne's mouth with his palm. "Master Wayne? I heard a bit of a ruckus-- is everything alright?" Alfred's voice questioned, the locked knob jiggling. 

Wait, why was Jerome covering Wayne's mouth up? If anyone should be quiet it was him. 

"Yeah, everything's fine!" Wayne assured slightly breathlessly from their play-fighting after Jerome pulled back. "I just- uh- I was just trying to reach something in the closet and it fell." He fibbed, Jerome moving off of him. 

"May I ask why the door is locked, Master Wayne?" 

"I'm getting dressed!" Wayne lied, Jerome falling back on the mattress as Wayne suddenly tackled him, looking up at the smug boy staring down at him cockily, Wayne sitting cross legged on his lap and sticking out his tongue once again, doing so even more immaturely than before. "I mean- I was trying to reach some clothes on the top shelf, some stuff fell, and now I'm getting dressed, so..." That sounded believable, right? 

Jerome ushered Wayne off of him, smirking as Alfred hesitated before eventually saying, "Very well, Master Wayne. I'll be downstairs if you need anything." 

Wayne and Jerome waited until they heard Alfred's footsteps walk off, both bursting out laughing when the sound of said footsteps was finally fully faded. 

It was nice to laugh, Wayne had to admit, after doing nothing but searching for the killer of his parents as well as acting all prim and proper around more or less everyone much like an adult would; in fact, Wayne hadn't even genuinely laughed since his parents death, or at least not like this-- sure, he and Selina had joked around a bit every now and then, although it had been a while since he actually acted like a kid, despite being fourteen. 

It felt good, and Wayne had to admit, he wished he could laugh like this more often... he wondered if Jerome always felt this carefree with how much he laughed. 

"Well this was more fun than we usually have," Jerome mused, standing up and stretching out his hand, helping Wayne to his feet. "But we really should get going on over to Penguin's considering it probably wouldn't be proper to miss our first day." 

~*~*~*~

"You already have dinner plans with him?" Oswald questioned with a wide smile, pleasantly surprised and giving an approving laugh as Wayne nodded. "That is-" He was practically over joyed. "-splendid! Really, this is perfect! I have a few things I need you to do for me, alright?" 

Jerome glanced towards Wayne, catching how uncomfortable the poor thing looked and answering for him, "It depends-- what do you want him to do?" 

Oswald's eyes glanced at Jerome, reminding himself the ginger was more or less Wayne's little guardian angel, or at least that was the vibe he was getting-- he could be wrong. 

"Right, of course-- that's reasonable," Oswald's eyes returned to Wayne, smiling nervously yet kindly, needing to get on this boy's good side. "I wouldn't expect you to just agree to do something before I even got the chance to tell you what it is." He assured hopefully, Wayne's expression actually softening-- this poor guy really seemed to be in deep with Theo... 

"Go on." Wayne murmured, straightening up on the sofa. 

Oswald forced another smile, shifting around on his arm chair which resembled a throne. "I need you to ask him if you can have a tour of his home, and I need you to look around for any secret rooms or basement doorways-- check bookshelves, carpets, around his mansion's grounds, and so forth," He paused, making sure Wayne was paying attention. "You have to listen for any peculiar, muffled noises as well, like a woman's voice." 

Wayne's brow crinkled. "Does Mr. Theo have a woman you know? Is that how he's blackmailing you?" 

Oswald swallowed thickly-- Jerome had made it clear the deal was off if Wayne found out just how bad of a man Theo was. "No, I simply know there's a secret room in his manor, and a woman watches over it." He lied, finding it was rather difficult to not let Wayne know this was about his mother being kidnapped. 

Jerome smirked at the save, giving an approving nod Oswald's way. 

Wayne could tell something wasn't right. "What's in this secret room?" 

Oswald's expression was absolutely dreadful, the poor thing looking as though he was about to be sick. "Something very dear of mine-- something he is using against me-" Oswald gripped his glass tightly, not knowing when the last time he'd slept was. "-you'll know it when I see it, I can assure you of that much." Thankfully, he seemed to be saying the right things since Wayne was still there and Jerome wasn't objecting. 

Wayne studied Oswald, almost feeling sorry for the shaken up villain. "Is there anything else you need me to do?" 

Oswald felt relief wash over him-- good, Wayne was cooperating. "Yes, there is one more thing-" He knew he couldn't give Wayne too much to do-- Theo would catch on and realize something wasn't right, not to mention he doubted Wayne could remember to do too many things his first time. "-I want you to ask Theo who he cares about most." 

Wayne didn't like the sounds of that. "Why?" Oswald hesitated, not knowing how to answer and taking a moment to ponder. "You want to blackmail Theo back by taking someone he cares about, don't you?" Wayne was not okay with that. 

Oswald couldn't admit to that-- he knew Wayne would never agree if he did. So naturally, he lied. "What? Oh no no no, of course not!" The corners of Jerome's lips tugged upwards at the denial. "I mean, I do plan on threatening them, of course, however that's simply so I can get Theo to back off-- I would never kidnap an innocent person," Oswald just kept on fibbing. "I prefer to keep all innocence out of my dealings." 

Wayne eyed Oswald, having little to idea on how good of a liar this guy was, wondering just how much he could trust him. 

Jerome leaned over, pressing his lips up to Wayne's ear and murmuring something, Oswald staring at the two both impatiently and anxiously, giving a tight smile as Wayne nodded while Jerome pulled away. 

"Deal." Wayne agreed-- as long as it wasn't Silver, he'd tell Oswald who it was, as Jerome had suggested. 

Oswald beamed. "Perfect! Now then, other than money, is there anything else you boys would like?" He'd prefer just paying Wayne for his help, although Oswald knew Jerome was a package deal with the other, so he'd have to pay them both while keeping them satisfied with any requests. 

The pair exchanged glances, Wayne shrugging as Jerome broodingly turned his attention back towards Oswald, teeth briefly sinking into his bottom lip before his tongue clicked, humming, "You're the king of Gotham, right?" 

Oswald wasn't sure he liked the mischievous glint in Jerome's eyes, the adult hesitantly nodding in confirmation. "I am." 

Jerome looked Oswald up and down, the Penguin realizing the little bastard was sizing him up-- Oswald hated when people tried to figure him out. 

A brief chuckle left Jerome's lips, lounging back against the sofa, legs crossing. "What kinda' fun could you get us into?" 

Oswald's eyebrows raised-- so they wanted entertainment. He could do that. 

"What sort of 'fun' are you two interested in?" Oswald asked in the friendliest tone he could muster, offering a smile. 

Jerome gave an amused half grin, Oswald not sure he approved of how cheeky the seventeen year old looked. "I don't know Ozzy, what kinda' fun are we interested in, Wayne?" 

Oswald tried to not cringe at the nickname, waiting for Wayne's answer, glad at least one of the two boys was seemingly polite. 

Wayne glanced at Jerome taken aback, earning a smirk from the taller one patiently awaiting his answer and contemplating. "I've heard you run some rather low key organizations, are they any fun?" Oh gosh, Wayne had actually just asked that-- Jerome was possibly influencing him a bit too much. Why did Wayne have to go and try to be cool? He didn't even like socializing, much less events. 

Nonetheless, Jerome's brow quirked at that, surprised grin pulling at his lips, a laugh leaving his lips-- Wayne was playing along rather nicely. 

Oswald watched as Jerome swung an arm around Wayne's shoulders, eying the pair uncertainly; Oswald may of been a king, although Jerome and Wayne were rising princes... he'd have to be careful of those two in the future. 

"We have a fighting club where you can gamble under ground, if that's what you mean." Oswald hesitantly answered. "Although that's full of, well, much older adults-" 

"How's that sound to you, Brucie?" Jerome mused, taking note Wayne didn't try to shove him off this time-- Jerome may of not had friends, although Wayne sure as hell was the closest thing he had to one... for now. 

Wayne had already come this far... "I'll go if you do." He answered, wanting to sigh-- he may as well not turn back now... he wasn't a wuss, and didn't sissy out-- Wayne could be a bit too stubborn at times due to foolish mistakes of saying the wrong thing without considering his words first. 

Jerome grinned at that, giving a shrug as Oswald frowned-- it was settled. 

Oswald sighed, stopping himself from pinching the bridge of his nose. "There's a fight going on Halloween night-- you two are more than welcomed to go by and watch." 

~*~*~*~ 

Dinner was nice. A bit awkward at times with Tabitha's strange comments pertaining to how adorable Wayne and Silver looked together, as though they were a couple, yet nice. 

Or at least it was nice until Theo said, "So, Wayne, Silver tells me you two have a friend named Jerry, was it?" 

Wayne's expression fell, staring at Theo unsurely and hesitantly replying, "Uh, yeah...", before nervously taking a sip of his water, eyes averting. 

"We'd love to meet him sometime-- perhaps you could invite him over next time we all have dinner?" Theo suggested with a smile. 

Wayne choked on his water, Silver patting his back as he coughed. "You okay, Wayne?" She questioned concerned, head tilting. 

"I'm fine." Wayne choked out, clearing his throat and giving an anxious laugh. "Um-" Crap. "Yeah, sure, I'm sure he'd love to meet you guys as well." 

"Perfect, how does next week sound?" Theo mused in a friendly tone. 

Wayne's eyes widened. "Wait, what?" 

"Bring him over for brunch next week." Tabitha answered, not demandingly, just excitedly... perhaps a bit too excitedly. 

"That would be fun." Silver piped up, Wayne forcing on a smile and reluctantly nodding in agreement. 

"Jerry is actually going to be really busy next week," Wayne carefully fibbed, mustering up the most disappointed tone he could. "He has a lot of upcoming tests." 

Tabitha gave a sympathetic pout. "Tests? Ew. Where does he go to school?" 

Wayne adjusted his suit's collar-- was it just him or was it getting warm in there? "He's home schooled," Wayne continued to lie, quickly adding, "But his mother is very strict about quizzes." 

"Well how does the week after next sound?" Theo persisted in a light tone. 

Dangit, they weren't going to let Wayne get out of this one. "Next week should be fine," Wayne eventually mumbled in a hesitant voice. "I just have to make sure that works with his schedule, is all." He wondered how long he'd be able to put this off until they got suspicious. 

Tabitha grinned in delight at that-- Wayne had to admit, she sure seemed... would hyper be the word? Constantly over joyful, perhaps? "So what does this Jerry boy look like?" She inquired curiously. 

"Blond." Wayne answered. 

"Red haired." Silver answered at the same time. 

Shit. Silver stared at Wayne confused, Theo and Tabitha's eyebrows arching. 

"I mean, he used to be blond." Wayne fibbed, really not wanting Theo to catch onto the fact 'Jerry' sounded a lot like Jerome considering he, well, was Jerome. "He dyed his hair." 

Theo nodded, seemingly accepting the lie. "And does Jerry have a job?" 

Wayne started to say, 'not really', however Silver accidentally interrupted him whence saying, "He's a magician and comedian-- he even works for the circus!" Wayne nearly gulped as Theo's eyes narrowed. "He's quite fun, really." 

Theo studied Wayne quizzically. "I could've sworn you hated magicians, Wayne." 

Before Wayne could answer Silver's brow furrowed. "What? But Jerry said you even volunteered for him sometimes." 

Theo's chin inclined. "Let me guess, you're Jerry's favorite volunteer?" 

Wayne felt his gut sink-- that's what Jerome had called him... Theo was catching on, or he'd already caught on and was just confirming his accusations. 

"I don't assist him with his magic shows anymore-" At least Wayne wasn't lying now, per se. "-because, as you said, I am not longer comfortable around magicians." 

Theo observed Wayne broodingly. "That's understandable-- if I didn't know better I'd say this Jerry guy sounds a lot like that Jerome fellow," He spoke almost knowingly. "That must be difficult to deal with." 

Wayne forced himself to meet Theo's gaze. "I manage." 

Awkward silence began to linger in the air. 

"Jerome is the guy that took you hostage, right Wayne?" Silver finally questioned gently, breaking the silence and placing a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder as he nodded. "Don't worry, uncle, Jerry is a gentleman-- he's not at all like the boy you saved Wayne from." Wayne's brow crinkled-- something seemed oddly off about the way Silver said that for some reason. 

"Perhaps we should change the subject," Tabitha quipped, reaching across the table to place her hand over Wayne's. "I'm sure this is the last thing this poor sweet boy needs to hear right now." 

Theo's smile returned. "Of course! So, Wayne, how's school?" Wow, he'd managed to change modes fast... 

~*~*~*~ 

The rest of the dinner went fine, Wayne actually feeling rather at home and finding he liked Tabitha quite a bit with how sweet she was, the kind lady almost seeming angelic. 

Afterwards, Wayne politely asked for a tour of the house, Theo granting Silver permission to show him around. 

Now all Wayne had to do was find a secret room for Oswald... which wouldn't of been too difficult if there hadn't been well over fifty different frick'n rooms in the household. 

Silver wasn't sure why Wayne was so interested in her uncle's library, watching as he took out several books from the shelf before carefully shoving them back in, examining each one briefly as though he was looking for something. 

"So who do you suppose those men at the boat harbor were?" Silver spoke up, leaning against a bookshelf as Wayne continued attempting to find a hidden passage. 

"The ones that attacked us?" Wayne murmured, wanting to groan with how many towering bookshelves there were in the library, knowing he wouldn't be able to get to all of them, and even if he did there was still a chance a secret room wasn't even in there. "Maybe Falcone's men or something." He answered with a shrug, not having the slightest clue that it was Theo's. "How'd you manage to get away anyways?" 

Silver was quiet for a few seconds, eventually saying, "I managed to swim to a safe spot and sneak away. I called the cops, but by the time they got there you were gone." She rubbed her upper arm, eyes looking towards the floor. "I was worried they'd gotten you two." 

Wayne paused his searching, expression softening. "I was worried, too." Wayne's comforting smile fell as quickly as it had came on, the boy blinking. "Wait a sec, what do you mean you called the cops?" 

Silver looked up at that. "Huh?" 

"You're cellphone would've been soaked, how did you call the cops?" 

Silence. 

Silver didn't say anything for a long while, eventually giving a soft laugh and smiling sweetly. "I borrowed someone else's phone, silly." 

Oh. That made sense. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Is everything okay, Wayne?" Silver asked intrigued, referring to how the other was making a point of walking over every single carpet they went by with rather heavy footsteps. 

"Huh?" Wayne muttered, straining to hear whether or not any of the areas he walked over were hollow, searching not for a trap door. "Oh, um, yeah, I just have a rock in my shoe is all." 

Silver eyed Wayne curiously-- what was this boy up to? 

"Alright, well the main kitchen is this way." 

~*~*~*~ 

"This is my favorite part of the garden, isn't it gorgeous?" Silver sighed dreamily, glancing over at Wayne and frowning. 

Wayne wasn't paying attention, instead staring at Silver's mansion, the girl not realizing he was looking for doorways to a basement. 

"Are you sure everything is okay?" Silver sighed, arms crossing. 

Alright, Wayne wasn't getting anywhere with this. "Old manors like these usually have secret passageways, do you know if this place does?" 

Silver perked up pleasantly surprised. "Really? Uncle hasn't said anything about there being any hidden rooms, but we could ask if you'd like-" 

"No no, it's fine!" Wayne quickly protested, knowing Theo was already suspicious of him with how he'd acted at dinner all thanks to 'Jerry' being brought up. "I was just curious is all." 

~*~*~*~ 

As though Wayne hadn't felt guilty enough as a spy for Penguin, he felt even worse after Theo admitted he was beginning to consider Wayne as family, and to top things off Wayne still had to figure out who Theo cared for most in his family so Oswald could threaten them-- at least Penguin wasn't going to harm whoever Theo chose though... right? 

"Thank you for dinner, Mr. Galavan, and for, uh, such kind words." Wayne spoke up after being walked over to the door, Theo placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

"Of course, Wayne-- we were glad to have you over." Theo replied with a warm smile. 

Wayne really didn't want to do this. "May I ask you something?" 

Theo's head tilted. "Of course you can, is everything alright?" 

Wayne nodded, begrudgingly saying, "You said you want to consider me family, so who exactly do you consider family?" Wayne swallowed dryly. "Like, who would you say you're closest to?" 

Theo pondered on the question, Wayne's heart thumping wildly, hoping Galavan couldn't see right through him- "My sister and Silver, of course." 

Wayne had figured as much. "I see." He spoke while giving a nod, unable to meet Theo's gaze-- he felt terrible going behind his back like this... but Galavan was blackmailing Penguin... who was Wayne kidding? He knew Theo was a good guy, and Wayne was being the bad one here... right? "Thank you, Mr. Galavan, I'll see you later." 

Theo smiled, ruffling up Wayne's hair in a fatherly fashion. "Nice seeing you, Wayne." 

Wayne continued staring at the door as it shut, feeling absolutely awful; poor Theo, maybe he should just tell Oswald the deal was off... 

"Is everything alright, Master Wayne?" Alfred spoke up, waiting for the boy to follow him over towards the limo. 

Wayne's brow furrowed. "Everything's fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I asked for some small jeromeXwayne imagines on my Tumblr and the lovely artist  
> BlakyCat sent me this super cutesy sketch which was uber sweet, and tbh you should definitely check it out as well as follow her Deviantart because it's mega nice :D 
> 
> http://orig11.deviantart.net/43fb/f/2015/304/2/7/idk_what_this_is_by_blakycat-d9f0hqx.png


	8. Halloween Bonus

Wayne hadn't gone trick-or-treating since he was twelve-- that was two years ago, yet there he was going and dressing up for Halloween all because Silver had gone and convinced him to, and oh man this felt embarrassing. 

"Vampire? Really?" Jerome snickered, glancing over at Wayne from the other end of the room while adjusting his canine teeth. "Cliché much?" 

"Shut up." Wayne grumbled, slipping on his rather realistic bat wings. "It's not like I wanted to dress up," He added defensively. "And I'm a bat, not a vampire." 

"Aren't bats and vampires pretty much the same thing?" Jerome scoffed, examining his fake claws pleased. 

"You're not very original, either!" Wayne snapped heatedly, honestly not wanting to go out like this. "Werewolves are just as typical as vampires." 

Jerome stared at Wayne with mock offense. "Werewolf?" He gave a fake gasp, hand pressing over his chest over dramatically. "I am a were-hyena, thank you very much." He huffed jokingly, grinning as Wayne rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath while the red haired boy adjusted his hyena ears. "... Gothic much?" He added after a short pause. 

"Do you have to keep commenting on my outfit?" Wayne replied instantly, glaring daggers at Jerome and earning a laugh-- it was so easy to rile him up. 

"I'm kidding, you're very cute." Jerome assured, earning another glower. 

"I am not 'cute.'" Wayne objected, perching a fake yet realistic bat on top of his shoulder. 

"Oh come on, you're adorable." Jerome continued to jest, earning a seething stare. 

"Screw off." Wayne murmured bitterly, snatching up his candy bag and storming towards the door, ignoring Jerome's amused chuckle. "You can meet me and Silver by the high school-- make sure Alfred doesn't see you sneaking out." 

"Got it." Jerome hummed as the other left-- this was certainly going to be fun. 

Now, Jerome wasn't sure what he was expecting Silver to be dressed up as, although he nearly scoffed whence seeing her angel attire-- this girl didn't have her middle name for nothing. 

"So are we really going trick-or-treating or are we gonna' do something a little more fun?" Jerome asked the second he got up to the excited Silver and embarrassed Wayne. 

Silver blinked at that, head tilting. "What else would we do?" 

Yeesh, this girl almost seemed too innocent. "Oh, you know, the usual stuff teenagers do: break into haunted mansions, egg houses, throw toilet paper into yards, contact spirits in a graveyard after hours-- etcetera etcetera." 

"Can we please do something legal?" Wayne sighed, not wanting to go on anymore adventures, yet knowing Jerome was probably not through dragging him into such. 

"What's the fun in that?" Jerome quipped, flashing a smile and showing his fake hyena fangs. "Now then, are we going to do something fun or not?" 

"I've always wanted to go into a haunted mansion!" Silver piped up before Wayne could say anything, earning a look from the boy. "If that's alright with you two, of course." She kindly added. 

"Sounds good to me." Jerome mused, Wayne glaring at him. "Aw, what's wrong?" He teased, pinching Wayne's cheek. "Are you-" 

"I'm not scared," Wayne interjected before Jerome could accuse him of being such, slapping the other's hand away. 

Jerome cracked a smile. "So are we checking out an abandoned house or what?" 

Wayne crossed his arms, gaze averting as he huffed, "Fine." He was beginning to hate this holiday. 

After searching for a good enough place, the pair stumbled upon a rickety old house that was barely keeping together, the abandoned home tattered up and worn, not to mention creepy. 

Jerome saw the way Wayne gulped, leaning in to murmur, "Aw, need someone to hold your hand?" 

"Shut. Up." Wayne hissed through clenched teeth, not waning Silver to hear Jerome's embarrassing jests. 

"Well let's not just wait around all day-- come on!" Silver chimed, bravely trespassing onto the private property, Jerome nudging Wayne and gesturing for the boy to follow, the pair walking after their friend as Wayne begrudgingly nodded and stepped forward. 

"Do either of you know any good ghost stories?" Silver inquired while examining the musty interior, air thick with dust. 

Wayne blinked a few times, attempting to get used to the lingering dark, swallowing unsettled. "Not really." 

"My stories may be a bit too dark for the two of you." Jerome chuckled, finding this was actually rather boring. 

Silver pouted. "Please tell us a story, Jerry? I'm not scared." 

"Yet." Jerome snickered, feeling Wayne shuffle closer to him as the house creaked. 

"Don't frighten her." Wayne whispered sternly, knowing Jerome probably had some pretty messed up horror tales-- perhaps too messed up, at that. 

"Well, I guess I could tell you one," Jerome mused, ignoring Wayne's instruction. "Do clowns or snakes scare you by any chance?" 

Before Silver could answer the trio heard a voice say, "Hey, is that Silver?" The three teens glanced towards the staircase taken aback, eyes landing on a group of boys coming down the steps. 

"Yeah, it's Wayne and that freak, too." Another one answered smoothly, Silver shying away from the crowd of males uneasily, making her way over to Jerome and Wayne. 

Jerome eyed the familiar bullies-- why were they suddenly acting so damn smug? They had been terrified of him just the other day. 

"Didn't I tell you kids to screw off?" Jerome challenged, Wayne and Silver more or less hiding behind him. 

The main bully shrugged, hands shoving into his pockets. "We didn't have anything to defend ourselves with before, and were caught off guard." 

Jerome was getting real tired of these little pricks. "What-" He started, eyes narrowing as one of the males propped something up on his shoulder, catching the way it glimmered and- oh... oh shit-- that was a baseball bat. 

"Ya' know, breaking old furniture in an abandoned house used to be fun when we were younger, but it's gotten kinda' boring now," The leader of the trouble makers stated, leaning on his baseball bat as though it was a cane. "I say we bring it up a notch." 

"Teasing people is one thing, but this sort of stuff would get you in a whole lot more trouble." Silver warned shakily, not knowing whether the boys were just trying to scare them or actually considering attacking the trio. 

"Well well well, look at these sad rich boys trying to act tough." Jerome chuckled before anyone could reply to Silver's warning, Wayne eying him uneasy at that-- this was the second time Jerome had gone from carefree to menacing, and it still freaked him out to see such a dramatic change in personality, not to mention the slight twisted shift in his tone was rather unsettling. 

The bully couldn't help but be taken aback at the confident tone despite the odds being against the trio. "I'm the one acting tough?" He scoffed, managing to regain himself, convinced the only reason the red haired teen continued to make him wary was because of the house's eery atmosphere. "And just what exactly would you say you're doing?" 

Jerome gave a toothy grin through the dark, head cocking. "Waiting to see if you can walk as well as you talk." 

"Jero- Jerry..." Wayne protested, gripping his friend's wrist and tugging. "Let's go." 

"You and Silver are more than welcomed to go outside," Jerome informed smoothly, wrist pulling away from Wayne's grasp. "But I'm dealing with these jackasses." 

Silver stared at Jerome somewhat shocked, not used to the charming male suddenly being so intimidating. "We- we really should leave." 

"By all means sweetheart, feel free to leave, but I'm not finished here, so I'm afraid you'll have to either go alone or go with Wayne." Jerome insisted, waiting for one of the cautious bullies to make a move. 

Silver hesitated before finally taking Wayne's hand. "We need to get out of here." 

Wayne's brow furrowed, glancing at Silver before returning his gaze to Jerome. "But-" 

"Wayne, come on." Silver pleaded, not wanting to be in the middle of this, letting out a stressed sigh as Wayne chewed on his bottom lip broodingly while eying the bullies. "Let's go-- all of us." She practically begged despite attempting to sound stern, walking towards the door and simply hoping the other two would follow, looking over her shoulder and feeling relief wash over her as Wayne begrudgingly started to do the same, the girl exiting through the threshold to wait outside as Wayne got halfway to the door. 

The bully gripped his baseball bat, taking in a deep breath and letting it out shakily, forcing on a smirk as he met Jerome's smug yet intimidating gaze before rushing forward, causing Wayne to halt in his tracks. 

"Jerome!" Wayne huffed, not knowing why the hell the other wasn't budging an inch and simply standing there nonchalantly as the male with a frick'n baseball bat ran at him, causing Wayne to let out a reluctant noise before sprinting in front of Jerome and putting up his arms, as though shielding himself with his own arms while attempting to shield Jerome by standing in front of him would actually ease the blow, and oh crap this was going to hurt why did Wayne even do this? Shit shit shit-- for the love of all that was good Wayne was already regretting trying to be the hero. 

The armed male skidded to a halt, nonetheless, baseball bat mere inches away from the cowering Wayne-- he'd just wanted to scare them off, but they were both still there, and the seventeen year old was probably going to be pissed he'd almost swung at Wayne considering, as far as the bully knew, said seventeen year old was practically Wayne's body guard, and crap- this certainly hadn't gone as planned. 

Jerome blinked, it taking a moment to realize Wayne had practically just thrown himself in front of him, and geez-- this kiddo sure did have a hero complex, didn't he? Nonetheless, it was... sweet, even if it was a bit foolish. 

Wayne hesitantly opened his eyes squeezed shut whence not feeling a blow, straightening up from his defenseless position and staring at the unsure bully uncertainly. 

Jerome's taken aback expression shifted into another smirk, an amused chuckle leaving his lips as he reached out, gripping Wayne's shoulder and pushing the smaller boy behind him, meeting the attacker's gaze and drinking in the way the bully realized he had seriously just screwed up. 

"If you're going to run at someone with a bat-" Jerome began to sigh, grabbing the other's weapon and yanking it out of his trembling hands. "-then I'd recommend having the guts to use it-" He examined the bat musingly. "-and if you do have the guts to use it-" Jerome handed the baseball bat over to Wayne, the bully shuffling back nervously. "-I'd really, and I mean really-" He gripped the troublesome male by his shirt, earning a whimper as he yanked him forward. "-recommend you didn't piss off someone a lot more dangerous than you by attacking one of their acquaintances." 

"I'm sorry-" The trouble maker started to speak up, a howl of laughter cutting him off. 

"You're not sorry, you're scared." Jerome spoke knowingly, shoving the other onto the floor and holding out his hand towards Wayne. "Give me that bat, will ya', kiddo?" 

Wayne shuffled back, more or less hugging the weapon and shaking his head. "I want to leave." 

Jerome turned to face Wayne, the bully scrambling over towards his friends. "I said, give me the bat." 

Wayne stepped back, swallowing dryly-- now Jerome was beginning to get impatient with him, and he knew that couldn't be good when the other was like this. "No." 

Jerome stared Wayne down for a few lengthy seconds, eventually walking forward with a smooth stride, Wayne's back bumping against the wall as he scurried backwards. "Wayne-" Jerome warned, hand stretching out expectantly. "-Give. Me. The. Bat." 

Wayne kept his arms wrapped around the sporting goods object, meeting Jerome's threatening stare. "Can we just go home?" He pleaded, suddenly wondering just how much Jerome would care if he was dead or alive. "Please?" Wayne persisted, meeting Jerome's eyes somewhat frightened. "I want to leave." He doubted Jerome gave a shit about that, although it was worth a try to get through to the other. "Let's go home, alright?" 

Jerome studied Wayne for only a few seconds, although it felt like forever, time ticking by as Wayne stared up at him worriedly- 

Wayne blinked, feeling Jerome take ahold of the bat and failing to hang onto the object, watching with wide eyes as Jerome approached the group, feeling like he was going to be sick and not knowing what to do. 

Jerome grabbed the lead bully by his shirt, the other trouble makers frozen in place as he yanked him away from his 'minions', glaring down at the boy menacingly. "You remember what I said about putting you six feet under ground if you bothered him again?" Jerome interrogated, 'him' referring to Wayne, earning a quick nod. "Well you've earned a second chance, buddy, congratulations-" Jerome stated, a rather pissed off grin spreading on his lips. "But do people get third chances?" The bully didn't say anything, simply cowering. "I said-" 

"No-" The other squeaked out, gulping down his fear the best he could. "No, people get second chances-" 

Jerome smirked bitterly. "Three strikes and you're out, am I right?" The other nodded hurriedly. "So don't let me catch you doing this again-" He paused, giving a chuckle. "-unless you want me to use the bat next time we meet, yeah?" He waited for the boy to nod, shoving him back towards his group of terrified friends, throwing the baseball bat on the ground and earning winces at the loud clatter. 

Wayne watched Jerome ever so slightly shaken up, keeping his eyes on him as the taller boy walked towards the door, hesitantly following as Jerome gestured him over. 

Silver was just getting ready to go back inside to check up on her friends when they exited the door, growing concerned at Wayne's contemplating gaze and Jerome's cold body language despite his smile. 

"I'm sorry, but we should be getting back home." Wayne apologized quietly, Jerome shoving his hands into his pockets while simply keeping his eyes averted as he allowed Wayne to explain however he pleased. 

Silver was more worried than disappointed. "That's fine, I'm glad you're both okay." She assured, wrapping her arms around Wayne comfortingly. 

Jerome discreetly rolled his eyes and gave a quiet scoff, waiting for the pair to just wrap things up before walking off without another word, Wayne having to speed walk to keep up. 

"Bye, Jerry!" Silver called out, hoping she hadn't gone and done something wrong. 

Jerome gave a half assed wave, not even looking over his shoulder, simply keeping his gaze forward, ignoring the way Wayne looked up at him concerned, bitter smirk staying in place despite his lips growing tired. 

The pair walked in silence for a long while, Wayne eventually piping up, "Thank you.", when they were on a more quiet street with less trick-or-treaters. 

Jerome didn't say anything for a few lengthy seconds until finally glancing at Wayne. "You're bad at sarcasm-- are you being sarcastic right now?" 

Wayne chose to ignore the small bit of annoyance that rose in him at that. "No, I'm not." He answered truthfully, letting out a sigh with how he could barely keep up with Jerome and quickly walking in front of him, causing the other to halt and narrow his eyes, the right corner of Jerome's lips forcefully twitching upwards in irritation. "Look, it means a lot that you're trying to stand up for me, but-" 

"Don't mention it." Jerome interjected, pushing by Wayne and continuing to walk forward, jaw clenching as Wayne stubbornly went back in front of him, forcing Jerome to stop in his tracks once more. "Move." 

"What was I supposed to do? Let you kill them?" 

"I wasn't going to kill them, I was just-" 

"Just going to beat them up with a bat?" Wayne scoffed, earning a cheeky shrug and growing irked at how damn smug Jerome was acting. "That can kill people ya' know, Jerome." 

Ah yes, there was the sarcasm. "You don't even know what I was going to do," Jerome resorted with a tight smile, having half a mind to shove Wayne out of his way. "Besides, I didn't hurt any of them, now did I?" 

"You were going to." Wayne countered knowingly. 

"Oh what do you care? They're just a couple of pricks anyhow-" 

"That doesn't mean you can just go and beat them up." Wayne interjected haughtily. 

Jerome let out a hoot of laughter while pinching the bridge of his nose, palm moving up to rub his tired eyes before running his hand through his hair, a migraine coming on. "Lookie here, little Brucie is trying to be a hero-- real cute, Wayne." He chuckled as his laughs ceased. "Maybe you've forgotten, but I've killed people kiddo, and I could give less of a shit if I decided to kill those snobs." 

"No, I haven't forgotten that." Wayne replied icily, standing his ground and raising his chin. "Although perhaps I should take that fact more into consideration and make sure we keep a strictly professional relationship." 

For the love of- "Do you ever talk normal?" Jerome laughed with a groan. "Seriously, fourteen year olds don't talk like this." He scoffed, briefly having trouble calming his laughter. "And as far as I'm concerned, we have 'kept this relationship strictly professional'-" Jerome chuckled somewhat breathlessly from his fit of laughter. "-we're not friends, Brucie-" He explained, stepping forward and growing amused at how Wayne dared to not back down, the boy simply continuing to meet his glare. "-we're acquaintances at best." 

Wayne's gaze did falter at that, brow crinkling and eyes averting towards the ground, suddenly beginning to look very, very small as he crossed his arms and shuffled back. "Glad to know you agree." He grumbled quietly, Jerome blinking at the abrupt meek body language. "Feel free to go back to the manor tonight, but I'm going to Oswald's fight club." He could tell Jerome was burnt out and probably just wanted to rest, and frankly Wayne didn't want to be anywhere near the other for the time being, which he made sure was crystal clear as he turned around and stomped off. 

Jerome didn't mind. He wanted to be left alone, too. Wayne was honestly pissing him off, and he could care less about what he went to do. In fact, Jerome was glad Wayne agreed they were getting too comfortable-- he didn't want the boy to get cocky and feel like he was actually growing on Jerome, because he wasn't. 

... 

Jerome let out a frustrated sigh when finally arriving to Wayne's mansion-- he couldn't just let the poor kiddo go to a fight club alone... the pampered boy he wouldn't last in a place like that. 

Jerome begrudgingly turned away from the manor and walked off towards the storm drains, that being where Oswald said the fight club took place at-- Wayne owed him a big favor for doing this. 

Wayne, meanwhile, was regretting his decision to check out Oswald's fight club as he sat in between two intimidatingly muscular men on a tattered up sofa, keeping his gaze anxiously fixated on the floor as the buff individuals glared menacingly at him. 

"Oi, kid!" A voice called out, Wayne tensing and hesitantly staring up at the bruised and battered man approaching him. "Ya' got any money or not?" 

Wayne's face went grim. "No." He'd left his wallet at home, figuring he wouldn't need it for trick-or-treating. 

The man's eyes narrowed. "No?" He reached out, wrenching Wayne out of his seat. "Anyone who doesn't have money has gotta' either fight or scram." 

Wayne gulped, the man raising him just centimeters above the floor. "O-okay, I'll go." 

The sneering man nodded, fixing to set Wayne back down yet pausing as someone shouted, "I call dibs on the runt!" 

Wayne's expression fell, staring up at the male who was seemingly the leader of the fight base, gut sinking as he grunted, "Sorry kid, if they call dibs then you gotta' fight-- fight club rules 'n all." 

Peachy. 

The man kept a tight grip on Wayne's upper arm, ushering him over towards a large boxing matt before picking the boy up by the back of his shirt and tossing him onto the cushiony surface, Wayne letting out a noise at the impact and warily sitting up, eying the man who had called dibs and wanting to groan in disbelief. 

The twenty-one year old man had a black eye, swollen cheek, cut up neck, and bruised arms, not to mention his knuckles were freshly bleeding. He looked tough-- perhaps a bit too tough. 

Wayne gradually stood, putting his shaky fists up in the air defensively, eyes wide and pulse racing with a sickening fast pace, several gruff laughs being heard as all eyes turned towards the small kid getting ready to fight a towering brawler. 

These criminals had no sympathy, not even for a fourteen year old. 

"You're the Wayne orphan, right?" The opponent interrogated, eyes blazing with fury as the younger male hesitantly nodded, slightly taken aback at the question. "You're parents screwed me over big time." 

Shit. 

Wayne dodged the first punch, letting out a small noise as the second one landed a blow on his rib cage, causing Wayne to stumble back yet keep his balance, eying the criminal with a frightened frown before resorting to just running away, attempting to get through the crowd of viewers and letting out a huff of frustration as they simply pushed him back onto the matt, various people yelling at him for breaking the rules, spitting out threats on what they'd do if he tried it again. 

This wasn't good-- a fight club full of criminals? What if these guys fought to the death? 

"Uncle?" Wayne spoke up hopefully, he and the other man circling one another. 

"You want out?" The man scoffed, cracking his knuckles. "Find someone that will tag you out." 

Wayne ducked as the other swung at him, sprinting away to the other side of the matt, desperately looking around for anyone that would tag him and having no luck, the fourteen year old simply running away from the approaching man as he got closer once again. 

"Stop messi'n around!" One voice shouted. 

"Yeah, fight already!" Another yelled. 

"It ain't fun for ya' to just run away!" 

Wayne could frankly care a whole lot less about this being fun for them. 

"I work for Oswald Cobblepot." Wayne stated warningly in the bravest voice he could muster up, backing away as his opponent stalked towards him. 

The fighter scoffed, grabbing Wayne by his necktie before he could run off again. "We all work for Cobblepot, kid-- that's not gonna' help you here." 

Wayne instinctively kicked his captor where it counts, earning a pained yelp as he managed to get out of his hold, letting out a groan of pain as the adult rammed him square in the chest, managing to make Wayne fall into his back, vision blurring in and out as the room seemed to spin, Wayne's stomach churning. 

A foot pressed against Wayne's hip as he turned over onto his side, causing the boy to let out a soft noise and curl into himself, ears ringing and eyes glossing over. 

Scared. Wayne was scared. 

"A grown adult beating up a kid?" A familiar voice chimed, Wayne feeling the foot get shoved off of his waist and hearing his attacker give a surprised grunt. "Even I'm not that bad!" A crackle echoed throughout the storm drains, and Wayne had never been so relieved to hear that suddenly settling laugh. 

Jerome knelt by Wayne, trying to see just how badly beaten up the boy was and carefully helping him sit up- 

"Shove off," The twenty-one year old adult threatened, approaching the two. "This isn't a paired fight-- it's one on one." 

"He's fourteen, you old prat." Jerome snapped in annoyance, flashing an irritated smile. "Now how about you back it up a step? I may consider not, oh, ya' know, murdering you if you do." 

"Listen-" The opponent growled, Wayne scurrying away as he wrenched Jerome up by his shirt. 

"No, you listen," Jerome snapped, smirking as he yanked out a knife, pressing it against the other's throat menacingly while gripping his hair. "There's really not a single thing stopping me from killing you right now-- in fact, it'd be my pleasure, but I've had a long day, and I don't feel like scarring Wayne for life, so-" The other shoved Jerome downwards, kneeing him in the stomach and earning a pained noise that turned into a fit of laughter. "Alright, fine, you wanna' dance, buddy?" Jerome put his arms out expectantly, giving a charming grin and flashing his knife. "Let's dance." 

The man lurked forward, voices cheering while he grabbed Jerome's wrist as the red haired teen attempted to stab him, and shit-- this guy was a lot stronger than he looked. 

"Well this certainly isn't going as planned." Jerome laughed with a hint of nervousness as the other twisted the knife from his grasp, tossing it to the side and bending Jerome's arm so he was forced to kneel over, making him lose his balance and falling to the ground. "We've clearly gotten off on the wrong foot, care to reintroduce ourselves?" Jerome chuckled, letting out a pained noise as the other knelt beside him and pressed his knee into his back, raising the sharp blade. "I'll take that as a no." 

The fighter got ready to swing the knife towards Jerome, angling for the kill and letting out a surprised grunt as Wayne tackled him, glaring up at the boy struggling to keep him down while attempting to grab the knife in his hand. 

Jerome gave a cheeky grin, about to thank Wayne yet feeling his smile fall as the adult managed to swipe at the fourteen year old boy, not able to react quickly enough to stop the blade from grazing Wayne's cheek. 

Wayne stumbled back, covering his face and letting out a choked noise. "Ow..." He whimpered shakily, Jerome not knowing what to do as red liquid hit the floor, and oh no no no-- Wayne was hurt, he was really, really hurt, and that looked like it had been bad and just-- oh, poor Wayne. 

The man stood, reaching down to grab Wayne by his shirt, and Jerome went off. 

Jerome tackled the older male, grasping his wrists to keep him from using the knife, flicking the blade away with his hand as it fell from the other's hold upon compact with the floor. 

Jerome hadn't even realized he was punching the other until he felt someone pull him off of the poor guy who was definitely going to need a lot of bandages from the looks of it, everything seeming to be silent except for Jerome's breathing, the ginger unable to focus on anyone due to the whole room spinning out of focus, honestly just wanting to kick the shit out of the bastard that had gone and beat up Wayne because Wayne was just a kid and that guy was a freaking adult and yeah-- maybe Jerome was letting personal vendettas get in the way of his rationality a bit. 

For a few lengthy seconds Jerome refused to be pulled back, attempting to get loose and frankly kill the other because he was going to fricking murder that abusive asshole that didn't have anything better to do than beat on kids and-- oh. Wayne was still just sitting on the floor covering his face. 

Jerome had almost forgotten about checking up on Wayne. 

"Are you okay?" Jerome murmured, kneeling in front of Wayne as people crowded around the beat up adult. "Wayne?" Jerome spoke up, gripping Wayne's wrists and tugging carefully, relieved to see the gash on Wayne's cheek at least wasn't too deep. "Are you alright?" Oh Ra... Wayne was crying. 

Wayne let out a pained sob, the tears only making the pain worse. "It hurts." He answered shakily, just wanting to get out of there and go home before someone else tried to fight them. 

Jerome realized he wasn't grinning, causing him to force a comforting smile on. "We need to go, okay?" 

Wayne nodded, allowing Jerome to help him stand yet stumbling. "Ow!" 

"What's wrong?" Jerome asked concerned, lowering back down towards the floor, peeling back Wayne's shirt. "Can you-" He blinked, noticing dark bruises surrounding Wayne's ribcage. "-walk." Great, his ribs were fractured. 

"Is he alright?" Oswald sighed, Jerome blinking and looking up at his boss. 

"He just got beat up by one of your men, does he look alright?" Jerome scoffed with a sour smirk, shifting closer towards Wayne and ushering him away from Penguin somewhat. 

"If I had gotten here when the fight began I would've stopped it," Oswald defended vaguely irritatedly, nonetheless adding in a gentler tone whence noticing Wayne's injuries, "Although my men should've known better than to brawl with a fourteen year old-- they will be punished." Oswald may of not cared for children much less his 'minions' much, although Wayne was helping him with Theo, and he was the youngest recruit he had, so Oswald possibly had a soft spot for the boy. "Does he need someone to carry him?" 

Jerome glanced down at Wayne, gaze returning to Oswald. "No." He answered, still slightly bitter about Oswald's men going off and doing this, even if Oswald didn't approve. "Can I patch him up at your place?" He requested, Oswald quirking a brow as Jerome stood while picking up Wayne. 

Oswald studied Jerome quizzically, knowing the teenager was rather unpredictable with the state he was in, guessing he'd probably been triggered by something that had occurred in the fight. "Of course." 

Oswald let Wayne stay in a rather nice room, allowing Jerome to patch him up there. 

"Are you okay?" Wayne eventually spoke up hoarsely, eyes rimmed with red and puffy. 

Jerome paused dabbing Wayne's cheek, staring down at him taken aback before letting out a strained laugh, brow furrowing, and shit shit shit-- Jerome still wasn't fully over what had happened at the storm drains. "You're asking if I'm okay?" He chuckled, soaking the stained cloth in water. "You're the one that got beat up." 

Wayne didn't say anything for a long while. "You seem off." 

"Why? Because I'm patching you up?" Jerome scoffed, smiling tightly and pressing the cloth a little too hard against Wayne's cheek. "Or because I carried you home? Maybe because I risked my ass when trying to save yours since I was just trying to have some fun? Or-" 

"You're rambling." Wayne stated more concerned than irritated at how defensive Jerome was getting. 

Jerome laughed a bit too loud at that. "Maybe we should just drop it, yeah?" He felt like he wasn't making any sense, somewhat frantically pressing a large bandage against Wayne's cheek. "Just- let's shut up, alright? I don't-" Why the hell couldn't he get out what he wanted to say correctly? It was frustrating. 

"Jerome-" Wayne started worriedly, not at all used to the other acting like this. 

"You're the injured one here, okay? Stop trying to- to-" Jerome was supposed to be suave and have a silver tongue, dangit. "Just hush, alright? I'm perfect. Peachy. Really. Literally. Whatever. I'm fine." Well that was convincing. 

Wayne sat up, ignoring the pain striking throughout his ribcage the best he could. "What's wrong?" 

"I'm trying to help you and you're not saying still, that's what." Jerome huffed, pushing Wayne back down firmly and earning a pained noise. "Shit- I'm sorry, I-" Jerome felt like he was having a breakdown, causing him to give a stressed laugh. "Someone else should be doing this." 

"I'll sit back up if you don't tell me what's wrong." Wayne threatened stubbornly. 

"What? No, don't do that-" 

"I'll do it, and then this'll hurt even more." Wayne insisted, and he didn't expect it to actually work, but... 

"I don't like parents beating on their kids, okay?" Jerome snapped, earning a taken aback stare. "I mean, I don't like adults beating up minors or whatever, alright?" No no no, Jerome shouldn't of admitted that, he shouldn't let Wayne know why he'd snapped, and he shouldn't open up or whatever the hell one would call it, and no no no what was he doing?! This was all just a huge jumbled up mess. 

Wayne stared at Jerome with a crinkled brow. "Jerome-" 

"Well I agreed to tell you why I killed my mom, didn't I?" Jerome laughed, referring to how that was the deal they'd made when Wayne agreed to go check out the fires Firefly had been starting, Jerome standing up and pacing around, hand running through his hair shakily. "I told you I'd tell you a while back and never did, so here ya' go, buddy! Congratulations, you've figured it out!" Yep, he was definitely having a melt down. How hilarious. 

"Jerome-" Wayne started, expression softening. 

"Don't start acting nice, kiddo; this doesn't make us friends-- professional relationship or whatever you called it, am I right?" Jerome babbled, failing to compose himself. "And I wouldn't go soft on a murderer-- just a friendly piece of advice." 

"Jerome-" 

"I mean, come on, I keep you around for entertainment, you keep me around for answers-" 

"Jerome-" 

"No no, I'm not finished, let me finish, alright? I don't want you getting the wrong idea and feel like you've grown on me when I'm just-" 

"Jerome, I'm- I'm blacking out- I feel cold- help-" Wayne weakly interjected, eyes sliding shut. 

Jerome halted his pacing. "What?" Shit. No no no. "Wayne?" He questioned, quickly approaching the other and sitting on the bedside concerned, blinking as Wayne sat up and wrapped his arms around him, taking a moment to realize the little shit was fine-- well, other than his bruises, of course. 

"Thank you." Wayne muttered, face against Jerome's chest. 

Jerome didn't budge, not knowing why this was honestly beginning to... hurt? Hugs weren't supposed to hurt. "For what? Being possessive over things I find entertaining and only risking my life for a rush?" Okay, that was perhaps a bit too bitter, and uncalled for. 

Nonetheless, Wayne only relaxed against Jerome, finding sitting up wasn't as uncomfortable like this. "Glad to know you find me entertaining." 

Jerome's mind began to calm down. "Would I of carried you here bridal style if you weren't?" 

Wayne laughed, and that hurt more yet at the same time it felt good to hear Wayne laugh, and Jerome couldn't help but enjoy when he was able to make Wayne laugh. 

"Probably, considering you're gay." 

Jerome couldn't help but feel a sense of pride whenever Wayne joked back. "Sorry, but you're still a bit too young for my taste." He chuckled, somewhat surprised at how broken he sounded when laughing despite honestly just feeling... better than he had in a long while. 

Wayne gave a laugh again, ribs hurting somewhat at that, causing him to pull away and lay back down on the propped up pillows, Jerome clearing his throat and beginning to wrap some ice in a ziplock bag as Wayne sighed, "We keep getting our asses kicked." 

"Watch your language, young man." Jerome teased with a smirk, pressing the ice pack against Wayne's swollen jaw. 

At least Jerome seemed to be coming back to himself-- even if himself was a bit of a jackass. 

"At least I'm not ancient." Wayne grumbled, earning a snicker. 

"Someone's loosened up a little." Jerome mused, examining Wayne's ribs and picking up a roll of bandages. 

Wayne winced, sitting forward as Jerome ushered him into an upright position. "We need to learn how to defend ourselves." 

Jerome scoffed, wrapping Wayne's waist in bandages. "You're fourteen." 

"I'm aware of that." Wayne huffed, tensing up in vague pain. "I'm serious, Jerome-- we've been attacked twice now, and we need to defend ourselves." 

"We got attacked the first time because you decided it'd be a good idea to stick around and look for Silver in a place where everyone was attempting to kill us, and the second time because you decided to go and check out an illegal fight club-- maybe you just need to learn to stay low." Jerome suggested amused, frowning as Wayne let out a small noise. "You okay?" 

"I fractured my ribs, but yeah, I'm great." 

"Someone's gotten frisky." Jerome chuckled, being more careful with the bandaging nonetheless. "Alright though-- fine, let's say we did learn how to fight like Spider-Man and Wolverine or some shit, what then?" 

"Then we don't get nearly killed every time we're attacked." 

"Fair enough, so who exactly would train us?" Jerome inquired, deciding to play along, ever so slightly intrigued. 

"I've already found a few books on fighting-" 

"Wow, really? I guess that makes you a professional boxer then, eh? Really showed your skills tonight." Jerome snickered, earning a glare. 

"And I've managed to find a list of individuals who teach defense." Wayne informed, choosing to not reply to Jerome's comment. "Most of them are across the world, so we'd have to wait until we can travel, but until then I'm sure Oswald could find a suitable teacher for us, and I'm learning techniques from Alfred I could show you, not to mention the books are actually rather useful-" 

"I keep hearing 'we' here-" Jerome murmured, eying Wayne quizzically, giving a half grin. "-by the time you're old enough to travel around I'm assuming I'll of told you all you wanna' know about who broke me out of Arkham and whatnot." 

Wayne was quiet for a long stretch of time. "Right." He murmured, saying something under his breath. 

Jerome arched a brow. "What was that?" 

"I said you'd probably be bored by then anyways." Wayne grumbled, laying back down as Jerome finished patching him up. 

It seemed as though Halloween night wasn't wanting them to get along for more than five minutes. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jerome asked taken aback, head tilting as the corners of his lips tugged upwards somewhat curiously and somewhat irked. 

"I'm just saying it's not like we have to just stop being friends when this whole thing with us doing one thing to find out another is done or whatever." 

"Ooh, so we're friends now?" Jerome chimed, unscrewing a tiny bottle's lid and pouring a couple of pills into his palm. "I could've sworn we were acquaintances keeping this relationship 'strictly professional.'" 

Wayne took the two pills unsurely, eying them questionably. "Yeah, well, you pretty much saved me from getting killed twice, even if you did try to kill me once, so..." Wayne trailed off. 

"Relax, Oswald gave me the pills-- he said some guy named Victor made them-- they're supposed to work wonders for pain apparently." Jerome waved off, handing Wayne a bottle of water, deciding to not comment any further of the subject of them being 'friends'; Jerome found Wayne entertaining, he really did, and there was possibly a tiny chance the kid had somewhat grown on him, but he did not have friends-- Jerome had means of entertainment that he could give less of a shit about when they got boring, so he wasn't about to get Wayne's hopes up by acting like they'd be able to stay all buddy-buddy in the future. 

It just wouldn't work. Jerome was a bad guy that would probably turn out to be a huge criminal, and Wayne was a good guy that would probably turn out to be one of the only good cops in Gotham or something. Jerome wanted to inflict chaos for fun, Wayne wanted to make peace for justice. Jerome had killed people, and Wayne was as innocent as they came-- being friends wouldn't last. 

Wayne took the hint, deciding to simply swallow the pills and not say anything else on the matter, eyes closing. "Can I rest here for a little while?" 

"Yeah, I'll get you up in an hour so we can get home by Alfred's curfew." Jerome murmured, gathering up all the supplies he'd used to patch Wayne up and leaving the boy to himself. 

"Thanks for letting me patch him up here." Jerome thanked with a grin while walking into the Penguin's parlor, setting the supplies in a storage closet. 

"Of course-- I take care of my own." Oswald replied, examining a sheet of paper Wayne had made for him which went over where he knew secret doors were not, such as places in the garden and libraries along with even carpets, somewhat irritated Wayne hadn't been able to find anything more than that, yet glad he'd at least narrowed things down. "Is he doing any better?"

"He's being a grump again, so yeah, he seems to be back to normal." Jerome snickered, closing the closet door and shoving his hands into his pockets, studying Oswald observantly. "Any luck with finding your mom?" He piped up, walking over to sit on the sofa across from his boss's throne of an armchair. 

"No, I'll probably just take Tabitha hostage." Oswald sighed, referring to how Wayne had informed him that was apparently the one Theo was closest to. "Although she's rather skilled, and would definitely not come without a fight..." 

Jerome hesitated, briefly contemplating on suggesting Oswald just go after Silver instead, yet deciding to keep his mouth shut for the time being. "Has Butch had any luck?" 

Oswald set his paper to the side, hand running through his hair. "It's... complicated." He admitted, brow furrowing. "I'm afraid he may be lying, although he claims to know where she is." 

Jerome's brow raised. "No offense, but you seem like a real mama's boy-- why haven't you gone to check out whether he was lying or not yet?" 

"Preparations are being set to be sure nothing goes wrong, and I'll be leaving rather shortly." Oswald answered, glancing at the clock anxiously, silence befalling them for a long moment as only ticking filled the air. "May I ask you something?" 

Jerome gave a half grin, lounging back on the sofa comfortably. "You're the boss," He replied, giving a shrug. "I'd say you could ask me anything." 

Oswald nodded, contemplating on whether or not he should be asking this before saying, "Wayne seems a lot closer to you than you are to him," He revealed bluntly, earning a taken aback stare. "Although you do seem to-" What would the right word be. "-I suppose... 'care' for him somewhat, in a odd manner." Oswald continued, swallowing nervously. "So tell me, if he was in trouble, or rather, let's say his butler was in trouble, and he came to you for help, would you bother helping him?" 

Jerome caught onto the analogy. "Lemme' guess, Brucie's supposed to be you, I'm detective jackass, and the butler's mama Cobbles?" He smirked knowingly, head cocking. 

Oswald nodded, not seeing a reason to lie, leg bouncing up and down in an antsy fashion. "Yes." 

Jerome pondered, giving a slight quirk of the shoulders. "It depends-- I keep Wayne around because I like having a puppy, but Jim keeps you around because you come in handy when he needs help with a case." He was just stating the facts. "Either way, neither of us would be willing to walk right into death to save either of you, but I like having a rush, and Jim is cringingly brave-- we'd be willing to take risks, but not sacrifices." Jerome paused, cracking a wicked smile. "Ya' know, Ozzy, we both are only friends with Jimbo and Brucie because of favors, so all you gotta' do is come up with a good enough favor to offer Jim to take Theo out." 

"Jim wouldn't take Theo out," Oswald scoffed, head shaking and eyes shutting, taking in a deep breath, obviously on edge. "The whole city sees that monster as a hero, and I'm sure Jim does as well-- he doesn't attack good guys." 

"So convince Jimmy-boy that Theo isn't a good guy." Jerome retorted, leaning forward on the sofa, giving an unsettling smirk. "You wanna' know the only difference between me and you?" 

Oswald met Jerome's eyes cautiously, eyes narrowing. "Do tell." He eventually permitted. 

Jerome flashed a grin. "I'm not afraid of corrupting my 'friends.'" 

Oswald's eyebrows quirked taken aback. "Excuse me?" 

"Oh come on, you're practically swooning over how Gordon's the only damn good cop in this shithole-- I bet you'd like him a lot more if you brought him down to your level." 

"And let Jim be like every other police officer in Gotham?" Oswald snapped, giving a hostile smile. "No thank you." He straightened up, chin raising. "Does that mean you're attempting to 'corrupt' Wayne, as you put it?" 

Jerome snickered at the somewhat protective tone. "Just saying Jimbo would be a hell of a lot more fun if you got him to loosen up a little." He defended with a wink. "And do I detect a hint of worry in your tone? I mean, come on, Oz-- the big bad king of Gotham fretting over a kid? You're not going soft, boss, are ya'?" 

"Wayne is the youngest worker here and he's lost both his parents, not to mention he has to deal with the likes of you- a chaotic individual who has no vision for building anything whatsoever- so yes, I may be pitying him a bit more than most all things considered," Oswald hissed through clenched teeth. "I would advise you to not test me, Jerome." 

"Oh ho ho, so the Penguin has a bit of sympathy, eh?" Jerome challenged nonetheless, Oswald seething. "What's wrong, boss? Wayne remind you of yourself in the good ol' days working for, oh what was her name?" Jerome grinned. "Fish Mooney?" 

Oswald's fist slammed against his armrest. "Do not speak her name-" 

"Ooh, or maybe you feel bad for the poor kiddo losing his dear mum, yeah?" Jerome continued with a fake tone of pity nonetheless, perhaps enjoying riling people up a bit too much. "Ya' know what? I'm actually beginning to wonder if maybe we're just reminders that Jim will care about you just about as much I'll care for Brucie-" 

"Attempting to get a rise out of me is a foolish mistake that I highly suggest you not make." Oswald practically growled, earning a crackle of laughter. 

"What's wrong? Did I manage to strike a nerve?" Jerome chuckled amused, Oswald glaring daggers at him. "It's not as though it's not obvious you're drooling over dear ol' Jim if that's what you're getting all huffy about-" 

"Is that what this is about?" Oswald laughed bitterly, Jerome grinning with how he didn't deny his accusation. "I understand you're upset at Jim for putting you in Akrham, Jerome, but you are behaving in an entirely immature as well as dangerous manner, and I will not hesitate to-" 

"I need to go home." A shaky voice piped up, Jerome and Oswald both blinking and directing their attention towards Wayne. "I feel better and want to get back before my ribs start to hurt too much again." He explained quietly, leaning against the wall and earning a stretch of silence. 

Oswald cleared his throat at that, Jerome's gaze averting. "Of course, would you like a ride home?" The Penguin offered, composing himself as his fury began to calm. 

"No thank you, I need to learn how to tough things out." Wayne assured, earning a vaguely concerned look. "Thank you though-- I'll be fine, Mr. Cobblepot." 

Oswald frowned yet nodded. "If you decide you require transportation please feel free to call and I'll send a driver your way." 

Wayne gave a nod of gratitude, glancing over at Jerome as the other refused to look his way, coldly asking, "Are you ready?" 

Jerome stood, rubbing the back of his neck and shrugging, both boys refusing to meet one another's stares. "Sure, let's go." He chewed on his lower lip, hesitantly eying Wayne. "You need help walking?" 

Wayne limped by Jerome, icily replying, "I'm fine, but thank you." 

Jerome sighed-- well, he was the one who had told Wayne he wanted to be strictly professional... 

The pair walked in silence, halfway back home when Jerome finally sighed, "Are you sure you don't need help?" 

Wayne continued shuffling down the sidewalk, ribs beginning to hurt more and more with each step. "I'm. Fine." 

Jerome's eyes rolled. "Stop being stubborn and let me help, alright?" 

Wayne laughed, bitterly shooing Jerome's offered hand away. "I'm the stubborn one now?" He scoffed, continuing to determinedly limp forward. 

"You've always been the stubborn one out of the both of us." Jerome countered, grabbing Wayne's wrist and pulling the struggling boy into an angle where he could carefully wrap his arm around his waist, forcing Wayne's arm over his shoulder. 

"I don't need help." Wayne protested, attempting to pull away and more or less pouting as Jerome didn't budge. 

"It's going to take us forever to get home if you don't stop acting like a stubborn little shit and just let me help you." Jerome snapped, letting out a groan as Wayne practically simply leaned all his weight forward, being forced to let the other sit down. "Wayne I swear to-" 

"I don't want your help." Wayne persisted, sitting crossed legged on the ground and glaring up at Jerome. 

"Yeah, well, you need it." Jerome laughed through clenched teeth, trying to pull Wayne upright and glowering at him as Wayne simply laid down. "You're a spoiled brat, ya' know that?" He grumbled, contemplating on simply leaving the other on the ground. 

"At least I don't kill people." 

"Oh, really Wayne? We're doing this now?" Jerome scoffed, pondering on just dragging Wayne home by his ankle, because this was getting aggravating as hell. "Fine, at least I don't throw hissy fits." 

"I do not throw hissy-" 

"Well what do you call this?" Jerome snickered irritatedly, resorting to grabbing Wayne's wrists and tugging him into a sitting position, irked sigh leaving his lips as Wayne tried to pull away. "Just- dangit, Wayne- just stop being so much damn trouble and-" Jerome blinked, feeling Wayne yank his hands back, resulting in the red haired male falling backwards into a puddle. 

Jerome stared up at the sky for a few second, the corners of his lips tugging upwards rather pissed off-- that was it. 

Wayne went wide eyed as Jerome sat up, gulping as the other stood and scrambling up, sprinting away yet only managing to get a few yards forward when feeling Jerome basically tackle him, Wayne letting out a noise and managing to twist his body around to where he was able to knee Jerome in the stomach, earning a pained laugh. 

"Get off of me." Wayne huffed, feeling Jerome pin his wrists down and attempting to squirm out of his grasp. 

"Not exactly in the position to be giving orders, now are you, Brucie?" Jerome challenged with a smirk, debating on whether or not he should take a swing at the other. 

"Well I'm not about to let a murderer kill me." Wayne snapped, trying to kick Jerome where it counts. 

"Oh come on, I didn't say anything about killing-" Wayne's face rammed upwards, Jerome letting out a surprised groan as he stumbled back and off of Wayne, covering his bleeding nose and letting out a pained laugh. "Actually, ya' know what? I take that back." He chuckled, standing up and feeling his lips spread into a wider grin at the sight of Wayne in a defensive fighting stance, the smaller boy's fists raised. "You sure are cocky for someone with fractured ribs." 

"I'm just on my guard," Wayne resorted, tensing as Jerome began to walk towards him nonchalantly. "Most have to be when they're constantly hanging out with a murderer." 

"Yeah, a murderer that's saved your ass twice now." Jerome snickered, standing in front of Wayne and staring down at him, just waiting for the fourteen year old boy to take a swing at him so he wouldn't feel so bad for dishing out a punch. 

Wayne stared up at Jerome warily, getting ready to hit the other square in the jaw, yet pausing when seeing Jerome's bleeding nose and busted lip, and oh-- Jerome had just been trying to help and Wayne was just being stubborn and now Wayne had gone 'n hurt him and-- 

This Halloween had just been a complete mess. 

"I'm sorry," Wayne shakily said quietly, fists lowering and gaze looking towards the ground. "Sorry." He sighed again, swallowing thickly, eyes beginning to gloss over and sting. "I didn't-" Jerome had looked out for him twice and practically even saved his life two times, as well as simply wanting to help Wayne get home faster, and here Wayne was going and nearly breaking his nose. "I'm sorry-" Wayne choked up, rubbing his eyes on his sleeve, whole body trembling. "I just-" This whole night had practically been an utter nightmare. 

Jerome was more surprised than angry. "Hey, is you're rib hurting?" He murmured, not knowing if Wayne was nearly sobbing because of that or because of the long night they'd both had. 

"No I just have something in my eye." Wayne lied, feeling Jerome place a hand on his shoulder and shying away, not knowing how upset the other was much less what would happen if Jerome snapped. 

Oh gosh-- Wayne looked like an absolute mess, and Jerome didn't find this funny at all. 

"Well you can't walk home if you can't see where you're going, yeah?" Jerome sighed, offering a small smile-- how was he supposed to stay upset at Wayne when he was like this? The boy was practically a puppy... oh dear DC, Wayne really was growing on Jerome. "Come on, I'll carry you back, alright?" He was still pissed off, although willing to let the fact Wayne's had almost broken his damn nose slide as long as the other didn't try anymore of that shit. 

"But-" 

"I'll give you tips on how to ask Silver out or something if you let me help you, okay? Favor for a favor?" Jerome smirked as Wayne gave a wavering laugh, letting the boy climb onto his back as he gave a nod. 

Wayne buried his face against the back of Jerome's neck, legs wrapping around his waist tightly-- it felt nice to just... relax for once, rather than constantly watching out for his pride and refusing any assistance from, well, anyone. 

"Jerome?" Wayne murmured, feeling the other tighten his hold on his legs to make sure he didn't fall. 

"Hm?" Jerome hummed, feeling Wayne grip his shirt while relaxing against him. 

"Thank you." 

"For what? Not killing you?" 

Wayne gave a tired laugh at the friendly sarcasm. "Sure." 

"No problem, just don't try to break my nose anymore." Jerome snickered, blinking as Wayne nuzzled against his neck while muttering a meek apology. "It's fine, I'm just joking around with you is all." 

Wayne tightened his hold, feeling Jerome give a reassuring squeeze to his legs. "Okay." 

The two didn't say anything for a long while until stumbling upon a road with a haunted house containing fake poison ivy as decorations along with a scarecrow, Jerome briefly pausing to examine the peculiar place before continuing forward. 

"Do you wanna' go?" Wayne spoke up quietly, voice sounding a lot steadier. 

"It's fine, you should get some rest." 

"We can go." 

"But-" 

"It's okay, a favor for a favor, right? You're carrying me home, so I'll wait for you to go in there and we can just leave when you come back out." Wayne insisted. 

"Didn't we already agree I'd tell you how to hook up with Silver if you let me carry you home?" Jerome countered with a chuckle. 

"Well then you don't have to pay this favor back," Wayne huffed, cheek resting on Jerome's shoulder. "I know you wanna' go, it's fine-- I'll just wait out here." 

Jerome paused, staring at the haunted house for a few pondering seconds. "Eh, wouldn't be fun to do alone-" 

"I'll go with you." Wayne sighed reluctantly, knowing Jerome was going to say that. 

Jerome gave a wide grin. "Yeah?" 

"But I'm not looking at anything." Wayne stated, burying his face against the crook of Jerome's neck. "Tell me when we're through." 

"Aw, is someone scared-" 

"Hush." Wayne grumbled, tightening his grasp on Jerome as the other walked towards the haunted house. 

"How much does it cost?" Jerome asked, reaching into his pocket to take out the money he'd gotten by working for Oswald. 

"Oh, it's free, dear, but we accept donations." The elderly lady wearing a doubled faced mask with one side smiling and the other frowning answered, nodding gratefully as Jerome tossed twenty bucks into the donation box. "Have fun, loves." 

Jerome entered the house, smirking at the sight of a pale woman holding a torn up umbrella as she welcomed them in an icy tone, the red haired male examining the eery interior and smirking amused, walking through the long hall as Wayne kept nuzzled against his neck, refusing to look up. 

Wayne heard a loud scream, causing him to tighten his arms around Jerome, muscles tensing as he felt Jerome halt and jump slightly before the red haired teen let out a snicker. 

Jerome examined the bloody doctor that had jumped out at him, giving a chuckle and continuing forward, feeling Wayne cling to him tightly as he made his way towards an open door, nearly falling back as fake spiders along with bats rained down on them from the ceiling, causing him to smirk and Wayne to whimper. 

"Go go go go go." Wayne pleaded, freezing up as fake snakes began to fall on them, letting out a shaky sigh while Jerome walked away from the falling objects. 

"You don't like haunted houses, do you?" Jerome mused, walking through a threshold and observing two inflated sheets pressed against each other. 

"Not really." Wayne admitted, the corners of his lips tugging downwards as Jerome walked through said sheets, instantly growing claustrophobic. "Jerome." He sighed in a small and meek voice, eyes squeezing shut. 

"We're fine-" Jerome started to assure in a laugh, jolting as someone from the other side of the sheets gave a loud screech, voice sounding strange as though they were wearing some sort of breathing mask or something along the lines of such, causing Jerome to stumble out of the large cloths, falling down on his knees as Wayne fell to the side. 

"It's not funny!" Wayne huffed as Jerome let out a crackle, the poor boy looking absolutely horrified. 

"Come on." Jerome chuckled, helping Wayne up and blinking as the other more or less hugged him, looking down at the boy as he buried his face against his chest. "What-" A tattered up man wearing a pitch black skull mask came crawling towards them by using his arms in a rather menacing fashion. "Oh." 

"Please don't leave me." Wayne practically begged, limping after Jerome as the two sped walked away from the crawling man, Wayne holding onto Jerome's arm for good measure. 

"Even if I did you'd be fine-- none of this is real." Jerome scoffed, earning an upset look. "Not that I will, of course." He assured, deviously picking up Wayne bridal style and earning a surprised noise. 

"I don't like being carried like this." Wayne objected, arms crossing as Jerome walked towards another room-- it was better than being left behind, nonetheless, he supposed, 

"Aw, why not? I'd say it's romantic," Jerome teased with a wink, Wayne narrowing his eyes at that. "I mean, really, I, the jock, am carrying you, the preppy rich one, through a haunted house while running away from a disturbing creature-- we're practically the annoying couple that dies right away in a horror movie." 

"I am not preppy-" Wayne protested, cussing as Jerome tripped again, Wayne falling on his ass while Jerome fell flat upon the floor. "Stop dropping me!" 

"Is this the part I say 'go on without me, babe', and try to be the hero?" Jerome jested, standing up and brushing himself off, helping Wayne up. "And you are kinda' preppy-- I mean, I am carrying you everywhere." 

"Fine, I'll walk on my own." Wayne grumbled, limping towards the exit stubbornly. 

"I'm joking, c'mere-" Jerome laughed, attempting to help Wayne towards the way out and snickering as the other waved his hands away. 

"You can help me when we're out of here so you're don't drop me everywhere." Wayne snapped, earning a smirk as the pair exited the haunted house, Wayne halting where he stood and going wide eyed. 

Jerome eyebrows raised, following Wayne's gaze, sights landing on a man in a butcher costume as well as a clown mask, the worker holding a chainsaw, and yeah-- even Jerome had to admit that was rather terrifying. 

"Relax, it's not like he has the chain on it." Jerome chuckled as Wayne hid behind him, nonetheless eying the weapon slightly warily, because what if this guy accidentally forgot to take of the chain? That would certainly be a doozy. 

"You go first." Wayne urged, gripping Jerome's sleeve and staring up at the costumed man uneasily. 

"Oh thanks, just sacrifice me, why don't ya'?" Jerome scoffed, nonetheless walking forward, giving a nervous laugh as the other simply stared at them without moving an inch, Wayne staying right behind him, more or less clinging to the taller one's arm. "Hey there-" Jerome snickered unsurely, blinking as the man came at them, revving up his chainsaw-- nope nope nope. 

Jerome sped walked away, grabbing Wayne's wrist while the pair hurried out through the gates, Jerome laughing and Wayne trembling as the man stopped at said gates. 

"Well, that was fun." Jerome mused somewhat breathlessly thanks to rerunning away from the chainsaw individual. 

"No it wasn't." Wayne panted, holding his throbbing ribcage. "Can we please go home now?" 

Jerome gave another laugh, wrapping his arm around Wayne, helping the boy limp away from the haunted house. "Aren't you supposed to be trying to become fearless or something?" 

"Shut up, I'm working on it." Wayne snapped, earning a snicker. "You freaked out a few times, too!" 

"Relax, I'm just kidding." Jerome chuckled, stopping in his tracks as Wayne stumbled, tightening his grasp. "Alright, come on." 

"I don't need to be carried." Wayne objected determined. 

"Are we really going through this stubborn schtick again? Because by all means, we can take a few hours to get home if you want us both to freeze our asses off out here." 

Wayne gave a grumble, begrudgingly climbing onto Jerome's back. 

The rest of the walk home was uneventful, neither of the two saying anything until quietly entering the mansion, Jerome attempting to sneak up the stairwell and freezing halfway up as the pair heard, "Master Wayne?" 

Wayne's eyes shut. "Yes, Alfred?" 

"How did things go?" His butler called out from another room. 

"They went fine." Wayne answered, Jerome chewing on his lower lip. "I uh, I'm really tired, so I'm going to get some rest, okay?" 

A pause dragged by. "Right, glad you had a nice time." 

Wayne let out a relieved sigh, Jerome cracking a grin, the pair continuing up the steps. 

"How's your ribs?" Jerome's asked as Wayne laid down and curled up on his side, not bothering to take his tattered up bat costume off. 

"The pills worked." Wayne mumbled with a shrug. 

"But it still hurts?" Jerome inquired, earning a nod. "I could sneak downstairs and get some ice." 

"I need to learn to take pain until I become immune towards it." 

Jerome snickered, taking off his hyena ears, wincing as the glue stuck to his real ears. "I'm assuming you read that in one of those books of yours?" 

"Yes, actually, I did, and Ra's Al Ghul is actually a rather credited source, so it's not like I'm just reading-" 

"Bullshit?" Jerome offered with a smirk, unbuttoning his long sleeved shirt. 

Wayne's jaw clenched. "Yes, it's not like I'm reading 'bullshit.'" 

"Whatever you say, Brucie, but try to not be so hard on yourself, okay kiddo? You're nine." 

"I'm fourteen!" Wayne knew Jerome was purposefully getting his age wrong, and it was really beginning to piss him off amongst other hectic things that had happened that evening. 

"Alright cranky, I'll let you get some rest." Jerome teased with a smirk, earning a glare as he walked over to ruffle up Wayne's hair. "You need anything?" 

"Just turn the lights off, please." Wayne answered, already having trouble keeping his eyelids raised. 

The corners of Jerome's lips tugged upwards. "Sure thing, princess." 

"And stop giving me prissy nicknames." Wayne huffed, staying quiet as the lights flicked off, hearing Jerome make his way over towards his walk-in closet before opening it as Wayne finally spoke up, "Thank you." 

Jerome halted in the threshold. "Ya' know you've already said that once tonight without telling me just what-" 

"I'm just glad we're friends, alright?" Wayne interjected softly. "Or acquaintances or whatever-- you've helped me get out of a lot of crap-" 

"Yeah, crap that I got you into in the first place." 

Wayne's lips pursed. "Forget it." 

Silence filled the air for a long while, Jerome eventually sighing, "Thanks for loosening up some, yeah?" 

Wayne scoffed. "Sure, you're welcome I guess." 

Jerome stared at Wayne's outline in the dark for a few seconds, not knowing whether or not he should attempt to converse anymore for the night and simply shutting the door. 

Wayne let out a shaky breath, growing frustrated as his eyes began to water up for what felt like the millionth time that night, burying his face against his pillow and letting out a muffled sob. 

Having a killer as your best friend could really screw you up. 

Jerome, meanwhile, was staring at the ceiling as he laid on a twin bed mattress from inside the walk-in closet, frowning as he recalled the way that man at Oswald's fight club had slashed Wayne's cheek with a knife, a weak smile pulling on his lips as a memory flashed through his mind pertaining to when he was little and his mother had been washing the dishes drunkenly before growing irritated at him and using the steak knife she'd been cleaning to take a swing at him-- she hadn't meant to actually cut him, only wanting to get him to 'shut up' as a warning, although she had gone and nicked him, and the bitch was lucky she hadn't left a scar... 

Jerome let out a shaky laugh, feeling like he was going to be sick yet swallowing down any negative emotions that weren't, well... funny or entertaining, those being the only ones worth anything, while running a trembling hand through his hair, eyes sliding shut as he gave another broken laugh. 

Wayne was growing on Jerome way too much, and it hurt like hell, because when all was said and done- when all Wayne wanted to know from Jerome was known- their 'professional relationship' would come to an end, and they'd have to walk their separate ways. 

Wayne let out a shaky breath, rubbing at his eyes as Jerome gave another laugh despite his furrowed brow-- Wayne knew Jerome would grow bored of him, while Jerome knew Wayne just wanted answers, and nothing more as well as nothing less. 

They'd both had a long night, and in the morning things would be back to normal. Jerome would buy Wayne candy as a peace treaty for all the bickering they'd done, just as Wayne would do the same, and they'd both not say a single word about any of the peculiar events which had occurred, which would allow everything to be back to normal so Wayne and Jerome could go back to only being acquaintances again. 

They weren't friends, and they both just had to accept that. 

Jerome gave a slightly choked up laugh, eyes glossing over yet not watering. "Happy frick'n Halloween." He sighed to himself, eyes squeezing shut as he refused to allow his smirk to fall. 

Wayne sniffled, also murmuring to himself in a sarcastic tone, "Best Halloween ever." 

Next Halloween they should probably just egg someone's house and throw streams of toilet paper over it, or just trespass into a graveyard while it was closed-- if they were even still around one another next Halloween, that is...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Halloween was last week, so I apologize for the lateness of this chapter-- I've been working on it for a while :) Enjoy!


	9. Silver Linings Through Every Gray Cloud

Jerome groaned, hearing a knock at the door and not replying, letting out a frustrated sigh as Wayne opened it, light shining into the walk-in closet. "What time is it?" 

"Eleven." Wayne answered, skimming his hangers for a suit. "Silver's coming over in about an hour for lunch-- I'll bring you a plate up after, okay?" 

Jerome grumbled, grabbing a pillow and placing it over his face while muttering, "It's too bright-- and early." 

"Well then maybe we should stop sneaking out at nighttime to 'have fun' on pointless adventures." Wayne suggested, grabbing a pair of pants. 

"Fine, then ditch school so we can go in the daytime instead." Jerome resorted tiredly. 

"Wow, aren't you a good influence on me?" Wayne murmured under his breath, walking towards the closet's exit. 

"It's not like I've influenced you to kill anyone." Jerome defended, the shirtless teen sitting up on the mattress and giving a yawn, blinking as Wayne stared at him taken aback and smirking. "What? Like what you see?" He joked, expecting that to piss Wayne off yet raising a brow as the other simply frowned, causing Jerome to look downwards and oh-- Wayne was looking at some of the scars on his torso. "Long story." He mumbled quietly, grin almost falling. 

Wayne took the hint, deciding to not pry around the clearly sensitive subject and simply giving a nod before shutting the door-- how had he gotten those? 

~*~*~*~ 

It was twelve fifteen when Wayne still hadn't brought up lunch, and Jerome was hungry as hell, so he decided to sneak out of the room and tiptoe his way downstairs, making his way over towards the parlor and halting as someone exited the room, letting out a relieved breath to see it was just Wayne rather than Alfred. 

Wayne's eyes went wide as he mouthed, 'What are you doing down here?!' 

'I'm getting lunch.' Jerome mouthed back with a shrug. 

"Go back upstairs!" Wayne hissed softly, not wanting Alfred to catch the other. 

"Well you're taking your sweet time-" Jerome spoke under his breath. 

"I'm dealing with someone kinda' complicated here!" Wayne huffed quietly before mouthing, 'Now go!' 

Jerome put up his hands defensively, mouthing back, 'Fine, fine.' He turned around, beginning to walk towards the steps, coming to a stop as he looked over his shoulder with a smirk and saw Wayne walking out of view-- Jerome was intrigued, and going to find out just what exactly was 'complicated.' 

Silver and Selina were too wrapped up in their conversation to notice the door connected to the next room open ever so slightly, Jerome carefully shutting it and being sure to not make a single noise before leaning against the back of the sofa, being sure to say out of view-- he was a curious little shit. 

So what was going on between these two? Were they just having a bit of normal teenage girl drama? 

"Who the hell are you?" The brunette scoffed. 

Jerome rolled his eyes, cracking a half grin. Yep, just some normal drama between gals. 

"I'm Bruce's friend," Silver answered, that seeming normal enough- "His only friend." Wait, what? "And you're a piece of gutter trash." Well shit. "Now tell me something-- would anyone miss you if one day you were just... gone?" What the hell had these two been arguing about? Yeesh. 

Jerome sat there rather taken aback for a few long seconds, wondering if he'd really just heard sweet, innocent, small ol' Silver actually just say... that; maybe little miss Cloud wasn't such a saint after all. 

Then again, this was the girl related to the lying jackass that had tried to murder him, so Jerome didn't find it all that surprising, although it certainly made things more interesting. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome was waiting for lunch to be over so he could sneak back upstairs without the risk of being seen, the conversation tense yet back to normal nonetheless-- that is, until he heard the brown haired girl finally say, "You really buying her act?" 

"I beg your pardon?" Silver asked oh so confused with even a touch of pain in her voice, Jerome wanting to scoff at the naïve tone-- he had to admit, Silver was good at acting. 

"Lemme' ask you a question-" The tougher of the two began. "-how long have you been a two faced slut?" 

Jerome let out a laugh at that, although it was covered up by Wayne yelling, "Selina!" 

"No, seriously, what are you after?" The one known as 'Selina' persisted, furious although somewhat hurt. "It's the money, right?" She interrogated in a calmer voice, composing herself. "I mean, it's obviously not his wacky sense of humor." 

Jerome nearly snickered at the well placed sarcasm-- he liked this girl, she seemed rather fun. 

"I should go-" Silver spoke up, Jerome growing amused at how she was able to waver her voice. 

"No, wait." Wayne protested rather irked. 

"Is that a tear?" Selina questioned mildly impressed. "You're good." 

"I'm sorry," Silver murmured gently, Jerome's eyes rolling at that. "Goodbye, Bruce." Dramatic much? 

"Silver-" Wayne sighed concerned, tone strained. "What did you just do?!" 

Jerome had half a mind to speak up and say, 'Saved you from a family known for backstabbing, or in my case, neck-stabbing.', however decided this was just too entertaining to diffuse for the time being-- he'd just tell Wayne to look out for Silver later. 

"I know you're not the best judge of, like, ya' know, people, but that girl is bad news-- I just did you a favor." Selina defended, annoyed yet obviously worried about Wayne; Jerome couldn't help but wonder who exactly this chick was. 

"I want you to leave." Wayne decided sternly. 

Jerome smirked, quietly mumbling to himself, "Harsh much?" 

Selina gave a laugh of disbelief. "Fine, whatever." The sound of footsteps walking towards the exit filled the room. 

"Maybe you're right," Wayne spoke up, said footsteps halting. "Maybe I'm not the best judge of people," Oh boy, here it came. "Because all this time I reckoned you were my friend-" Jerome almost felt bad for this Selina girl-- almost. "But clearly you have no idea what that means." 

Wayne waited for Selina to leave before going to to kitchen to grab Jerome something to eat, that being when the red haired teen ran upstairs and back to their room. 

... Well, if there was one thing Jerome had learned from eavesdropping, it was that Silver possibly had Wayne wrapped around her finger, and Jerome wasn't sure he liked that. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome listened to Wayne's side of the story, acting as interested as he could without letting on he'd heard the whole thing, nodding as the fourteen year old rambled about how Selina was apparently the big bad guy and Silver was the defenseless innocent baby that needed protecting as the jokester ate his lunch. 

"So you've known the Selina girl longer?" Jerome inquired nonchalantly, taking a bite of his sandwich. 

Wayne crossed his arms, sitting on the mattress with Jerome. "Yes, and I know she's the type to get catty with everyone, but what she said to Silver was uncalled for." 

"Is Selina the type to have poor judgement?" Jerome quipped, earning narrowed eyes. "Just saying, she could be onto something-- doesn't Silver seem a little too nice to you?" 

"Silver is our friend, Jerome-" 

"I don't have friends," Jerome interjected, afterwards adding in a not so cheeky tone, "Isn't Selina your friend, too?"

"She was, until she decided to act like she's the only one I'm allowed to hang around with." Wayne grumbled, arms crossing. 

Jerome debated on telling Wayne it was Silver who was acting like that. "Listen, this Selina chick has been away a while, right? Try to ease up-- it sounds like she's been having a rough time." 

This was suspicious-- why wasn't Jerome making jokes, and why the hell was he defending anyone? "Since when do you care about what anyone's going through?" 

"Geez Wayne, ya' don't have to make me sound like an asshole." Jerome scoffed with a smirk; in all honesty, he'd rather have a gal around who just gave sassy remarks than a gal that he had to worry about killing him and Wayne both due to her most likely being her double crossing uncle's little pawn. "I'm just saying that Silver does seem a little too nice and Selina could be onto something is all." 

"Are you saying I have poor judgement skills?" 

"What? No- well, actually... I mean, you are hanging out with me after I tried to take you hostage, so yeah, maybe-" 

"That was meant to be a rhetorical question." Wayne snapped, standing up and stomping towards the exit. 

"Aw come on, where are you going?" Jerome chuckled, setting down his plate while standing up and following Wayne. 

"To apologize to Silver, so I suggest you stay here unless you want Theo to see you're alive." Wayne answered heatedly, halting as Jerome stood in front of the door. "Move." 

"Listen, I know you like this girl, alright?" 

Wayne felt his ears heat up in embarrassment. "What? No I don't-" 

"Kiddo, come on, it's obvious as hell, okay? But you've gotta' admit she does seem a little too good to be true all things considered-" 

"Just because you're not used to people being nice doesn't mean she's not genuinely-" Wayne continued to argue persistently. 

"Yeah, I'm not-- I have to deal with your grumpy ass." Jerome scoffed, earning a glare. "Kidding. Well, somewhat... Listen, that's not the point-- the point is you need to keep your guard up around Silver, or better yet, just not hang out with her at all-" 

"Why? You're not making any sense, Jerome. I'm not you-- I'm not a criminal." Wayne countered stubbornly. "I don't have to be scared of any of the Galavans-- they're good people." 

"Wayne, just- seriously, don't go to their place anymore, okay? We need to stay away from Silver-- she's turning you against people-" 

"What are you talking about?" Wayne scoffed, giving a laugh of disbelief. "Are you jealous or something?" 

Jerome's eyes narrowed, the corners of his lips quirking upwards annoyed. "Excuse me?" 

Wayne arched a brow at the shift in behavior, daringly saying, "Why don't you want me to see Silver?" He stepped forward, chin inclining as he met Jerome's stare challengingly. "You're either jealous, actually care about me getting hurt, or it'll benefit you somehow." 

Jerome swallowed, eyes averting-- shit, he felt trapped, the poor seventeen year old being cornered by a damn fourteen year old. "I know Silver is dangerous, okay? Just trust me on this." 

Wayne studied Jerome quizzically. "Are you saying that because you don't want me to get hurt?" 

"I, uh-" Jerome gave a slight laugh, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he rubbed the back of his neck, the room beginning to feel vaguely cluttered-- he felt like he was suffocating. "If you get killed then what am I supposed to do for entertainment?" 

Wayne's jaw clenched. "You're a jackass." He sighed, pushing by Jerome as the other reluctantly stepped to the side, coming to a stop as he felt the other's hand grab his upper arm. "Let go." 

"We made a deal on Halloween that I'd tell you how to flirt with Silver or whatever, yeah? You still want me to or not?" Jerome had to keep Wayne there long enough for him to come up with a plan to make sure he didn't go and get his ass killed by Theo or Silver, because now Jerome had to find out just what exactly Silver had told Theo about 'Jerry', if anything. 

If Theo knew Jerome was alive, then he and Wayne both were in deep waters, and there was a good chance he did considering Silver could've just been playing innocent and acting like she didn't know who 'Jerry' really was. 

Wayne considered the offer, somewhat shyly shifting from foot to foot, clearing his throat embarrassedly until finally answering, "Okay, but I'm going to her place afterwards to apologize, alright?" 

"Then I come with you." Jerome bargained. 

"What? No, if Theo sees you-" 

"What, you don't want me to get hurt?" Jerome challenged with a smirk, using Wayne's words against him. 

Wayne glowered at Jerome in annoyance. "Fine, you can come, but we're going at nighttime and you're staying outside." 

Jerome shrugged. "Fair enough." 

~*~*~*~ 

"How do you even know how to flirt with girls?" Wayne grumbled as Jerome grabbed some clothing out of his closet. "You're gay." 

"No shit, Sherlock." Jerome snickered, rummaging through Wayne's shirts. "I'm a people pleaser, kiddo-- just because I'm not interested in the ladies doesn't mean I don't know how to charm them." He gave a huff, pausing his searching and looking over at Wayne. "Do you have anything that doesn't scream prestigious asshole?" 

"Like what?" Wayne murmured, sitting on the mattress as Jerome shut the closet door. 

"Like, I dunno', bad boy clothing or something." 

"Bad boy clothing?" 

Jerome nodded, arms crossing. "Yeah, ya' know-- leather jackets, black boots, ripped up jeans." 

Wayne's brow crinkled. "Why would I wear ripped jeans?" 

Jerome stared at Wayne in disbelief for a moment before letting out a stressed laugh. "Yeah, alright, we've got a lot of work to do." 

~*~*~*~ 

"I don't see why we couldn't just go to the store I usually get my clothes at." Wayne sighed from inside the changing stall. 

"Because that store doesn't have a single piece of clothing that doesn't scream snob." Jerome answered with a chuckle, leaning against the wall and waiting for Wayne to finish trying on the outfit he'd found. 

"I look weird in this." Wayne huffed, causing Jerome to give a snicker. 

"You'll look fine." Jerome assured, brow quirking as Wayne reluctantly exited the stall, cracking a grin. "Not half bad, tough guy." 

"I don't look tough, I look ridiculous." 

"Well, yeah, sorta', but that's because you're not supposed to button up your jacket, genius." Jerome chuckled, walking forward and unbuttoning said jacket. 

"What? Why? That doesn't make any sense-" 

"And you needa' mess up your hair a little bit." Jerome added, cracking a slight grin while Wayne slapped his hand away as he ruffled up his hair. "The baggy jeans are a nice touch-- keep those." 

"Are you sure she'll like this?" Wayne sighed, not used to not wearing vests or suits. 

"Mhm." Jerome hummed, ripping the price tags off of the shirt and jeans. 

"What are you doing?!" 

"Relax and just keep that on-- I'll give them the tags and pay for it like that." Jerome waved off, grabbing Wayne's clothes from inside the stall and walking with the smaller boy over towards the cashier. "You should get used to wearing it." He explained, cracking an amused smile at how uncomfortable Wayne looked, tossing the tags onto the counter and pulling out his wallet. 

"I can pay-" Wayne assured, reaching for the jeans in Jerome's arms. 

"It's fine, it's only like, what, twenty bucks?" Jerome objected-- he had gotten quite a bit of money thanks to working for Oswald. 

The twenty-four year old cashier eyed Wayne, taking the cash and commenting, "You two boyfriends?" 

"What? No." Both boys scoffed at the same time. 

The employee nodded, handing Jerome his change. "So you wanna' go out sometime?" He offered, smirking at Wayne and looking him up and down. 

Wayne froze up. "What-" 

"He's fourteen, asshole." Jerome laughed somewhat annoyed, grabbing the receipt and walking towards the exit, figuring Wayne would follow. 

"I wasn't asking you." The twenty-four year old replied carelessly, Wayne glancing back and forth between the two uncertainly as Jerome stopped in his tracks, the raven haired boy gulping slightly. "In any case, here's my number if you wanna' hook up sometime-" The cashier began nonchalantly, scribbling on a piece of paper before holding it out to Wayne. 

Silence. 

"Look here, you old prick-" Jerome abruptly warned with a wicked smile, grabbing the older male by his shirt and yanking him down to eye level, Wayne going wide eyed as the red haired teen swiped out a knife from his belt-- hey! That was Wayne's knife, dangit. "-if I want you to back off, then you back off, got it?" He threatened, knife raising up to the worker's throat menacingly. 

The employee swallowed thickly. "Are you his brother or something?" 

"No, I'm his friend, now do you understand what I just said or not?" Jerome answered impatiently, flashing an almost sinful smile. "For you sake I sure hope you do." 

The worker probably should've just said yes, although some people were simply foolish, and he was indeed one of such people. "If you're not his boyfriend and you're not his brother, then why the hell should I listen to you?" 

Jerome arched a brow at the smug question-- did this guy not realize Jerome was holding a damn knife up to his throat? "Maybe because I can do this?" Jerome answered with a twisted smile, raising the knife and- 

"Stop!" Wayne shouted, Jerome halting and looking towards the boy in disbelief, knife mere inches away from the cashier's chest. 

"This pervert is kinda' pissing me off, Wayne," Jerome laughed with a shrug. "Sorry, but-" 

"Well then just stab his hand or something-- don't kill him!" Wayne huffed, earning a raised brow from Jerome. 

"Wait, stab my hand?" The employee questioned shakily. 

Jerome stared at Wayne taken aback, eventually giving a smirk and shrugging once more. "As you wish, kiddo." 

"Hey now, come on, just because I'm interested in people a little younger-" The man laughed nervously, letting out a string of cuss words as the red haired male did just as the black haired boy had requested him to. "Shit- I'll get you little shits!" He shouted in pain, attempting to pull the blade out while pressing a security button, a loud alarm ringing. 

Jerome grabbed Wayne by his upper arm, the two running out of the store and sprinting at least a block away, mostly because of adrenaline, before finally coming to a halt and leaning against a brick wall. 

Wayne looked over at Jerome, noticing his amused smirk. "What?" The younger boy breathed, hands on his knees. 

Jerome let out a breathless chuckle, swallowing dryly. "You wanted me to stab that jackass." 

"Yeah, so what if I did?" Wayne grumbled, sliding to the ground and running a hand through his hair, attempting to cool down. 

Jerome grinned, letting out a hoot of laughter. "Oh, not even denying it, are we?" He hummed, taking a seat next to Wayne on the sidewalk. "Glad to know I'm growing on you." 

"He was creepy." Wayne defended with a shrug, still panting slightly. 

"Agreed, and not the good kind." Jerome chuckled, eying Wayne to make sure he was alright, taking note the other was ever so slightly shaken up. "You okay?" He mused with a laugh, placing a hand on Wayne's shoulder. 

Wayne nodded, murmuring a word of thanks before contemplating on something for a few lengthy seconds, a smirk eventually spreading onto his lips rather than Jerome's for a change. "You called me your friend." He teased, looking at Jerome amused. "I knew you cared about me." 

Jerome blinked, staring at Wayne surprised before letting out a scoff and gently pushing the other. "Really? Out of everything that just happened you're gonna' call me out on that?" He snickered, head shaking. 

"Well, I mean, you're not denying it." Wayne countered with a shrug. 

"It was the heat of the moment, alright?" Jerome chuckled, giving a stretch, legs somewhat sore. 

"I know, I'm joking." Wayne waved off, earning a snicker. 

"Yeah, finally." Jerome snickered, standing up and offering a hand. "Come on, we should get back-- it's almost dark." 

Wayne perked up. "Oh, right! We still have to go see Silver." 

Jerome's smile faltered, forcing it to stay on. "Yeah, right, Silver..." He'd been hoping Wayne forgot about wanting to go visit her. 

~*~*~*~ 

"So how do you kiss a girl?" Wayne asked as Jerome took a swig of sparkling water that he'd grabbed before they left, holding a magazine in his free hand. 

Jerome nearly spit the beverage out, eyes watering up as he choked on the drink. "What?" He coughed into his sleeve, looking at Wayne taken aback. "You're fourteen, you don't need to be kissing anyone-" 

"Fourteen is a perfectly normal age to kiss someone." Wayne snapped with a huff. "Besides, I've already had my first kiss." He added in a matter-of-factly tone. 

"With who? Mommy and daddy goodnight kisses don't count." Jerome teased, realizing he probably shouldn't of brought up Wayne's parents as the other's expression fell. "Shit, sorry, I-" 

"It's fine." Wayne grumbled, looking towards the ground, hands shoving into his pockets. "I had it with Selina." 

"See? You two even kissed each other, you should-" 

"Nice try, Jerome, but I'm not giving up Silver for Selina-- if Selina really cared about me she wouldn't make me choose." Wayne insisted, and that was that. Jerome, nonetheless, contemplated on telling him Silver was the one sneakily making him choose, however he knew Wayne wouldn't believe him, causing Jerome to irritatedly taking another gulp of water, simply having to accept Wayne wasn't going to back down. "Can you please just show me how to kiss someone?" 

Jerome did spit out his water that time, coughing much more than he had the first time. "Can I what?" 

Wayne gradually realized what he'd just said, the poor boy's face going pink. "No, wait, that's not what I- I didn't- I meant tell, not show- can you tell me how to-" Oh dear DC this was embarrassing. "Forget it." Jerome let out a fit of laughter. "It's not funny-" 

"No no, listen, it's fine-" Jerome laughed, Wayne glaring daggers at him. "I mean, I'm absolutely flattered-" 

"You know that's not what I meant-" 

"I know, I know, I'm kidding." Jerome snickered, the red haired teen stopping in front of Theo's manor as Wayne continued forward heatedly. "Hey, hey, calm down, it's fine." Jerome chuckled, tossing down the bottle of sparkling water along with the magazine before grabbing Wayne's arm and pulling the blushing boy towards him. "C'mere." 

Wayne blinked, freezing up as Jerome wrapped an arm around his waist while the taller of the two pulled him closer, Wayne instinctively placing his hands against Jerome's chest, ready to push away. "What are you doing?" 

"Showing you how to kiss someone." Jerome answered with an amused smirk, feeling Wayne's muscles tense at that, gripping his chin and tilting his head up slightly, locking their gazes-- shit shit shit, Wayne had not been expecting this- "And then, you kiss them." 

Wayne blinked, staring up at Jerome confused, heart racing rapidly. "What?" 

Jerome let Wayne go almost as quickly as he'd grabbed him, taking a step back from the riled up boy. "That's how you kiss someone," He answered nonchalantly, as though he hadn't just practically swept Wayne off of his feet and dipped him downwards. "You wrap an arm around their waist, tilt their head up, lock your eyes, and then you plant one on them if they don't push away." 

Wayne stared at Jerome as he sat down by a pillar and leaned against it, trying to read his magazine through the dark without a care in the world. "But you didn't-" 

"Plant one on you?" Jerome questioned, brow arching as Wayne nodded. "Did you want me to?" It was a joke, but it wasn't very funny at all to Wayne. 

Oh gosh, that smirk was making Wayne feel... would uncomfortable be the word? "I- uh- no, of course not. You just took me by surprise is all-- thank you." Wayne stuttered, gulping as Jerome eyed him over curiously. "I'll be out in an hour and a half, okay?" 

Jerome studied Wayne broodingly. "Sure, see you then." 

~*~*~*~ 

Only fifteen minutes had gone by when Jerome heard footsteps approaching his hiding spot, causing him to look up before quietly standing and squeezing into a tiny spot between the pillar and a wall, waiting for whoever the individual coming his way was to walk by- 

"Jerome?" A familiar voice greeted, causing Jerome to blink and peek out of his hiding place, meeting Silver's eyes and fixing to reply-- wait... did she just call him Jerome..? "We really should catch up with one another, don't you agree?" 

That definitely didn't sound good... particularly because Wayne wasn't with her, and Jerome had little to no idea on where Wayne could even be. 

Great, just great. 

"Talk about what?" Jerome inquired, growing antsy, wondering if he was very likely going to be ambushed by Silver's bodyguards. 

"Do you know who Penguin is? He's all over the news," She smiled much too kindly. "Apparently he may he dead." 

Jerome's stomach sank, forcing on an unsettled grin. "What?" Crap, no, he couldn't be dead-- Penguin was the only protection he and Wayne had... he had a feeling Silver knew that. 

"I head rumors that his mom was found dead, too-- it sounds like the poor guy just can't catch a break, huh?" She laughed in a sickly sweet tone. 

"Nice to know, oh, by the way, where's where's Wayne?" Jerome inquired impatiently, not bothering to put on a charismatic facade, a dangerous grin instead spreading on his lips. "He and I really should be going, sweet-cheeks." Jerome needed to get out of there-- now. 

"He's watching my uncle give a speech on television," She answered, blocking Jerome's pathway as he attempted to walk towards the mansion. "They've both grown really close, in fact, I'd say Wayne's even family now-" Silver blinked, feeling Jerome grab her upper arms and push her against the wall firmly yet carefully. 

"Let's cut to the chase, hm?" Jerome offered, flashing an annoyed smile. "You know I figured you out, and I know you're about as innocent as your uncle-- there's really no reason to beat around the bush, little miss Saint." 

Silver swallowed thickly, tense under Jerome's grasp yet bravely raising her chin. "How exactly did you figure me out?" 

"I heard you talking to Selina." Jerome answered with a smirk. "My turn-- how long have you known who I am?" 

Silver straightened up, pondering on Jerome's explanation. "Huh. That makes sense-- I reckoned you'd caught on when Wayne started talking about how he wanted to keep peace between me and Selina," She gave a smirk. "I figured you'd been putting the idea of staying friends with that gutter trash into his-" 

"Don't ramble, just tell me how long you've known who I am." Jerome snapped, regretting his decision to leave his knife in, well, that cashier's hand. 

"The day we met," Silver obliged carelessly. "I knew you looked familiar, and it took me a few minutes, but you weren't too hard to recognize-" 

"Good to know." Jerome interrupted, not allowing the smaller girl to babble. "Does your uncle know I'm alive?" 

"No, not yet." Silver answered, earning a quizzical stare. "Although he will if you don't back off from Wayne." 

Jerome blinked at that. "Come again?" He scoffed, the corners of his lips tugging upwards in annoyance. 

"I'm sorry, Jerome, but I can't have you just coming and ruining everything my uncle's worked for." Silver apologized with a smile, shoulders shrugging. "It's my job to make sure Wayne doesn't find out all of my family's... secrets, and I know my uncle told you too many of them before, well, trying to kill you-- I can't risk you letting Wayne onto us." 

Jerome's jaw clenched and unclenched, teeth gritting, smirking bitterly. "You're blackmailing me." 

Silver nodded bluntly. "Well, yes." She gripped Jerome's wrists, pulling them off of her arms and pushing them away. "Don't come near Wayne again, or I tell uncle Theo you're alive, and if I tell uncle Theo that then both you and him would wind up dead in a ditch somewhere to make sure you two kept your mouths shut." Silver stepped forward, standing on the tips of her toes and getting much too close to Jerome's face. "Did I spell that out for you well enough, or do you need help getting the point?" 

Jerome took the challenge, standing his ground and smirking down at the girl. "What's stopping me from breaking you in half right now, sweetheart?" He questioned, stepping forward and forcing the rather surprised Silver to step back. "Hm? Because I really, and I mean really, could give less of a shit about killing you right now-" He gave a shrug, cracking another grin and laughing. "-hell it may even be kinda' fun-- us 'maniacs' have an itch, ya' know?" 

"You would kill a girl?" 

"Sweetie, I killed commissioner Essen-- I sure as hell wouldn't bat an eye if I decided to kill you." Jerome chuckled amused. "Gender doesn't really matter to me." He added with a wink. 

Silver eyed Jerome nervously. "If you kill me Wayne will find out you did it-- you know that." She placed a hand against Jerome's cheek, the red haired male having half a mind to break her wrist. "And then Wayne would tell Theo, and you would both end up dead." She smiled coldly. "Unless you want to kill Wayne you have to stay away from him." 

"Or I could just tell him the truth about what you and Theo are up to." Jerome countered with a sour smirk. 

"Who will he believe, Jerome? The girl he has a crush on who's the niece of the man that saved him, or the murderer that took him hostage?" Silver resorted with ease. "All you have to do is walk away, and you both live-- I can convince my uncle to take Wayne in as his own, and it will take time, but you'll both be alive-- don't you want that?" 

Jerome simply stared at Silver for a good, long moment, eventually grabbing her wrist and yanking it away from his cheek, slamming it against the wall and earning a wide eyed stare. "If your uncle kills Wayne, I'm going to kill him, Tabitha, and you, ya' got that?" 

"I-if I didn't know better I'd say you're getting a little protective over your plaything, Jerome." Silver shakily piped up in a knowing tone. 

Jerome gave a tight grin, leaning forward and pressing his lips against to Silver's ear while saying in an icy tone, "I don't like people taking what's mine-- do something like this again and I won't be so friendly next time." 

Silver winced as Jerome released her wrist and pulled away, letting out a relieved sigh as he made his way down the sidewalk. 

Why should Jerome care? He was probably going to get bored of Wayne soon in any case. 

Jerome didn't care. Jerome looked out for himself. Jerome didn't see Wayne as anything other than entertainment... 

Jerome turned the corner, slamming his fist into a sign and letting out a shaky sigh, feeling like he was going to be sick. 

This wasn't funny, and Jerome didn't know what to do. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne was kissing Silver Wayne was kissing Silver Wayne was kissing Silver Wayne was-- hey wait a second... 

"Where's Jerry?" Wayne asked, pulling away from the kiss confused-- he was supposed to of came back inside with Silver-- she'd offered to go out to get him after Wayne revealed he was outside since her uncle wasn't there, so where was he? 

Silver couldn't help but feel a tinge of irritation at the fact Wayne's mind apparently wandered to Jerome when they were frick'n kissing-- gosh, he almost never shut up about Jerome when around her, unless Jerome was with them, of course. 

Silver pulled back, giving the most puppy-like expression she could. "Wayne... you know how I said things wouldn't work between us with Selina?" 

Wayne blinked, giving a nod. "Yeah?" 

Silver managed to make her eyes gloss over, forcing her voice to waver. "W-well Jerry won't let us be together e-either." 

Wayne's eyebrows quirked. "Huh? What are you talking about-" 

Silver timidly showed her trembling bruised wrist. "He tried to kiss me, Wayne." 

Wayne's jaw dropped. "What?" 

Silver let out a well placed sniffle, eyes closing as her lower lip trembled. "I- I went out to get him and when I saw him he tried to kiss me and- and I told him to stop b-but then he pushed me against the wall and- and-" 

Wayne's brow furrowed, not sure if he'd heard Silver correctly. "He did?" That didn't sound like Jerome, and he was, well, gay. "But-" He frowned. "Are- are you okay?" Had Jerome lied about that..? 

Silver dabbed at her eyes. "I- I'm just- oh Wayne, I was so scared." 

Wayne wrapped his arms uncertainly around Silver, feeling her nuzzle against the crook of his neck. "Are you sure it was him?" 

"Of course I am." Silver cried, clinging onto Wayne's shirt. "He- he said we should have a bit of fun and play a joke on you for entertainment and I- Wayne, he seemed so charming, I just- I didn't realize what he was really- he was so upset when I didn't- I was so- I just-" 

"It's okay." Wayne hushed gently, rubbing circles on Silver's back. "It's fine, alright?" He swallowed, feeling anger begin to bubble up in him, practically seething. "You're safe." 

Wayne was going to kick that two faced jerk's ass. 

Jerome was a murderer. Jerome was a bad guy. Jerome didn't care about Wayne. 

Wayne got that now, and he felt absolutely terrible for it taking something to happen to Silver to even realize such. 

There was no reason for Wayne to not believe Silver as far as he was concerned-- because why would Silver ever lie about somethings like that? She'd been good to Wayne, and she was innocent, while Jerome was a criminal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Blaaky, an artist who's made a couple of lovely art pieces for a few previous chapters, made an amazing piece of art based on a 'haunted house meme' picture I picked out for the Halloween bonus chapter, and it is amazing tbh. I really love it! Seriously, the haunted house meme is one of my favorite things, and it was super kind of her to draw it, so please check it out if you get a chance! 
> 
> Really, her art style is spectacular and the costumes are spot on! 
> 
> http://quellines-stories.tumblr.com/post/132756975541/blaakycat-quellines-stories-guess-who-updated


	10. Tender Deception

"Why hasn't the fact that Jerome Valeska is alive been made aware to the public yet?" Wayne inquired with a determined stance and cold hard glare. 

Harvey gave a scoff. "Does he always talk like this, Jim?" 

Jim ignored Harvey's comment, keeping his attention on the awaiting boy. "We don't want to create a panic-- commissioner Barne's orders." 

"I'd like to speak with your commissioner." Wayne persisted stubbornly. 

"Has Jerome tried to contact you, Wayne?" Jim questioned, eyebrows furrowing in concern. 

Wayne swallowed, eyes averting. "No, I just don't feel safe when the seventeen year old that took me hostage is loose and protected by the illusion of people reckoning he's dead simply for a misplaced feeling of temporary safety, rather than rational caution being urged instead of covered up." 

Harvey's brow knitted together. "What?" 

"How do you know Jerome's seventeen?" Jim questioned, eyes narrowing. 

Wayne frowned at the question. "Beg your pardon?" 

"How do you know Jerome is seventeen?" Jim repeated, arms crossing. 

Wayne swallowed dryly, straightening up somewhat. "The broadcasts you sent out when he was at large revealed his age-" 

"Yeah, a misprinted age," Harvey interrupted, hands on his hips. "We accidentally set him as eighteen." 

"How do you know his real age, Wayne?" Jim sighed, wondering what Wayne had gone and gotten himself into now. 

Wayne stared at Jim, glancing at Harvey before returning his gaze towards Jim once more. "Research?" The two detectives stared at him knowingly, Wayne not doing anything for a few seconds before abruptly turning around and running off. 

"Hey!" Jim shouted, sprinting after Wayne. "Wait!" 

Harvey sighed-- great, he hated running. "Somebody grab him!" 

Wayne weaved through the officers in the police department, dodging each cop's grab narrowly before managing to burst through the exit. 

Wayne didn't have time for interrogations, not now-- he had to find Jerome before he attacked Silver again. 

"Any luck?" Silver asked as Wayne scanned the area for somewhere to hide, eyebrows arching as Wayne grabbed her hand and jogged off. "Where are we going?" 

"Somewhere the cops can't catch us." Wayne laughed slightly breathlessly, sprinting down an alleyway as Jim and Harvey ran after them. 

"The police are after us?" Silver questioned in disbelief as they made their way out of the alleyway and into the crowd, Jim shouting at them to stop. "Wayne, what did you do?!" 

"Nothing illegal," Wayne assured, moving through the bustling people and being sure to hang onto Silver's hand. "Well, I'm pretty sure I didn't do anything illegal." 

"Pretty sure?" Silver sighed as the pair jogged towards an open delivery truck, both jumping inside and hiding behind a couch. 

Now all they had to do was wait for the policemen to get out of sight. 

"I'm going to find Jerry, don't worry." Wayne promised, a determined glint in his eyes. 

Silver nearly groaned-- her plan wasn't working considering rather than the two just staying away from one another Wayne was instead set on finding Jerome. 

"You know what? It's really fine." Silver laughed somewhat nervously with a shrug, needing Wayne to leave Jerome alone if she wanted things to go according to plan. "You don't have to find him-- I feel safe. Let's just-" 

"No, it's okay, I don't mind," Wayne assured, smiling at Silver comfortingly. "I want you to feel as safe as possible." 

Silver forced on a smile. "Thanks..." 

Wayne nodded, checking outside to make sure everything was clear before turning his attention back towards Silver. "You should go back home where it's safer though-- I'll find him." 

"What? No. Wayne, listen, I can really take care of myself, and you seriously don't need to do this-" 

"I know you can take care of yourself, but if you want to go back then that's alright," Wayne assured, not meaning to of sounded rude. "We can stick together if you want, or split up so we could find him faster." 

Dangit, Silver really wasn't going to get Wayne to give up, was she? "I-" She glanced outside the van, spotting Harvey coming their way and sighing. "Split up." 

Wayne looked where Silver was staring-- crap. "Right, I'll go right and you go left?" Silver nodded. "Be safe." Wayne murmured, pressing a kiss against Silver's cheek. "On three." 

Silver swallowed. "One..." 

Harvey was only a few feet away from the moving van when two little brats jumped out of it. "Hey!" He yelled, not knowing which one to go after as they both ran separate ways. "Dangit.", Harvey grumbled, going after Silver while Wayne disappeared through an alley. 

Wayne gave a triumphant smirk-- now all he had to do was find Jerome and give him a piece of his mind... 

Jerome, meanwhile, was being interrogated by a rather catty girl. 

"Why should I believe you?" Selina questioned suspiciously, looking Jerome up and down, sizing him up. 

"Because I'm not Silver St. Cloud." Jerome answered with a shrug, flashing a grin. "Or don't believe me-- I could care less." 

Jerome seemed to dislike that chick just as much as Selina did... that managed to make her trust him a bit more, even if it was only slightly. 

"We have to get Wayne away from Silver." Selina spoke up, standing in front of Jerome as he attempted to walk away. 

"Do you mind staying on your side of the sidewalk?" Jerome gave a clearly irritated wink along with an annoyed grin. "Would really appreciate it." He added, patting Selina's shoulder and once again trying to walk off, coming to a stop as Selina went back in front of him, letting out a groan and laughing, palms pressing against his face and dragging downwards as he sighed, "Please just leave me alone." He hadn't killed anyone in a while, maybe that was why he was so on edge... or maybe he missed Wayne... that little shit really had grown on him. 

"Do you give a shit about Wayne or not?" Selina asked, raising her chin challengingly. 

"What is up with all of you kids trying to act tough?" Jerome laughed in a strained tone, hand running through his hair. "But yeah, sure, I care about him, now will you just leave me alone?" He was frankly just saying whatever Selina wanted to hear in hopes she'd back off. 

"Kids?" Selina scoffed offended. "Look, I'm going to do you a favor and ignore that little comment if you stop stalling-- are you going to help me find Wayne or not?" 

"No, I'm not, because I'd rather not end up dead, and I'm pretty sure Wayne doesn't either." Jerome turned to the side, it being obvious Selina wasn't going to let him cross the sidewalk, instead walking down an alleyway. "Have fun playing hero." He chuckled, giving a wave goodbye over his shoulder, keeping his gaze forward, coming to a stop as Selina jumped onto a dumpster beside him, the female kicking over a pile of crates resting on it and blocking his pathway, causing Jerome to give a stressed laugh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I hate kids." He murmured to himself with a shaky chuckle, trying to turn around as Selina leapt in front of him, his hands clenching and unclenching. "Go away! I don't want another stray following me around!" He laughed in desperation, trying to get his words across to the strong willed girl. "Unless you feel like dying today? Because then, by all means-" He snatched up a large chunk of splintered wood from the fallen crates, holding it up threateningly. "-be my guest, sweetheart." 

Selina eyed the weapon unsettled, growing cautious yet refusing to cower-- Wayne needed them. "Why should I believe anything you said about Theo?" She laughed, swallowing thickly. "He saved Wayne, and you're a liar." 

Jerome cocked his head, giving a smirk. "I'm a what?" This kiddy drama was really beginning to piss him off. 

"A liar." Selina backed up, head shaking in disbelief-- now who was going to help her save Wayne? "You don't care about Wayne-- you don't care about anyone." 

"Well, I mean, that's a bit harsh considering we just met." Jerome defended with a chuckle, tossing the wood to the side, figuring Selina looked ready to let him go by. "But yeah, I don't, so I suggest you find a way to save him that doesn't involve me." 

Selina felt her eyes begin to gloss over as Jerome went by her, the strained girl giving a weak smirk. "If what you said about Theo is true there's no way Silver can talk him into letting Wayne live," Selina tried one more time, feeling a tinge of hope rise as Jerome halted. "Even if Silver actually wants him to live." She scoffed, wiping away a stray tear on her cheek. "Men like Theo, or at least men like the way you described Theo, will use anyone- even their nieces- to get what they want, and Theo wants Wayne dead." Selina turned around, facing Jerome and letting out a shaky breath, not knowing what to do for once. "Please-- he and Ivy are all I have now." 

Jerome kept his back towards Selina. "Then I recommend you go find whoever Ivy is and get comfortable with them, because I'm not risking my life for Wayne's-- sorry, sweet-cheeks." He shrugged off nonchalantly, walking away from the pleading girl. 

Selina had lost her mother, lost Bridgette, and possibly even lost Ivy considering she didn't know where the hell she was at the moment-- Selina couldn't lose Wayne, too. 

Jerome let out a long breath, hands shoved into his pockets as he continued down the sidewalk, pondering for a long while before deciding it was time to pay Penguin a visit and hope his boss was feelings merciful and, well, alive. 

If Jerome was going to help save Wayne's ass then he had to find out just how much backup was left. 

If anything, Jerome was going to save Wayne by himself, because he was tired of looking after, well, anyone, so he didn't quite feel like going off and growing attached to Selina as well. 

... Wayne owed him big time for this. 

In the meantime, Wayne was already at Penguin's, trying to find out whether or not his boss was alright while also attempting to resign-- he hoped Oswald was recovering considering he'd been vaguely good to him as a boss- if good was what one would call it- yet at the same time Wayne's main priority was to no longer be on a side against the man who was almost becoming like a father figure to him-- Wayne refused to work against Theo any longer. 

"Only boss's main employees are allowed inside." The bodyguard informed, blocking off the entrance. 

Wayne didn't have time for this. "Fine, please inform him I'm resigning and thanking him for his hospitality." 

The bodyguard's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?" He puffed his chest out, practically towering above Wayne as he just barely leaned over. "People who work for Penguin don't just get to quit, kid." 

Wayne shuffled back, forcing himself to not tear away from the other's gaze. "You have my sincerest apologies, but I am no longer interested in doing business with Mr. Cobblepot." 

"Did you not hear me?" The man grunted, grabbing Wayne by his shirt and picking the small boy up, earning a gulp. "Do I need to spell it out for you, chump? You don't quit-- the only way out is being six feet under ground." 

"Boss told us to go easy on the kid." The second bodyguard spoke up, earning a glare from his partner. "Put 'em down, we'll deal with this when this whole Galavan thing is settled." 

"What's going on with Oswald and Theo?" Wayne blurted out-- he was going to find out what the hell he'd been in between, and he was going to find out now, because he'd waited damn well long enough and was tired of being in the dark. 

The first bodyguard's eyebrows raised as he set Wayne back down. "You don't know why you've been working for Penguin?" He scoffed taken aback. 

"Yeah, and boss made it clear he doesn't want him to know 'cuz of carrot top." The second body guard spoke up before anymore could be said. "Now scram, kid-- you can come back here and talk about resigning with Penguin when Galavan is dead." 

"Wait, carrot top?" Wayne questioned-- dangit, Jerome knew what this was about? "And what do you mean when Galavan is dead? You can't kill him-" 

"You need to leave, now-- unless you want us to make you leave?" The bodyguard that had picked Wayne up growled gruffly. 

Wayne had to know what was going on-- he'd been patiently waiting for someone to decide it was time to tell him long enough. "But-" 

"Look, if you want answers then you can ask your buddy orangey over there, alright?" The bodyguard that had gotten his partner to put Wayne down interjected, gesturing behind Wayne with a nod. "Penguin said he could tell ya' everything if he wanted." 

Wayne brow furrowed, looking behind him and pursing his lips, meeting Jerome's eyes. 

Jerome had halted like a deer in headlights the second he'd turned the corner, not expecting to see Wayne at Oswald's. "Shit..." The seventeen year old breathed, backing up a few steps. 

"Hey!" Wayne called out, sprinting away from Oswald's manor and towards Jerome. 

Jerome let out a sigh, staring at Wayne as he anxiously debated on what to do, running a nervous hand through his hair and cussing under his breath before turning around and running away. 

Jerome was running-- that proved he didn't want Wayne to confront him, which had to mean he really had tried to kiss Silver, or at least that's what Wayne was convinced of. 

"Jerome!" Wayne shouted, relentlessly jogging after his ex-acquaintance, only a few yards away from the other. 

Jerome glanced over his shoulder, letting out a stressed huff before looking back at where he was running, skidding to a stop whence seeing Selina standing in his pathway, nearly tripping on his own feet and almost falling over. "Listen-" 

"Good, you found him." Selina piped up, arms crossing as she gave a smirk-- maybe Jerome wasn't so bad. 

"No, seriously, listen-- don't tell him anything I told you, alright? If he finds out about Theo then we'll both be-" Jerome blinked, feeling himself get tackled, managing to twist his body around so he was facing a rather pissed off Wayne. "This is not a good time, Wayne-" 

"You're an asshole!" Wayne spat, taking a swing at Jerome. 

"What the hell, Wayne?!" Jerome hissed through clenched teeth, catching Wayne's wrist before it could collide with his jaw. "Get off!" They couldn't be seen even near one another-- it was too risky. Plus, Jerome's sympathy for Wayne was going down dramatically considering the other was suddenly trying to dish out on him. 

"Why should I? You didn't get off of Silver when she told you to!" Wayne snapped, punching at Jerome with his free wrist, glowering as the other caught that one as well. 

"What are you talking about?" Jerome laughed in aggravation, attempting to kick Wayne off of him, letting out an exhausted breath as Selina yanked him off. 

"Wayne-" Silver tried to reason, backing up and raising her hands defensively as Wayne jerked out of her grasp. 

"Oh, great, so you're both working together?" Wayne scoffed in disbelief, eying Jerome as he stood up. "Why the hell do you guys hate Silver so much-"

"Because she's-" Selina started in an irritated tone. 

"Selina-" Jerome interrupted, head shaking disapprovingly as he stood. 

"He needs to know!" Selina insisted annoyed. 

"I need to know what?" Wayne questioned, brow crinkling. 

"That Silver and Theo are-" Selina attempted to explain, blinking as Jerome hurriedly approached her before locking the girl in a hold and covering her mouth with his palm. 

"Go home, Wayne." Jerome directed, Wayne staring at him taken aback as Jerome gave him a pleading gaze. "Ouch!" Jerome hissed, feeling Selina bite his hand and stomp on his foot. 

Selina pulled out of Jerome's grasp, turning around to face him, panting slightly from the struggle. "If we don't tell him he'll be killed." 

"How do you know that?" Jerome countered, giving a conflicted smirk-- he didn't know what to do. "Maybe he'll go easy on him-- she said she could make him go easy on him-" 

"She doesn't know what she's talking about!" Selina argued. "I know men like him! He won't give up, not even for her!" 

"You could be wrong!" Jerome insisted, giving a breathless and strained laugh. "Going our separate ways is the best chance we've all got-" 

"Fighting back together is the best chance we've got." Selina corrected determinedly. "We're all in this mess together, Jerome, I'm not-" 

"Oh stop acting like we're all buddy buddy, sweetheart-- we just met, and in case you didn't notice, he doesn't want to be around either of-" Jerome continued with a sour laugh. 

"I don't want to be caught up in this, but you told me what was going on, so whether we like it or not we are all in this together." Selina resorted, arms crossing. 

Jerome gave another laugh, not wanting to be a part of this right now, or ever at that. "The only reason I told you what was going on was so you'd back off, so how about we just-" 

"What are you two talking about?!" Wayne spoke up, still not having any idea on what was going on. 

Selina and Jerome exchanged glances, the girl turning her attention back towards Wayne and answering, "Jerome said-" 

"Selina-" Jerome warned, not in the mood for this. 

"I'm telling him Jerome, and if you want to stop me then you're going to have to kill me." Selina informed irked. 

"Don't tempt me." Jerome threatened while giving a pissed off half smile. 

"Wayne?" Another voice piped up, the trio looking towards the source of said voice, eyes landing on Silver. "Wayne, what are they doing here?" She asked softly, timidly backing up. 

"Oh give me a break and cut the act." Selina groaned with an eye roll, Jerome swallowing thickly. "I'll deal with her, you deal with Wayne." She directed, leaving no room for objections as she approached Silver in order to have a little one-on-one girl chit chat. 

Jerome sighed, reluctantly glancing in between Wayne and the pair of arguing girls before letting out a long breath and grabbing Wayne's wrist, earning a protest yet still running off, tugging the begrudging other with him. 

The two males ran down an alleyway, Wayne jerking away from Jerome's grasp and glaring up at the other. 

"What's going on?" Wayne interrogated, hands going into fists. 

Jerome leaned against the brick wall, attempting to catch his breath. "First of all, I don't know why you're acting like I kissed Silver considering I'm gay as hell, and secondly, what's going on is complicated and you need to stay out of it, alright?" 

"No, not alright, you need to tell me what's going on, now." Wayne replied bravely, walking up to Jerome while meeting his gaze daringly. "And I doubt Silver would lie about someone trying to kiss her-- for all I know you did it just to get a rise out of her considering you enjoy riling people up so much." 

Jerome couldn't help but be taken aback at the bitter tone, meeting Wayne's furious gaze and giving a breathless chuckle, still trying to regain his breath. "Silver told you I tried to kiss her?" He questioned, earning a nod and hesitating before eventually murmuring, "I was just having some fun, okay?" If this got Wayne to stay away from him then that was good enough. 

Wayne blinked, expression falling at the confirmation-- he'd believed Silver, although there still had a tinge of hope that she had possibly been mistaken or something along the lines of such, but now? Now that was gone. 

"People aren't just means of entertainment, Jerome." Wayne eventually spoke up icily, pausing before saying in an almost expectant tone, "Are you lying?" 

Jerome made the mistake of meeting Wayne's hurt yet hopeful gaze, the other more or less silently begging him to take back what he'd just said-- to tell the truth. 

Jerome gave a laugh, averting his gaze and swallowing thickly, rubbing the back of his neck-- he felt like he'd just kicked a puppy. 

"I was getting bored," Jerome answered with a shrug, forcing on a smirk, still not able to look Wayne in the eyes. "Sorry I guess?" 

Wayne felt his stomach sink-- Silver was right... 

Jerome didn't block the fist that swung at him-- he'd of done a lot worst to someone if they'd tried to kiss Wayne for fun; even if Jerome was lying, the anger was understandable. 

Wayne waved his hand, knuckles hurting somewhat. "Don't come near Silver again," He warned, Jerome still not looking at him as a bruise began to form on his jaw. "Or me." Wayne added coldly, hesitating for a moment and just waiting to see if maybe Jerome had some sort of other defense, something to say that would make Wayne change his mind, although nothing was said, so Wayne quite simply left. 

Jerome waited until Wayne was out of sight to leave, making his way over to Oswald's place, only getting about halfway there when he saw Selina getting arrested, Wayne watching from the side with a concerned and conflicted expression as Silver soothingly held his hand-- from the looks of it Selina hadn't managed to tell Wayne anything. 

In any case, at least Selina seemed like the type who could look out for herself, particularly since she'd apparently broken out of juvey several times before. 

The red haired teen continued to Oswald's manor unseen by Wayne, however earning a glance and sickly sweet smile from silver-- Jerome almost hated that chick as much as he had despised his mother, and that was really, and I mean really, saying something. 

Jerome gave a wave when greeted by two bodyguards whence reaching his destination. "I could really use a place to stay, fellas." Jerome chuckled quietly, shoving his hands into his pockets, giving a weak smile. 

This was okay, because everyone was safe now-- Wayne was safe now... right..?


	11. Words Finally Spoken

"Would you mind coming by later?" Silver asked, sitting on the couch with Wayne. "My uncle wants to speak about something with you." 

Wayne wasn't paying attention, clearly contemplating on other matters, blinking whence realizing Silver was staring at him expectantly, awaiting an answer patiently. 

"Huh?" Wayne mumbled, eyebrows quirking. 

Silver studied Wayne quizzically. "Is everything alright?" She questioned, placing a comforting hand over his shoulder. "You seem distracted." 

"Oh, uh, yes-- I'm fine." Wayne assured, offering a smile. "I'm just tired is all." He lied-- in reality he couldn't help but ponder on how Selina and Jerome were doing... old habits and whatnot. 

However Wayne needed to put that curiosity behind him-- Selina had made it clear it was either her or Silver, and Jerome had gone too far with actions which were not at all okay nor funny... Wayne just needed to let the past be the past and move on from both of them. 

Silver nodded, not fully believing Wayne, yet not about to pry too much. "So would you mind coming over later to meet with my uncle?" 

Wayne's head tilted. "About what?" 

Silver shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm not sure, he just said he wanted to discuss personal matters with you." 

Wayne nodded at that. "Of course-- I can come by whenever works best for you." 

Silver smiled sweetly, kissing Wayne's cheek. "I'm so happy you and uncle are getting along as well as you are-- you're practically family." 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome gripped the wrists belonging to the man that heaved him up against a wall, giving a pained laugh. "You mind letting go? I'd personally rather not die right now, and I'm sure you'd prefer to stay alive as well." 

The thug gave a scoff, pushing Jerome against the wall harder, earning a wince as Jerome forced on a smirk while attempting to struggle out of his grasp. "As far as we're concerned Penguin is gone now," The man grunted, Jerome's feet dangling above the ground. "Which means there ain't no one tellin' us to go easy on that Wayne boy no more." 

Jerome swallowed thickly, giving a breathless chuckle, having trouble breathing. "I figured as much, but I've got some bad news for ya', buddy-" He flashed a grin, giving a shrug. "-Wayne's not here." 

"He's not getting off the hook that easy," The muscular male scoffed. "That little twat's parents screwed one too many of us over, and we want revenge-" He kneed Jerome in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the teenager while shoving him onto the floor. "-I guess you'll just have to do." 

Jerome held his side in pain, looking up at the approaching man with a forced and strained smile. "Let's get this over with." 

The male sneered, neck cracking from side to side. "Get this over with?" He reached down, yanking Jerome back up by his collar, glowering down at him menacingly. "This isn't going to be over with quickly, boy." He informed, knuckles cracking with how firmly he grasped the other. 

Not good. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne's meeting with Theo had been rather unexpected, and while he appreciated Alfred's advice he couldn't help but be tempted by Galavan's offer-- who wouldn't be? 

The chance to find out who his parents killers were? Wayne may never get such an opportunity again, particularly with how poorly the GCPD did with closing cases-- sure, he knew Jim was trying his best to find the murderer and put him behind bars, although it was known by practically everyone that Gordon had enough on his plate for the time being. 

"Master Wayne," Alfred piped up as Wayne paced back and forth in the bat-cave broodingly, causing the other to pause and look towards him, Wayne's brow crinkled. "Silver is here." 

Wayne nodded, straightening up and smoothing out his clothing, clearing his throat while keeping his gaze averted as he walked by Alfred, muttering a word of thanks. 

Silver was patiently waiting for Wayne in the parlor, practically beaming as he entered the large room. "My uncle told me about his proposition," She informed, walking up to Wayne and tilting her head. "Do you plan on taking it?" Why bother beating around the bush? 

Wayne's gaze averted, shoulders shrugging. "What all did he tell you?" 

Silver paused, contemplating on an answer. "Just that he wants to buy your shares to help out with your company, right?" She couldn't very well bring up the 'benefit' that came with it-- she knew Theo's little gift pertaining to the killer was supposed to be a secret between himself and Wayne, although she and Tabitha knew about it in any case. 

"Yeah, basically..." Wayne rubbed his upper arm, forcing his eyes to meet Silver's. "I'm still pondering on his offer." 

"Oh of course, this is a big decision." Silver replied with an understanding nod. 

Wayne's brow furrowed, arms crossing. "What would you do?" He inquired stressfully, not sure he could manage to make a decision by tonight. "I mean, would you give away the company your family built to someone you'd practically just met, even if you trusted them?" 

"Hm..." Silver pretended to brood on the answer. "I-" She paused, acting as though she was actually coming up with an opinion of her own rather than going by a script. "Yes, I suppose I would." She finally answered, offering a warm smile. "If it would benefit others while stopping people from being hurt, then I'm not sure I could say no to be honest-- I would feel much too guilty." 

Great, now Wayne would feel absolutely horrible if he decided to keep it. "It would be the moral thing to do." Wayne sighed in agreement, hand running through his hair. 

Silver couldn't seem too eager to side with her uncle-- she had to keep Wayne's trust and maintain a good balance. "Although it would be completely understandable if you wanted and decided to keep the company, of course-- it is a part of you, and I can't imagine it'd be easy to give up... not to mention this isn't something you could give to just anyone." 

Wayne smiled weakly at that, relieved Silver wasn't trying to guilt trip him into doing what her uncle wanted-- she was truly a good person. "Thanks for looking at it that way." He laughed tiredly, more fatigued mentally than physically, earning a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. 

"Wayne, I just want you to know... if you do decide to give the company to uncle, then you won't be letting it leave your family-" She placed a hand against Wayne's cheek. "-uncle, aunt, and I all consider you family." 

Wayne blinked surprised at that-- it was frankly a huge honor to be considered a part of the Galavan family, and honestly it just felt... nice. Sure, it strangely hurt to hear those words, to hear someone was willing to see Wayne as one of their own after all the trouble that could come with him due to the tragedy that had taken place in an alleyway not too long ago, but it felt, well... good to have someone offering and even wanting to be there for him. 

It was the good kind of hurt. 

Theo, Silver, and Tabitha were being incredibly kind to Wayne, and he wasn't sure how to repay them... 

... although perhaps a good way to start showing his thanks would be by trusting Mr. Galavan. 

Silver gave a brief, sweet kiss to Wayne, reaching out to hold his hands. "I'm sure you'll make the right choice, and we'll all be by your side no matter what the decision you make is." In reality they'd just be by Wayne's side until they convinced him to make the deal, if he wasn't already convinced that is. 

Wayne smiled, finding he couldn't help but enjoy Silver's reassuring advice, even if he did miss Jerome's cleverness and Selina's bluntness when it came to assistance in figuring out problems... 

No, Wayne had to stop missing things that weren't going to come back-- he was starting anew, and wasn't about to sulk on what and who he no longer had. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne sat at Theo's desk, staring at the contract uncertainly, Theo catching his conflicting gaze. 

"Alfred, may I have a moment alone with Wayne?" Theo requested with a smile. 

The butler straightened up. "I'm sure whatever you want to say to Master Wayne can be said in front of-" 

"Alfred," Wayne spoke up, looking over at his guardian assuringly. "It's fine." 

Alfred frowned, glancing back and forth between the two males before giving a nod. "Right, well, if you need anything I'll be just outside." 

Theo waited for Alfred to exit his office before directing his attention back towards Wayne. "Silver told me about Jerry." 

Wayne felt his blood go ice cold. "What?" 

Theo studied Wayne's expression. "I can't imagine what it must've been like to have your best friend go behind your back like that." 

Wayne frowned, looking towards the floor. "I-" What was one even supposed to say when confronted like this? "It's fine." He ended up replying, clearing his throat and looking back up at Theo. "Although I do apologize for the fact I'm the one who introduced him to your niece-" 

"Oh no no, there's no need for you to be sorry," Theo objected, making it clear that wasn't what this was about. "You don't control your friends actions... that was all on him-- I'm upset at Jerry, not you." 

Wayne nodded, eying Theo while attempting to figure out what the other was getting at. "It won't happen again, I've distanced myself from Jerry and we are no longer acquaintances." 

"I see." Theo mused, staring at Wayne broodingly. "May I ask you something?" 

"Of course, sir." 

Theo observed Wayne for a few lengthy seconds, eventually asking, "Is Jerry by any chance Jerome Valeska, Wayne?" 

Shit. "Pardon me?" Wayne murmured, staring up at Theo warily, heart skipping a beat. 

Theo raised his chin. "He is, isn't he?" Galavan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I can tell by the look on your face." So the little bastard had survived. 

"How-" 

"I was worried it was true-- the way you and Silver described him made him sound a bit too familiar, although I'd hoped I was wrong." Theo murmured, hand lowering as he looked at Wayne. "Has he tried to set you against me? Is that why you're hesitant?" 

Wayne opened his mouth to answer before shutting it again, not knowing what to say or do, whether to deny or confirm Theo's accusation. "I-" Wayne could trust Theo... it was okay, he could tell the truth. "Yes, Jerry is Jerome, although he is not a factor in this, Mr. Galavan-- I refuse to be acquainted with him." He admitted, pulse racing. "I don't even know of his whereabouts." 

Great, now Theo would have to look out for Valeska... he knew the little shit probably wanted revenge. 

"Are you sure?" Theo persisted, just to be certain Wayne wasn't working with the teen he'd gone and betrayed. "You're not having a case of Stockholm Syndrome, are you?" 

"What? No-- Jerome didn't kidnap me. I mean, yes, he did take me hostage twice, but after releasing me the second time a mutual and professional relationship formed in which we both consented to partaking in." Wayne explained, hoping Theo wasn't fretting over him possibly being against him-- Wayne wouldn't do that. 

More or less convinced by the elaboration, Theo hesitantly inquired, "I'm guessing you'd rather Mr. Pennyworth not know about this?" Wayne nodded sheepishly. "Then my lips are sealed-- I want you to know you can trust me, Wayne." 

Wayne let those words sink in as Theo called Alfred's name, his butler returning inside at the shout. 

... Wayne could trust Theo. 

"I'd like to sign the contract." Wayne decided, earning a smile from Theo. 

Theo had won. 

~*~*~*~ 

Theo had lost. He had been taken away by the GCPD, and Wayne hadn't even signed the paper. Typical. 

Wayne had lost, too. Wayne had lost the papers pertaining to his parents murderer, and he was staring at the files burnt to a crisp as the GCPD discussed matters with Alfred. 

A hand rested on Wayne's shoulder, the fourteen year old in shock looking up towards the officer standing beside him, the raven haired boy slightly dazed. 

"We need to ask you some questions." The cop spoke, it sounding muffled to Wayne. 

Wayne took a few seconds to comprehend the words, ears ringing-- the last time he'd been this in shock was the night his parents had died. 

"Okay." Wayne muttered, his voice sounding strange to his ears. 

"Would you mind coming down to the station? All you have to do is tell us what you know about Galavan and Jerome Valeska." 

Wayne felt numb, so it took him a while to nod before blinking, snapping out of his haze-- Jerome? 

Wait... if Theo was a criminal... and Jerome had been telling the truth about Wayne needing to stay away from him... if that hadn't just been because Jerome was sore about Theo stabbing him... and because Jerome actually knew Theo was a bad guy... then... 

Oh. Oh no. 

"I have to go." Wayne stated worriedly, sprinting away from the cop and towards the exit. 

"Hey!" The officer shouted, Wayne ignoring him. 

"Master Wayne?" Alfred called out concerned. 

"I have to go-- I'll come down to the station later!" Wayne assured, dodging the policeman's grab at him as he continued to run. 

~*~*~*~ 

Silver stared at Wayne with wide eyes, the cop questioning her pausing as the fourteen year old boy sprinted into her room. 

"We're you lying?" Wayne asked with a furrowed brow, panting slightly from the run. 

"Young man, you need to leave-" The policewoman started to warn. 

"Were you lying about Jerome?" Wayne persisted impatiently. 

Silver bit down on her lower lip, not knowing what to say. "Wayne, I'm sorry... I just-" 

Wayne gave a frustrated sigh of disbelief, turning and jogging away before anymore could be said-- Silver had been working with Theo. Perfect, just perfect. 

Wayne had to find Jerome. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome wasn't under the staircase at the alleyway he'd originally stayed at before Wayne's place, he wasn't at the boat harbor making 'friends', and he wasn't at Gotham's homeless shelter, so where the hell was he? Wayne had even checked back at his manor just to be sure the other wasn't there. 

The only other place to look was Penguin's, although Wayne doubted he'd be there due to Oswald not wanting more or less anyone coming into his mansion. 

Nonetheless, Wayne had to try. 

By the time Wayne arrived at Cobblepot's he was out of breath, having to lean over and place his hands on his knees. "Is- Jerome- here..?" He asked in between pants, legs feeling like jello. 

The two familiar bodyguards exchanged glances. 

"Get out of here, kid." The first bodyguard murmured. 

"Is Jerome here or not?" Wayne asked again, straightening up as his hip began to ache from all the running he'd gone and done. 

"Listen, you need to get out of here-- now." The second bodyguard urged. "This ain't a place for kids right now." 

Well that didn't sound suspicious at all. "He's here, isn't he?" Wayne accused knowingly, stepping forward and glowering as the two bodyguards shuffled closer to block his pathway. "Jerome! Jerome, it's Wayne! Jerome-" 

"Stuff it, kid!" The bodyguard on the left hushed, covering Wayne's mouth. 

"Listen, unless you wanna' be sleeping with the fishes soon you needa' get outta' here-" The younger bodyguard insisted, blinking as the door abruptly swung open. 

Shit. 

"Bring 'em in." A tall rugged man grunted, the two bodyguards staring at him warily. 

Wayne froze up-- something definitely didn't feel right... 

When neither of the bodyguards budged the man let out a sigh, shoving not them aside and gesturing for Wayne to come inside, slamming the door shut in the faces of the frowning guards as Wayne hesitantly did so. 

This wasn't good-- what was going on? Where was Oswald? 

"Where's Jerome?" Wayne questioned, following the man down the hallway, frowning as he didn't answer. "Where's Oswald?" No reply. "Where are we going?" Nothing. 

Yeah, alright, this possibly hadn't been a good idea-- this man probably didn't have Wayne's best intentions at hand. 

So, Wayne ran. 

"Hey!" The man snarled, grabbing at Wayne yet missing. "Get back here you little shit!" 

Find Jerome and get the hell out of there... sounded easy enough. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne had hidden in several hiding places and checked multiple rooms, almost getting caught countless times and just about to give up, when he finally found Jerome. 

However Wayne wasn't at all relieved when he found his friend. 

Jerome was hurt-- bad. 

He had two black eyes, a bleeding nose, a bruised up jaw, a gash on his cheek, a busted lip, and from the looks of it a few fractured bones. 

"Jerome?" Wayne spoke up softly, voice wavering as he shut and locked the door behind him, resisting the urge to instantly sprint over to the other and instead pushing a wardrobe in front of the door for good measure before running beside the beaten up teenager. "Jerome?" He repeated concerned, gently tapping Jerome's shoulder, brow crinkling as Jerome winced. 

"Wayne?" Jerome murmured, managing to sit up, staring at the other in disbelief. "What are you doing here?" No no no-- Wayne was supposed to be safe, not... well, here. 

"Jerome, what's going on?" Wayne asked worriedly, feeling sick as he noticed a few cuts on the other's neck. 

"Penguin's not here," Jerome answered, swallowing dryly. "No one's protecting either of us, Wayne-- no one's in charge now, so you need to get out of here, alright? There's a lot of guys who have a grudge against your family-" 

Wayne's expression fell even more. "Did they do this because of me?" Jerome didn't answer. "Jerome-" 

"I'm fine, alright? Just hurry up and get out of here before they-" 

"No you're not." Wayne interjected, pulling Jerome's arm over his shoulder. "Come on, we'll both leave, okay?" 

"I can't." Jerome sighed, cussing under his breath as Wayne attempted to stand them both up. "My ankle's fractured, Wayne-" 

"Well I'm not leaving you here." Wayne insisted, letting Jerome sit back down and looking around for a way out. 

"Wayne-" 

"Shut up, you're not staying here." Wayne huffed anxiously, glancing at a coffee table with wheels and feeling an idea come into place. "Where's Oswald anyways?" He sighed, trying to keep his mind on anything other than the fact they were in an immense amount of danger at the moment. 

"He hasn't been here since the fallout with the GCPD-- they've just been saying he is to keep face." Jerome answered, watching as Wayne searched through a cupboard. "The bodyguards outside are trying to keep the younger ones like you and me out and safe, but I came here to stay after our fight, and..." He trailed off. 

Wayne resorted to rummaging through a few drawers. "And one of the guys who wanted to get revenge on me saw you before the bodyguards could get you to leave and decided to settle with beating you up instead of me?" Wayne guessed, not earning a reply, that being enough of a confirmation for him. "Jerome, I didn't-" 

"You don't have to do this, alright? You don't owe me anything-- I kissed Silver-- there's no reason for you to-" 

"I know you're lying about Silver." Wayne informed, grabbing a can of cleaning spray and giving a mental victory cheer. 

"What-" Jerome started, eyes widening as a the door's handle jiggled. 

"Why wasn't someone watching Valeska?!" A voice shored from outside, a thump pounding against the door as the man outside attempted to get in. 

"Wayne, go, now." Jerome directed, staring at the wardrobe blocking the entrance as more slams rang through the air. 

"I am, and you're coming with me." Wayne persisted stubbornly, pushing off the coffee table's break lock and rolling it over to Jerome, reaching out his hand expectantly. 

"You should just climb through the window, it's safer-" Jerome objected. 

"I'm not leaving you." Wayne insisted, waiting for Jerome to take his hand. "You can either get on or we can both wait for them to get inside." 

Jerome stared at Wayne for a moment, giving a sigh and running his tongue over the cut on his lower lip, wincing slightly. "Fine." 

The man outside the door continued attempting to kick it in, hearing something screech across the floor and pausing before eying the group of men waiting for him to open it and giving a shrug, ramming his shoulder against it once more, blinking as it busted open, letting out a series of cuss words that would've made a sailor blush as some sort of damn cleaning spray hit his eyes. 

"This was a horrible idea." Jerome stated as Wayne ran down the hallway, pushing the coffee table with wheels, that Jerome was sitting on, in front of him. 

"I can take you back if you'd rather." Wayne offered sarcastically, jerking to a stop as he reached the exit, Jerome nearly falling off. "Sorry." He muttered, opening the door and freezing up when meeting the views of two bodyguards, staring at them cautiously and giving a grateful nod as they briefly hesitated before gesturing for him to go. 

Wayne gripped the edge of the coffee table, pushing it while jogging out of the manor, at least twelve pissed off individuals chasing after them. 

"Hey!" One of the men yelled, Wayne looking over his shoulder and seeing said man indeed have a baseball bat. 

"Shit..." Wayne sighed, speeding up and turning the corner. "Sorry!" He apologized, Jerome once again nearly falling off at the sharp turn. 

Jerome clenched the edge of the coffee table, looking over his shoulder at Wayne with a timid stare, hoping the other wouldn't end up getting them both killed after managing to get them both out of the manor and letting out a tense breath, head shaking as he looked forward again. 

Wayne ran through a crowd of people, earning gasps and murmurs as he apologized, the group of men following closely behind while barking out threats. 

"I usually hate cops, but I'd recommend getting their attention." Jerome piped up as the pair noticed a group of policemen in front of them. 

Wayne nodded, having trouble steering the coffee table. "Right." 

The officers looked over at the peculiar sight which consisted of Wayne continuing to jog their way while pushing Jerome on a coffee table, blinking at the realization that two minors were being chased after by a bunch of furious adults with weapons in their hands. 

Wayne sprinted by the police, letting out a relieved smile as they blocked off the pathway from the individuals after them. 

"We're almost home, okay?" Wayne assured, knowing this couldn't be comfortable for Jerome, particularly with all his injuries. 

Jerome nodded, his whole body hurting like hell. "Yeah." 

~*~*~*~ 

Alfred wasn't home, Wayne guessing he had to be at the police station answering questions-- that made it a lot easier to sneak Jerome upstairs. 

"Shit-" Jerome breathed when finally getting to the floor Wayne stayed on, keeping his arm around Wayne's shoulders as the other helped him over to a wall, allowing Jerome to lean against it and rest. 

Jerome's eyes squeezed shut, everything stinging in pain and only getting worse-- it was agonizing. 

Wayne stared up at Jerome with a frown-- this wouldn't of happened to Jerome if Wayne had just listened to Selina. 

"We're almost there." Wayne spoke up, trying to be encouraging and earning a nod, helping Jerome limp over to the restroom, managing to assist him with getting into the bathtub. "Take your shirt off, I'll get you a new one." 

Jerome nodded, taking off the shirt with speckles and spots of red, tossing it onto the floor while leaning back, eyes closing. "Thanks." He sighed, feeling exhausted. 

Wayne grabbed a white washcloth from his drawer, wetting it with cold water before walking over towards the tub and kneeling beside it, pressing the cloth against Jerome's cheek. "You shouldn't be thanking me." 

Jerome cracked an eye open, glancing at Wayne. "Don't be so hard on yourself-- it's not your fault, kiddo." 

Wayne swallowed, jaw clenching. "Why did you tell me you kissed Silver?" He wasn't mad at Jerome, in fact he was a lot more angry at himself for letting this happen than anything. "Was she blackmailing you?" 

Jerome was quiet for a long while, eventually muttering, "Yeah." 

Wayne nodded, figuring that'd be the only reason Silver would've lied in the first place. "How?" 

Jerome averted his gaze, feeling Wayne press the cloth against a cut on his neck. "She said we'd both die if I tried to contact you." 

Wayne didn't like this-- Jerome hadn't smiled at all, and he wasn't used to that. Jerome was supposed to smile all the damn time-- that was his trademark. "Why?" 

Jerome chewed on the inside of his cheek, feeling Wayne dab at his bruised up jaw. "She figured out I'd realized she was working for Theo," He turned his head, not wanting to look at the other for the time being. "Didn't want me to tell you." 

Wayne paused, staring at Jerome concerned as the other refused to look his way. "You knew Theo was bad?" 

Jerome felt his eyes begin to sting with salty water. "He broke me out." 

Wayne furrowed his brow. "Broke you out? Out of wha-" A pause. "Out of Arkham?" 

Jerome nodded, teeth gritting, feeling like he was going to be sick. "Yep." 

Wayne set the washcloth on the bathtub's edge. "You didn't have to do this." Wayne's voice cracked. "You didn't have to lie about Silver, or let those guys at Penguin's beat you up instead of me, or-" 

"It's fine." Jerome spoke up, voice hoarse. 

"No, it's not-" 

"You didn't know what was going on, it's not your fault." Jerome insisted quietly. "You don't owe me anything, okay? It's alright, you didn't know-- you don't have to help me right now-" 

"I'm not helping you because I feel like I owe you something, I'm helping you because I want to." Wayne resorted, Jerome going quiet. "I just- I didn't mean to make this happen to you-" Shit, he was crying. "I- um-" Wayne had let this happen to Jerome. "I-I was caught up with wanting a- a uh- a family- and I should've listened to you." Wayne failed to successfully wipe away all the water streaming down his cheeks. "I-I really miss my parents and I-I just let Theo's offer of- of having a family get in the way and- and I-I um- I didn't mean to- I shouldn't of just shrugged you off- I brushed you off really easily, and it was foolish and I- I should've considered what I was doing more rationally than just-" 

"You don't have to make such a fuss out of it." Jerome grumbled, feeling water begin to drip onto his chest, it taking a moment for him to realize said water was coming from his own eyes. "Theo tricked me, too, Wayne-- I get it, he's sneaky." 

"Jerome, I really, really care about you, okay?" Wayne persisted nonetheless, not knowing what would even happen- and if anything would actually happen, at that- if he managed to get the other to look back at him, only knowing he had to make sure Jerome believed what he was saying, because with how close Jerome had been to dying at Penguin's Wayne wasn't about to just let him figure he didn't give a shit about him, because while Wayne could be cold at times he... cared about Jerome-- he cared to the point it almost hurt. "You mean a lot to me, alright? I'm serious, I'm really glad we're-" 

"Friends?" Jerome sarcastically offered with a scoff, vision blurring as more water fell onto his chest. 

"Yes." Wayne confirmed nonetheless. "I know I talked about just wanting a 'professional relationship' or whatever, but you're one of- you are the best friend I have, okay?" Was stuff like this supposed to hurt? Because it did-- it really, really did. "You've helped me get out of a lot of tight spots, and-" 

"Give it a rest, Wayne," Jerome sighed, briefly rubbing at his eyes rimmed with red. "You wouldn't of given a shit if Theo had managed to kill me." 

"I would now." Wayne argued, wiping at his eyes with his sleeve. "I know I complain about not having a family, but you and Alfred, and even Selina, you're all-- I consider all of you family." He let out a shaky breath, attempting to compose himself. "I consider YOU family, Jerome-- I care about you, alright? It's fine if you don't care about me, it really is, but I care about you a lot, okay?" This was a sappy jumbled mess... 

Jerome didn't say anything for a long, long while, Wayne eventually just getting ready to get up to leave when Jerome murmured, "I care about you, too." Wayne halted, staring at Jerome and meeting the other's gaze as the red haired teen turned to look at him-- why did Wayne always have to go and look like a puppy? "C'mere." Jerome sighed, sitting up and stretching out his arms, pulling the other into a somewhat uncomfortable hug due to the bathtub in between them. 

Wayne nuzzled against the crook of Jerome's neck, letting out a muffled sob and wrapping his arms around said neck, feeling Jerome rub soothing circles against his back. 

"I'm sorry," Wayne choked out in a sob-- he hadn't meant for any of this to happen. "I'm so sorry." He hadn't meant for Jerome to get hurt. 

"It's okay," Jerome assured quietly, eyes closing, a few more streaks of water going down his own cheeks. "It's alright." His voice was hoarse. 

At least five minutes of that went by, Wayne eventually calming down and Jerome drying up. 

Wayne pulled back, clearing his throat and letting out a shaky breath, a hand briefly run soothingly through his hair, looking up at Jerome somewhat calmed down. 

Jerome leaned back against the tub's wall, feeling Wayne dab at his black eye and staring at the ceiling-- he was too exhausted to smile. 

"Do you need any Tylenol?" Wayne asked, pressing the cool cloth against Jerome's bruised shoulder. 

"Got any morphine?" Jerome requested, looking towards Wayne as the other paused. "Joking." 

Wayne gave a laugh, eyes still glossy. "Are you-" He swallowed. "Are you feeling any better? Like, does it still hurt or..?" 

"I've had worst." Jerome answered with a shrug, Wayne dabbing at a gash on his chest. 

Wayne didn't like the sounds of that. "In Arkham?" 

"In the circus." Jerome admitted, staring at the ceiling for a few more seconds before looking at Wayne. "My mother and her pals got a bit drunk sometimes." 

Wayne's brow furrowed. "Violently drunk?" 

Jerome studied Wayne's expression curiously. "Yep." 

Wayne briefly met Jerome's gaze before returning his sights to his injuries, dabbing at a bruise on his ribs. "Is that how you got the scars on your chest?" Jerome gave a hum of confirmation. "I really am going to learn how to fight, okay?" 

Jerome almost cracked a grin at that-- almost. "What? You gonna' protect me and make sure I don't get my ass kicked anymore?" 

Wayne caught the sarcasm, nonetheless answering, "Yes." 

If Jerome bothered to smile his smile would've faltered. "I guess that means I have to learn, too, in case I end up needing to save your ass, yeah?" 

Wayne smirked, standing up and ringing the washcloth out over the sink before soaking it in more cold water. "We could travel to Bhutan to meet Ra's Al Ghul, and anywhere else you'd wanna' visit." 

"France?" Jerome mused as Wayne knelt back beside him. 

"Sure." Wayne said with a nod, pressing the chilled cloth against Jerome's busted lip. "I'm glad you're okay." 

Jerome gave a brief resemblance of a chuckle, yet still didn't smile, nonetheless sincerely mumbling, "The feeling's mutual.", while ruffling up Wayne's hair. "Kinda' weird that you're suddenly being so sweet now, though." 

"I could go back to being bitter." Wayne offered jokingly, gently gripping Jerome's hand and pressing the cool cloth against his bleeding knuckles. 

"Nah, this is more pleasant." Jerome hummed, muscles relaxing as Wayne dabbed at his jaw again. 

"You ready to go lay down?" Wayne asked, setting the cloth to the side and earning a nod. 

Getting out of the bathtub with a fractured ankle was troublesome, although Jerome managed thanks to Wayne, who did his best to support both their weights. 

Wayne helped Jerome limp to their bedroom, getting the wounded teenager up onto the bed before propping his ankle up on a pillow and quickly going off to get bandages. 

"Thank you." Jerome spoke up as Wayne wrapped bandages around his fractured left ankle, right leg, left arm, right wrist, and both ribs-- that was a lot of fractures. 

Wayne glanced up at Jerome, placing a bandaid over the bridge of his nose where a cut was. "You're welcome." He placed a larger bandaid over his cheek. "Thanks for watching out for me." Wayne added, wrapping Jerome's torso in a bandage as well, not having a large enough bandaid for the gash on his chest. "There-- all done." He finally said with a smile while wrapping Jerome's hands up in bandages as well due to his busted up knuckles. 

Jerome nodded, starting to sit up. "Is my mattress in the closet still there?" 

Wayne blinked, biting down on his lower lip before ushering Jerome back down, earning arched eyebrows. "You can sleep here." 

Jerome studied Wayne, still not at all used to the other acting so kindly. "Okay." He murmured, grabbing the spare pillows behind them and placing said pillows in between them, making the barrier he'd made when they had first done this before laying back down, Wayne turning the lights off. 

Several minutes went by, both boys staring up at the ceiling quietly, Jerome blinking as Wayne sighed and scooted the pillows to the side, looking down at the smaller boy taken aback as he curled up next to Jerome. 

"I'm really, really glad you're okay." Wayne mumbled, being sure to not touch Jerome, not wanting to hurt any of his injuries. 

Jerome didn't do anything for a moment, eventually turning on his side and hesitantly wrapping an arm around Wayne, feeling the smaller boy relax against him. 

The gesture wasn't romantic, although it wasn't quite platonic, and it definitely wasn't sexual, it was just... comforting, that being the best word to describe it. 

Wayne's eyes closed as Jerome let him nuzzle against his chest, the tension in his muscles gradually lowering as Jerome's own eyes slide shut after pulling Wayne closer-- it was strange to have such a horrible day end so incredibly nicely.


	12. Old Selves

"I'm going to school." Wayne informed, buttoning up his uniform's jacket as he looked down at Jerome. The seventeen year old didn't open his eyes or say anything, simply giving a hum to let the other know he'd heard him. "I'm going to lock the door on my way out to make sure Alfred doesn't come in, okay? When I get back I'll tell you it's me, and you just have to unlock it, alright? I found a pair of crutches-- they're by the bedside, yeah? You should be able to get around with them." 

Jerome nodded against his pillow, eyes remaining shut as he murmured, "M'kay." 

"I put some food and bottles of water in your drawer if you get hungry." Wayne added, straightening up his collar. "Do you want me to grab anything while I'm out?" 

"Nah." Jerome muttered, still half asleep, regaining his energy from the beat down he'd gotten. 

Wayne grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder and pausing, looking down at Jerome broodingly before hesitantly running a comforting hand through his hair briefly. "I hope you feel better." 

Jerome cracked an eye open, catching Wayne's wrist as he started walk away, causing Wayne to halt and look over his shoulder at the other taken aback while Jerome mumbled, "C'mere." Wayne blinked, feeling Jerome tug him down into a hug and cracking a pleasantly surprised smile. "Be safe, yeah? Don't get your ass into any trouble." 

Wayne gave a soft chuckle, nodding and standing up as Jerome released him. "I'll be fine." 

Jerome nodded, letting Wayne's wrist go and shutting his eyes as the other walked off. 

When Wayne got to his first class he was greeted by Jim and Harvey, causing him to stare up at the pair of detectives sheepishly. 

"You've already ran away from the cops twice, I'd suggest you don't do it a third time." Harvey warned as Wayne froze in his tracks at the class's threshold. 

Wayne sighed, giving a nod and reluctantly allowing the two cops to bring him to the station for questioning. 

"Do you want anything to drink?" Jim offered as Wayne stared down at the floor, keeping his lips sealed shut. "Some water? Soda? Juice? Tea, maybe?" 

"No thank you." Wayne grumbled quietly. 

"Enough chitchat-- how did you know Jerome Valeska's real age?" Harvey spoke up, placing his palms on the interrogation table and leaning forward menacingly. 

Wayne looked up, putting on an innocent expression. "I'd hardly call detective Gordon asking me if I wanted a drink chitchat, it's only a simple question, really." 

Jim's eyebrows raised at the attitude. 

"Answer the question, kid." Harvey directed, staring Wayne down. 

Wayne didn't break his gaze. "I was going to-- no reason to get hostile." Wayne gave a smile. "He told me his age when he took me hostage, why do you ask?" 

"I don't like you being a sarcastic ass." Harvey snapped, attempting to break down Wayne's facade to no avail. 

"Did you detect hints of sarcasm in my tone? Apologies-- I didn't mean to offend you." Wayne assured a bit too seriously. "Do you have any other questions? I'd really like to get back to class." 

Jim studied Wayne quizzically. "Have you come in contact with Jerome since the second hostage situation?" 

"Yes, I have." Wayne admitted bluntly, Harvey and Jim staring at him surprised. "Have you come into contact with Oswald lately, Jim?" His gaze turned to Harvey. "What about you, detective Bullock? I heard you and- I'm sorry, what was her name again... Fish Mooney, was it? In any case, I heard you two met up a few times while she was still with us." 

Jim's expression fell, Harvey's eyes narrowing. 

Harvey slammed his fist on the table. "Was that a threat?" 

Wayne straightened up, giving a shrug. "Was that?" He resorted, gesturing towards Harvey's fist. 

What the hell was wrong with Wayne? Jim had never seen the kid act like this... 

"Wayne-" Jim started concerned. 

"I'd like to state the only reason I brought Ms. Mooney and Mr. Cobblepot was simply to allow you both to know I've done my research, just as you've done yours," He put on a smile. "It's only fair, right?" 

"This little shit is threatening us." Harvey scoffed, staring at Wayne in disbelief. 

"I'm only doing to you what you're doing to me." Wayne countered, arms resting on the table as his fingers intertwined. 

Jim stared at Wayne for a long while, eventually saying, "Theo Galavan told us that you've become acquainted with Valeska, is this true?" 

Wayne's expression faltered-- briefly. "The guy that lied his way up to mayor told you that?" 

"Answer the question before I-" Harvey started irritatedly. 

"I would recommend not finishing that sentence, detective Bullock, if you wish to keep your career and do not want to get sued." Wayne interjected icily. 

Jim needed to diffuse this situation before his partner ended up trying to strangle a fourteen years old orphan. 

"Alright, Wayne-" Jim began, turning off the recorder. "-tell me what's going on, okay? You can trust us, you know that." 

Wayne blinked, staring up at Jim while chewing on his lower lip, contemplating on what to do, debating on just straight up telling the truth and hoping for the best-- he knew he could trust Gordon, right..? Then again, he'd been certain he could trust Theo, and look where that had gotten him... 

"You've violated protocol by turning that off," Wayne instead brought up while standing. "I would not feel comfortable coming back to this environment because of such actions unless you find probable evidence of whatever you're accusing me of." He placed his jacket over his arm. "You cannot hold me because of your lack of said evidence, so I'll be leaving now." Wayne walked towards the door, pausing as he gripped the handle. "Off the record, I'd like to say I would recommend not getting a warrant to search my house, as you're clearly wanting to do, because if you do so then I am afraid I'd have to file complaints about some rather questionable activities you both have partaken in with unlawful individuals, as it would only be fair-" Wayne opened the door, walking out the threshold while adding, "Although I'm sure none of us are guilty, so none of us need to worry about exposing one another, am I right?"

Harvey and Jim stared at the exit Wayne had just walked out of for a long while, soaking in what had just gone down. 

"What the hell?" Harvey scoffed, glancing at Jim. "You said that kid wouldn't give us any trouble-- and what- what kinda' fourteen year old talks like that? Seriously, Jim, we just got threatened by a child." 

Jim didn't like the looks of this. "There's something messing with that kid." 

Harvey frowned. "Or someone." 

Jim's brow crinkled-- Wayne was a good kid, and he was not about to allow him to become corrupt like the rest of Gotham city. 

The rest of Wayne's school day was relatively normal, although he wanted to hurry up and get home in order to check up on Jerome, so it of course dragged on and on. 

Alfred noticed how giddy Wayne was on the ride home, rather surprised at how excited the boy seemed-- he had just found out the Galavans, a family he was beginning to accept as his own, were a bunch of lying bastards, yet there he was, smiling and looking perkier than ever. 

"I tried to enter your room today, Master Wayne," Alfred spoke up. "It was locked." 

"Sometimes it gets jammed." Wayne fibbed with a smile, too impatient to make it sound believable. 

Alfred eyed Wayne unsurely. "What the bloody hell Wayne-- why are you so happy?" He finally ended up just asking-- Wayne hadn't looked this joyful since before that night in the alleyway. 

Wayne couldn't help but be slightly offended at the question. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Frankly? You're usually sulking or too busy doing research." 

Wayne scoffed. "Geez, thanks Alfred." 

"Well it's the truth." Alfred defended, glancing at Wayne suspiciously. 

"I've just had a long day and can't wait to get home is all." Wayne lied casually. 

Alfred frowned, head shaking-- Wayne had been acting more and more off lately... 

When Wayne finally got home he gave a quick thanks to Alfred for picking him up before sprinting inside the house, running up the steps and over to his room, knocking on its door. 

Wayne waited patiently, hearing the sound of gradual footsteps make their way towards the door along with the sound of crutches clacking against the floorboard, quirking a brow when hearing Jerome stumble and let out a series of cuss words, perking up as the door finally opened. 

"How are you feeling?" Wayne asked, locking the door behind him while Jerome limped back towards the bed. 

"Like shit." Jerome admitted, sitting on the mattress's edge and setting the crutches to the side. "How was school?" 

"It was fine, I had to go to the police station though to answer some questions about you and Theo." Wayne answered, setting his backpack against the wall. 

Jerome impatiently stared at Wayne uncertainly. "Well did you tell them anything?" 

"Huh? Oh, no-- don't worry, they won't be coming here to search for you or anything." Wayne assured, taking off his jacket and hanging it up. "Hey, wanna' hear a joke?" 

Jerome eyed the unusually hyper Wayne warily. "Why the hell are you so upbeat?" 

"Why are you so sulky?" Wayne countered, untucking his shirt from his jeans and walking over towards the bed to sit down with the other. 

Jerome gave a shrug. "Touché-- what's the joke?" 

"What do you call a noodle in a disguise?" 

Jerome stared at Wayne for a few long seconds. "Really, Wayne? That's the oldest one in the book-- an 'im-pasta.'" 

"Oh." Dangit, Wayne was going to get Jerome to smile-- he hadn't cracked a grin since he'd gotten there, much less a laugh. "Well what do you call a dog in the sun?" 

Jerome's eyes rolled as he laid back down, wrapping himself up in the covers. "A hotdog." These jokes were cheesy as hell. 

Dammit. "Are you going to sleep?" Wayne asked slightly surprised-- usually it was him who was trying to sleep and Jerome who kept him up with babbling. 

"Yes." Jerome answered with an exhausted sigh, turning his back towards the other. 

The corners of Wayne's lips tugged downwards-- maybe Jerome was just having a bad day. "I'll go on and do my homework, just tell me if you need anything, okay?" 

"Sure." 

Wayne stared at Jerome momentarily, growing ever so slightly worried at the new attitude before getting up and walking over to his backpack, pulling out his homework and going back to sit crossed legged on the bed. 

An hour went by, Wayne deciding to take a break and setting his work down, glancing over at the sleeping Jerome broodingly, subconsciously reaching out to run a hand through his hair, seeing the other visibly relax. 

Wayne chewed on his lower lip, pulling his hand back while pondering, eventually standing up and walking over to Jerome's side of the bed, opening the drawer and seeing Jerome hadn't eaten any of the food there, growing even more worried at that. 

"Jerome?" Wayne piped up, tapping his friend's shoulder gently. 

Jerome begrudgingly opened his eyes. "What?" 

"You should eat something." 

"I'm not hungry." 

"Do you feel sick?" 

Jerome took in a deep breath, exhaling ever so slightly annoyed. "No, I'm just not hungry." 

Wayne paused. "How long have you been asleep?" 

"Other than when you got home from school? All day." Jerome answered bluntly, eyes sliding shut. "I'm tired, Wayne-- if you wanna' hang out with someone go find Selina." 

"Are you sure you're okay-" 

"I'll be fine when you let me rest." Jerome snapped irritatedly. 

Wayne winced at the irked tone. "Okay..." 

Jerome hesitantly opened his eyes, letting out a weary breath at the sight of Wayne looking towards the floor sheepishly while rubbing his upper arm. 

A puppy. Jerome was taking care of a puppy. 

"C'mere." Jerome sighed, scooting back and lifting up the sheets, earning a quirked brow. "You're taking a break, right?" 

Wayne hesitantly nodded, pausing before laying next to the other, feeling an arm wrap around him, his back against Jerome's chest. "Sorry." Wayne muttered, knowing Jerome had to be hurting and probably just wasn't in the mood for fun and games. 

"It's fine, I'm just not feeling well is all." Jerome murmured, relaxing slightly; something about hugging Wayne was strangely calming-- he was like a damn teddy bear. "So what all did you do in school?" 

"I missed math since I had to go to the police station, but in English we're writing an essay on crime-- my topic's on the flaws in the justice system, and for science we're memorizing the periodic table." 

Jerome gave a hum, letting Wayne know he was listening rather than falling asleep. "An essay on the flaws in the justice system? Maybe you should just be a criminal and go against the 'system', eh?" 

Wayne scoffed, relieved Jerome was at least joking around a bit... then again, there was a chance he was being somewhat serious. "Haha, very funny, but no." 

"Kidding." Jerome assured with a yawn. "What about art and P.E.? You are taking an art elective, right?" 

"Yeah, we're learning how to draw realistically," Wayne confirmed with a nod. "You should let me draw you for my next project." 

"Ah yes, you should definitely make a portrait of me, one of the escaped Maniax, who took you hostage on live T.V., and then hand that in-- what could wrong? Other than your teacher recognizing my face, that is." 

"Good point." Wayne mused with a shrug. "In P.E. we just played dodgeball." 

"How was that?" Jerome inquired, attempting to stay awake. 

"It was fine I guess." Wayne went quiet, not knowing what to say, around ten minutes going by until he finally murmured, "Does laying like this help you relax or something?" No reply. "Jerome?" Nothing-- he must of fallen asleep. 

Wayne shut his eyes, deciding a nap couldn't hurt, actually finding the comforting feeling of being held was quite pleasant, drifting in and out, when suddenly there was a knock at the door, causing Wayne's eyes to snap open, hearing the handle jiggle. 

"Is there a reason you keep locking this door, Master Wayne?" Alfred huffed from outside, Wayne trying to stand up. 

"It's not locked, it's just jammed!" Wayne lied, feeling Jerome's grasp tighten as he attempted to move away, the red haired teen grumbling something in his sleep. "Jerome, let go!" Wayne hissed under his breath anxiously. 

"I know the difference between a locked and jammed door, Master Wayne, now I must request you open this up immediately, because we need to have a talk." 

"I'm coming!" Wayne called out, unsuccessfully peeling Jerome's arm away from his hips. "Wake up, Jerome." He pleaded with a sigh, shaking Jerome's shoulder gently. 

Jerome blinked awake. "Wayne-" He groaned annoyed, just wanting to rest, blinking as Wayne covered his mouth with his hand. 

"Is there someone in there with you, Master Wayne?" Alfred questioned, Jerome and Wade's eyes widening, the pair of boys exchanging glances. 

"No, I'm just- just watching T.V.!" Wayne lied, standing up as Jerome grabbed his crutches, the billionaire gesturing for the taller boy to hurry up and hide. 

Jerome quickly limped over towards the curtains while Wayne ran over to the door, the younger boy not letting Alfred in until Jerome was fully hidden. 

"What is going on, Master Wayne?" Alfred interrogated the second the door opened, pushing by Wayne and looking around his room, halting in the middle of it. "Are you hiding someone in here?" 

Wayne tapped his fingers against the side of his legs in an antsy fashion. "What? No-- why would I-" 

"I just heard someone say your name, there's a mattress in your closet, and your door was locked while you were at school-- now who has been staying with you?" Alfred interjected sternly. "Where are they? Are they here? I just heard them-" 

"Selina." Wayne blurted out, not knowing what else to say. "Selina has been staying with me." Sure, Alfred wouldn't approve of a girl staying in his room, although he would certainly approve of that a lot more than he would approve of the guy that had taken him hostage twice. "She snuck out through the window right before you walked in." 

Alfred glanced at the window, Wayne's breath catching, hoping he wasn't about to go check out said window considering Jerome was hiding behind the frick'n curtains. 

Thankfully, Alfred instead returned his attention back towards Wayne, clearing his throat. "Has she now?" Why did he suddenly look more worried than Wayne? 

Wayne nodded, forcing himself to keep Alfred's gaze. "Yes, she's been having a rough time lately." 

Alfred studied Wayne unsurely, eventually giving a nod and glancing towards the floor. "I see-- has she-" He paused, hesitantly meeting Wayne's wide eyes. "Has she said anything or..?" 

Wait, what? Wayne's brow furrowed. "Anything about what?" Now it was Alfred who was acting suspicious... 

"Oh, just, you know-" Alfred shrugged. "-anything." 

Wayne stared at Alfred confused. "What? I- no? I don't-" What was Alfred going on about? "No?" 

Alfred nodded awkwardly, hands going behind his back, forcing on a slight smile. "Right, well, tell her I say hello; I'll just leave you two to yourselves-- remember to be a gentleman and, ah, well, right... sorry for barging in." 

Wayne watched in disbelief as Alfred quickly left the room in a rush, a frown spreading on the boy's features-- what the hell had just happened? He hadn't expected to get rid of Alfred that easily... 

Wayne decided to not question his strike of luck, instead walking over towards the door and shutting it before turning the lock, letting out a shaky breath-- that had gone surprisingly well, perhaps a bit too well-- it was almost too good to be true, in fact... Alfred seemed awfully eager to scram the moment Wayne brought up Selina. 

Well, at least it had worked. 

"You can come out now." Wayne assured, Jerome limping away from the curtains, using his crutches as he walked by the bed rather than laying back down. "Where are you going?" 

"I'm leaving." Jerome answered, lips pursing as Wayne stepped in front of him. "Move, please." It sounded like more of an order than request. 

"What? Why?" Wayne questioned taken aback, expression falling. "What's wrong?" 

"I'm causing trouble here-- I should go." Jerome grumbled, trying to step around Wayne and sighing as Wayne moved in front of him again. "Wayne-" 

"You're not causing any trouble, alright? Seriously, you're fine-" 

"I don't want you lying for me, okay? You shouldn't lie to Alfred-" 

"Oh come on!" Wayne scoffed, voice wavering slightly. "You're the one that got me to shoplift, and illegally trespass, and go to the boat harbor-- to work for Penguin! What do you care if I lie-" 

Jerome attempted to shoo Wayne to the side with one of his crutches. "I'm sorry for making you do that whole shtick, alright? Now please just let me-" 

Wayne pushed the crutch to the side, standing his ground. "Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? You're not-" 

"I don't know!" Jerome shouted irritatedly, clenching his crutches, Wayne shrinking into himself at the harsh tone and pissed off glare, Jerome's expression softening weakly. "I don't know, okay, Wayne? I feel weird, and I need to get out of here before I-" He swallowed, gaze averting. "I don't want to hurt you, alright? I don't know what's up with me, and I don't want to snap and-" 

"Listen, you're hurt, okay? You were beat up and now you're just tired and recovering from that is all, alright? You're going to be back to the old you in no time-- pretty soon you'll be all smiles and-" Wayne insisted, hesitantly stepping forward. 

"I got you hurt when I was the 'old me,'" Jerome argued, stepping backwards and away from Wayne. "I tried to get you to do a lot of screwed up shit and-" 

"Yeah, well, I was asshole to you, so-" 

"That doesn't make us even." Jerome interjected, being as calm as he could manage-- he had tried to corrupt Wayne, and considering the boy had stubbornly gone and risked his life to save Jerome's before tending to his wounds so leniently while taking the time to help Jerome, when Wayne frankly didn't owe him a single thing due to the fact he had had, oh, ya' know-- taken Wayne hostage and threatened to murder him, made Jerome feel all the more horrible for attempting to corrupt the younger one. 

There were a lot of assholes Jerome could mess with, but Wayne? Wayne didn't deserve to be looked at as a damn plaything after all the shit he'd had gotten thrown at him thanks to Jerome, only to help Jerome afterwards. 

Jerome didn't want to hurt Wayne. He cared about Wayne, and it was weird as hell to admit, but he wasn't about to go off and ruin the one person he'd given an actual shit about since the age of eight. 

"You're not going to hurt me," Wayne finally countered, Jerome giving a scoff and looking to the side at that. "Even when you were acting normal you didn't try to hurt me-" 

"I wouldn't classify the way I usually act as normal, kiddo." Jerome argued, swallowing dryly, refusing to meet Wayne's gaze, jaw clenching and unclenching. 

"You know what I mean," Wayne sighed, eying Jerome concerned. "The normal- the old you stood up for me, didn't you? You even risked getting yourself beat up to help me get out of bad situations-" 

"Yeah, well, I let myself get beat up for my ma, too." Jerome interrupted with a shrug, forcing himself to meet the other's stare. "Look what happened to her." 

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't hit you." Wayne resorted, returning the shrug. "I'm not saying what you did to your mother was right, and I'm not saying it was wrong-- that's not for me to decide, but she abused you, Jerome, and if I had to go through what you did for sixteen years I'm not sure I'd do any different." Jerome's expression faltered at that. "I'm not going to hurt you, so I know you won't hurt me." 

Jerome wanted to stay. He wanted to have a good life. He wanted to believe a normal existence was possible. 

But Jerome couldn't. He couldn't just take seventeen years of bad experiences and suddenly expect it to all go away where everything would end up being rainbows and sunshine-- that shit only happened in fairytales, and he'd already inflicted too much chaos to have any peace. 

"I'm too screwed up Wayne," Jerome's voice was hoarse, tone brutally honest. "I'm not going to pull you into this." He wasn't going to make Wayne drown with him-- he was not going to be the damn thing that corrupted Wayne. 

Jerome knew the way he kept trying to protect Wayne from the world, from himself, from... everything, was taking a tole on him, but he couldn't just back down and let Wayne end up like him-- he wasn't going to let Wayne go through any of the shit he had. 

Wayne stared at Jerome for a long, long while, eventually giving a nod and stepping to the side, arms crossing. "I'm not trying to act like I can fix everything that's going on with you, and I know I have to be careful about the risks it would take to keep you hidden," He informed quietly. "If you stay here I'll patiently as well as gladly help with what I can when it comes to sticking with you, and I'll make sure neither of us will be put in a toxic position where making questionable decisions would be required-- I don't want you to feel like there will be a negative effect on either of us if you did decide to stay here." He added, Jerome staring at Wayne broodingly. "But if you want to leave, you can, and I won't hold anything against you." 

Jerome studied Wayne, contemplating on the other's words as a few long seconds dragged by, eventually giving a strained laugh, hand running through his hair as he leaned on one of his crutches, tucking the other one under his arm. 

Oh dear DC-- Wayne had a hold on Jerome. 

"I guess I can't just leave and let you get your ass kicked by those pricks at school, huh?" Jerome chuckled hoarsely. 

Wayne blinked at the laughter, feeling relief wash over him-- Jerome hadn't smiled since the incident. "I, uh-" Wayne gave a laugh at his own, his eyes just barely glossing over vaguely. "I mean, you did agree to be my bodyguard." 

Jerome nodded, giving another laugh, swallowing thickly, feeling ever so slightly shaken up. "I'm gonna' rest up some more, alright?" His voice cracked somewhat. 

Wayne nodded, still soaking in the fact the other was going to stay-- if you'd told this fourteen year old he'd be this excited about Jerome Valeska deciding to stick around him a few months ago he would've questioned your sanity. 

Jerome sat down on the mattress, clearing his throat and setting his crutches to the side, glancing down at Wayne's homework. "You, uh-" He picked the paper up, looking it over. "You want some help?" He asked, giving a weak grin. 

Wayne blinked at the offer, feeling another smile tug at his lips as he nodded-- the old Jerome was gradually coming back. "Do I owe you a favor?" Wayne mused jokingly, sitting beside the other. 

Jerome smirked, scooting closer towards the smaller boy. "Ya' know, I did lose my knife at that shop the other day." 

Wayne's eyebrows raised. "You mean you lost MY knife after stabbing that cashier in the hand with it." 

"That's what I said," Jerome teased, earning a scoff. "Aw come on, that creep had it coming-- what was I supposed to do? Let him hit on you?" 

"Jealous much?" Wayne joked with a smirk. "So what sorta' knife would you want? Hypothetically." 

"I do love automatic 1600 smith and wesson extractors." Jerome hummed musingly. 

Well that was certainly a mouthful, but Wayne could most likely manage to remember it. "Deal." 

"That was rather easy-- usually you put up bit of a fight when we negotiate favors." Jerome chuckled, skimming over Wayne's worksheet before glancing at the other and giving a wink. "Maybe you just like spoiling me?" 

"Don't push it." Wayne warned with an eye roll. 

"Only joking around." Jerome defended with a chuckle. "So what exactly are you having trouble with?" He inquired, referring to the homework. 

Being friends wasn't going to be easy, and it wasn't always going to be fun, but if there was one thing Wayne had learned from nearly losing Jerome, it was he didn't mind adapting to complications, because Wayne was not going to let what had happened to Jerome occur again-- and if there was one thing Jerome had learned when getting hurt thanks to trying to protect Wayne, it was he was just going to have to dish out a little bit of pain to those who tried to hurt him, because Jerome was sure as hell not about to let Wayne get put in harm's way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you wanna' see Jerome with some hyena pups? Of course you do-- who wouldn't? 
> 
> Blaaky keeps making lovely jeromeXwayne art and you should totally check it out :) 
> 
> http://quellines-stories.tumblr.com/post/133021676751/batjokes-917-and5-%CA%96


	13. Seven

Wayne answered the door, blinking taken aback at the sight of Silver, her eyes glossed over and rimmed with red. 

"Please-" Silver choked out in a sob, lower lip trembling. "Please-- I need somewhere to stay." 

Wayne swallowed thickly, brow crinkling and gaze averting at the unexpected visit. "Silver-" 

"I know what I did was wrong," Silver pleaded, looking just about ready to get down on her knees to beg. "And I'm sorry-- I'm so, so sorry," She apologized desperately, tears streaming down her cheeks. "But I don't have anywhere else to go." 

Wayne refused to meet Silver's puppy eyes. "Where's your aunt?" 

"I don't know." Silver sniffled, posture meek. "Wayne, please-- I never meant to hurt you or Jerome-" 

"You blackmailed Jerome and threatened Selina." Wayne interjected haughtily, having half a mind to slam the door in the girl's face. 

Silver gave a choked sob, Wayne visibly wincing at the wounded noise that escaped her lips. "Wayne, I- please just... I care about you, and I know you at least used to care about me-- just please let me stay until morning? I don't- I don't know where to go-- I can't survive another night on these streets." 

Wayne stayed quiet, jaw clenching broodingly, Silver letting out a shaky breath at how he wouldn't even look at her, the tattered up and fatigued girl eventually reluctantly turning away when receiving a bitter silence, starting to walk off-- she needed to find somewhere to stay before it got too dark, and she was obviously wasting time there. 

"Wait," Wayne sighed, causing Silver to halt and look over her shoulder in hope. "You can stay for tonight, and tonight only, alright?" This girl sure knew how to guilt trip people into feeling bad for her... then again, maybe she was being genuine-- Wayne honestly couldn't tell. 

Silver gave a weak relieved smile, Wayne wondering how much of this poor innocent facade was an act as she hoarsely said, "Thank you so much Wayne-- really, thank you, I- this means a lot, it truly does-" 

"You don't try anything on Jerome, okay?" Wayne warned, making it clear that would result in her getting kicked out. "Or me." 

Silver's expression faltered at the cold tone, eventually giving an understanding nod, knowing Wayne was being rationally cautious. "Of course." 

Wayne studied Silver quizzically, attempting to figure out whether or not this was some sort of trick-- just how closely did this gal resemble her uncle..? 

Silver timidly walked forward, unsurely coming to a stop at the threshold, staring at Wayne while biting down on her lower lip, shyly leaning forward to press a grateful kiss against the boy's cheek, a flash of hurt flashing through her eyes as he turned away before she could do so. 

Wayne didn't know how to feel about Silver-- not after what she'd gone and made happen to Jerome. 

"Come on." Wayne sighed, walking towards the stairs, Silver hurrying after him-- Jerome was not going to be happy about this. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome dried off his hair with a towel, peeking outside to make sure Alfred was nowhere in sight before tiptoeing down the hallway with his crutches while whistling a quiet tune, wrapping said towel around his neck and reaching for the door, pushing it open while giving a grin. "Dibs on the big pillow-" He started, halting in the doorway, smile falling at the sight of Wayne sitting awkwardly on the edge of the bed, a wary Silver beside him. "What the hell is she doing here?" Jerome scoffed, wearing an irked smirk, limping forward with his crutches. 

"Wayne's letting me stay here." Silver muttered unsettled, twirling a strand of hair around her pointer finger nervously. 

"Just for the night." Wayne added, suddenly becoming rather interested in the blanket's patterns, tearing his gaze away from Jerome's. 

"No, she's not." Jerome objected with a laugh of disbelief, stopping in front of the pair of younger teens. "Get out of here-- now." 

Silver straightened up, arms and legs crossing. "This is Wayne's place, not yours-- if he wants me to leave, then-" 

"Silver," Wayne grumbled, knowing Jerome probably wanted to 'home run' her through the window with his crutches. "Be nice." 

"He's being rude-" Silver defended, eyes glossing over. 

"Yeah, well, I'd be rude too if someone tried to blackmail me." Wayne snapped, Jerome and Silver both quirking brows. "If you can't get along with Jerome then you can't stay here." 

Silver couldn't believe this-- she could tell Wayne still liked her, so why the hell was he defending Jerome? Did he just feel bad about what had happened to him or something? Maybe he simply didn't trust Silver yet... she could fix that. 

"Jerome, I am so sorry for what happened to you-" Silver started, practically urging Jerome to snap at her sickly sweetness. 

"My ass you are." Jerome knowingly interjected, eyes narrowing at how Silver flashed a brief smirk-- if he had blinked he would've missed it. 

Silver was trying to make Jerome look like the bad guy for not accepting her cringingly fake apology, so he backed down, holding his tongue. 

"I'm sorry- I'm so sorry- please don't be angry-" Silver sniffled, lower lip quivering. 

"Oh yeah, sure, real good act, sweetheart." Jerome chuckled irritatedly, growing annoyed at how perfectly she was pressing his buttons with ease, knowing he should keep his mouth shut rather than risk Wayne getting angry at him for getting upset at Silver. 

"I'm not acting-" Silver defended gently, managing to look more fragile than ever-- Jerome had to admit... she was good. 

"I understand you may, or may even not, have Jerome's best interests at hand, but I hardly doubt you'd be able to just accept an apology, no matter if it was genuine or not, from the person who had gone and been a large factor in you sustaining critical injuries." Wayne spoke up, Jerome staring at him slightly surprised, not expecting any of the sudden defense from Wayne. "You've voiced your apology, and we'd both appreciate you proving its genuine considering it'd only be fair with what we both went through." 

Silver's lips pursed-- fine, if Wayne wanted her to act sincere, then she'd act sincere; getting Wayne back would be a piece of cake-- she just needed to be patient and find a way to get in between Jerome and Wayne again. 

"You're right, I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling all that well." Silver explained in an exhausted tone. "Would it be alright if I laid down now?" 

"Yeah, it would-- on the floor." Jerome huffed, giving a mock pout that was somewhat real as Silver curled up on the mattress. "That's my spot, sweet-cheeks." 

Silver ignored the crutches that attempted to tap her away. "We can all sleep here." She suggested, knowing Jerome would never accept an offer like that-- what could she say? The older teen despised her, and she wasn't about to sleep on the floor. 

"No, we can't." Jerome answered with a sour smile, impatiently waiting for her to move. "Shoo." 

"You can sleep here," Wayne agreed, Jerome's smile once more faltering-- no no no, he was not going to let Wayne sleep with that little minx and get himself falling head over heels for her again- "Jerome and I will sleep over there." He added, gesturing towards the mattress in walk-in closet, Jerome arching a taken aback brow-- he really had grown on Wayne... 

Jerome smirked-- having your own little billionaire following you around like a duckling was rather amusing. 

Silver couldn't help but irritatedly wonder what the longest Wayne had gone without seeing Jerome was, the pair practically being attached at the hip. "But-" 

"It's fine, you can sleep there." Wayne interrupted, doing his best to ignore her pout-- he still cared about Silver, he really did, but he cared about Jerome, too. 

Wayne and Jerome walked into the large closet, the smaller of the two shutting the door and letting out a strained exhale before more or less falling face first onto the mattress, Jerome giving a snicker and laying beside him. 

"I don't know why you're letting her stay here," Jerome mused in annoyance, laying on his back beside Wayne. "She's just trying to get you wrapped around her finger again." 

Wayne kept his face buried against his pillow, words muffled as he said, "Maybe she's being honest." 

Jerome scoffed, eyes rolling. "About what? Being sorry?" 

Wayne turned his head to face the other, cheek resting against his pillow. "It's just-" He paused, gaze averting. "Never mind." 

Jerome didn't like this-- Silver still had a hold on Wayne... he could tell. "What's wrong? Convinced she's a good person underneath it all or something?" 

The corners of Wayne's lips tugged downwards. "The Galavans just seemed like kind people is all." He was still soaking in what had gone down only a few days ago. 

"Theo's not a good guy, Wayne." Jerome warned, growing concerned with how Wayne refused to look at him-- Wayne needed to stay away from that family. "He says what you want to hear, and then he gets rid of you when he doesn't need you anymore." 

Wayne's eyes flickered towards the scar on Jerome's neck, not saying anything for a long while, eventually speaking up in a soft voice, "You were supposed to kill me that night, weren't you?" 

It was Jerome's turn to avert his eyes, looking towards the ceiling. "Yeah," He confirmed in a murmur, swallowing thickly. "He'd told me to pick you out as a volunteer, and then kill you when we revealed we were taking over." 

Wayne turned on his side, observing Jerome with a frown. "Was he like a dad to you or something?" 

Jerome's brow raised, returning his gaze towards the other. "What?" He gave a brief chuckle, not sure he'd heard that right. "No." Wayne continued to study him quizzically. "He just-" Jerome's smirk faltered, throat clearing, looking back up towards the ceiling. "I dunno'... he just knew what I wanted to hear I guess-- liked to feed my ego or whatever." 

Wayne was quiet for a long while, eventually piping up, "I believe you about Theo, but Silver isn't Theo." 

Jerome's jaw clenched, a bitter smirk tugging at his lips. "Yeah, but she's his niece, and she was taking orders from him-- hell, she might still be taking orders." 

"Or she could be good." Wayne countered quietly. 

"Ya' know what? Fine-- you wanna' go risk your life by falling for the girl who's uncle wants to kill you, then you go on and do that," Jerome laughed sourly. "But I'm not saving your ass again if she gets you in trouble." 

"Jerome-" 

"You need to stop acting like she's some misunderstood snowflake and realize this chick has done some pretty shady shit, Wayne." Jerome persisted irritatedly, knowing he had probably just gone and gotten Wayne pissed off at him with 'tough love', but someone needed to get some sense into Wayne's views of little miss Saint. 

"I'm not saying I forgive her for what she did to you or Selina," Wayne assured, Jerome still finding the fact Wayne was being so damn considerate of how he talked to him rather surprising-- Jerome was used to Wayne being grumpy and bitter, and couldn't help but wonder if the raven haired fourteen year old was just talking oh so patiently due to guilt over what had happened to him, or if Wayne was sincerely just trying to be... nice. "But I'm also not about to just completely turn her away without hearing her side of the story first-- Theo may of been manipulating her." 

"Yeah, well, she put down her little angelic facade when she was blackmailing me, and she definitely wasn't being manipulated to act as cocky as she was-- believe me, the innocent schtick she's got going on is a damn act." Jerome argued, keeping on a tight smile, convinced Silver had something up her sleeve. 

"You don't have to socialize with her-- I wouldn't expect you to-" 

"I don't want you talking with her." Jerome finally sighed, sitting up and running a hand through his hair, contemplating on going out for some fresh air, the closet beginning to feel rather small and quite stuffy. 

Wayne's brow quirked. "Why?" 

Had Jerome not made this obvious? "Because she'll get you into some sort of trouble and then I'll have to come and get you out of it." Jerome grumbled as Wayne also sat up. 

"I wouldn't expect you to do that." 

"Yeah, well, I know you're probably going to get kidnapped or nearly murdered if you go with her, so I'd have to do it anyways." 

"Why?" Wayne challenged almost teasingly, Jerome finally looking towards him at that. "Why would you have to?" 

What Wayne was doing more or less clicked to Jerome-- the little shit was trying to get Jerome to say he cared about him again. 

"Because-" Jerome cleared his throat, giving a smirk as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Because I'm you're bodyguard, yeah?" Nope-- Jerome had admitted it once, and Wayne would just have to do with that-- Jerome was a stubborn and prideful little bastard. 

Wayne should've expected as much-- Jerome was just as strong willed as he was when it came to keeping his ego in check. 

"Look, I care about Silver just as much as I care about you-" Wayne sighed, subtly showing he wasn't as reluctant about admitting such in a somewhat childish manner. "-so I can't just turn away from her at the first sight of trouble-- I already did that to you, and I can't make that mistake again after what happened." 

Jerome observed Wayne curiously, pondering on the other's words, nearly frowning at that-- nearly. "If you go somewhere with her, I go with you, deal?" Wayne nodded. "Don't let your guard down around her-- ever; always try to find a catch to anything she says until you're sure she's telling the truth, alright?" Wayne gave another nod. "And if she starts to turn you against Selina, Alfred, or Gordon then you don't listen to a word she says, got it?" 

"Or you." Wayne added, earning an arched brow. "If she tries to turn me against you again as well then she and I are done." 

Gosh, Jerome had way to big of a soft spot for Wayne-- how was he supposed to have otherwise when the kiddo was saying nice shit like that? 

"Are you saying you like me more than her?" Jerome jested with a grin. 

"No, I like you both the same, but if she tries to get me to choose her over you, then that'll prove she and I can't be friends." Wayne corrected with a huff, arms crossing. 

"You like us both the same?" Jerome questioned, giving a musing hum. "Does that mean you have a crush on me?" 

Wayne's face went pink. "Excuse me?" 

Teasing Wayne never failed to entertain Jerome. "I'm just saying-- you have a crush on her, so I can only assume that- if you like us both the same- that means you also have a crush on-" 

"That's not-" Wayne interjected, ears burning bright red. "That's not what I meant-" He insisted, Jerome attempting to not let out a fit of laughter at the sheer embarrassment on Wayne's face along with his suddenly shy and defensive posture. 

"Well I was only joking, but with how much you're blushing at the moment-" Jerome chuckled amused, Wayne self consciously burying his face into his hands. 

"What do you expect me to do when you say stuff like that?!" Wayne snapped annoyed, wanting to bundle up under the covers and hide. 

"Calm down, I'm kidding-" Jerome snickered, Wayne glowering at him as he lowered his hands. 

"If anything you have a crush on me." Wayne grumbled under his breath, Jerome raising his brows at that. 

"Oh ho ho? Do I now?" Jerome mused intrigued, head cocking. "Alright, I'm curious-- why exactly do you say that?" 

Shit. Wayne should've kept his mouth shut. 

Wayne hesitantly met Jerome's patient gaze, knowing there was no way to back out of this one. "No reason." Shit shit shit-- act cool, try to change the subject- 

"No no, too late-- you can't say something so vague and then not explain," Jerome persisted with a smirk. "Please-- go on." 

Wayne gulped, growing more and more embarrassed each second. "Never mind." 

"Oh come on now, be a sport-" 

"It's nothing." Wayne insisted, cheeks heating up again. 

"You're horrible at lying." 

"Jerome-" 

"Hey, you're the one that said it, not me." Jerome chimed with a shrug. 

"I didn't mean anything by it-" 

"My ass you didn't-" 

"You're gay, always calling me cute, overly protective when it comes to me hanging out with Silver and pretty much anyone else, not to mention you're always putting an arm around me when we sleep, okay?!" Wayne blurted out more embarrassed than upset, listing the first reasons that came to mind. 

Jerome's brow quirked, a grin spreading onto his lips, eventually giving a crackle of laughter, Wayne trying to glare at him, yet just giving something which resembled more of a pout. 

"Fair enough," Jerome chuckled with a shrug after his laughter gradually came down. "Although it's only fair to remind you that you're bi, you always blush when I call you cute, and you practically cuddle up to me every time we sleep, so you could very well have a crush on me." Jerome countered with ease. "Oh, and I don't get protective, I just get a little possessive-" He shrugged. "-I don't like people taking what's mine." 

Wayne really shouldn't of accused Jerome of having a crush on him. Seriously-- this was awkward as hell for the poor boy, and definitely way too entertaining for Jerome. Sure, Jerome had started this, but Wayne had gone and taken the damn bait. 

"I like Silver, anyone would blush when being called cute, it's a perfectly normal reaction to snuggle or whatever when being held, and see? That's what I'm talking about-- you say stuff like that and expect me to not take it as a flirt." 

"True, but ya' know you can have more than one crush at a time, right? And sure, it's normal for people to blush a little, but you practically have to leave the room out of shyness, and yeah yeah-- it's perfectly platonic for one friend to snuggle with the other, if by 'snuggle' you mean nuzzling against my neck and chest while clinging onto me." Jerome smoothly resorted with a smirk. "And say stuff like what?" 

"I don't-" Oh dear DC-- Wayne did do all of the stuff Jerome had just accused him of. "I-" Wayne couldn't argue against that-- moving on would be the best thing to do before he went and made things worst. "Saying stuff like 'I don't like people taking what's mine' is extremely suggestive, okay?" Crap; he was way too flustered-- was anything Wayne saying even sounding remotely convincing? 

Jerome grinned at how Wayne was obviously losing their little debate, innocently musing, "Oh? How so?" 

"You know how!" Wayne huffed, being able to see Jerome's amused smile through the dark just as Jerome was able to see his practically radiant blush in the dark. "You're implying that I'm yours-" 

"I'm implying that you're my friend-" 

"My ass you are!" Wayne interjected embarrassed, earning a fit of laughter. 

"Okay, okay-" Jerome laughed, catching the way Wayne was more or less sulking. "You win-- I was just joking around," He assured with a grin, ruffling the incredibly shy Wayne's hair up. "Relax, I know you don't have a crush on me." He added in a chuckle, afterwards reassuring, "And don't worry-- you're too young for my taste." Sure, there was always a (rather small) chance Jerome could like Wayne a few years from now, perhaps when they were both in their twenties and a three year age gap didn't matter as much, although for the time being he and Wayne both only felt platonically towards one another. 

"Whatever." Wayne grumbled sourly, Jerome snickering as he laid back down, cheeks returning to their normal shade while he gradually calmed from being utterly embarrassed. 

"Night." Jerome hummed, also laying down, smirking as Wayne instinctively curled up next to him, not able to help himself as he teased, "Told you ya' liked to cuddle." 

Wayne said some rather not so nice things under his breath, rolling away from Jerome and earning a laugh, feeling Jerome's arm hook around him as the other gave a half assed apology, Wayne huffing, "Yeah, well, you're the one wrapping an arm around my waist.", yet not moving away. 

"Touché." Jerome chuckled, the corners of his lips turning upwards as Wayne shifted around to nuzzle against his chest. "Ya' know if any of the stuff you called me out on makes you uncomfortable then you can ask me to stop and I will, right?" 

Wayne's eyes slid shut, physically relaxing at that. "It doesn't." He muttered quietly, knowing that the stuff he and Jerome did, such as this- while intimate- was nonetheless platonic. 

Jerome nodded, his own eyes closing. "Just making sure." 

Wayne shifted closer to Jerome, giving a word of thanks... it was strange to not have a crush on Jerome, because for some odd reason Wayne was certain he could-- and it was a bit weird that he was beginning to realize there was such a good chance he would've if he hadn't been so entranced with Silver... not that Wayne would ever admit it, or at least not out loud. 

So yeah, maybe Wayne DID like Jerome a bit more than he should've, although he would certainly never ever tell the other that. 

Wayne squeezed his eyes shut, cheeks heating up as that little realization gradually began to soak in more and more, burying his face against Jerome's torso embarrassed, suddenly becoming very aware of the other's breathing, noticing the arm around his hip more than usual, and oh shit-- Wayne DID have a crush on Jerome. 

It was tiny, and it was barely even a crush- if one would even call it that- but Wayne had it, and he didn't know how to deal with that. 

Sure, if anything this was actually even less than a 'crush'-- it was just a tinge of attraction-- it was only halfway between being platonic, and being 'romantic', so technically it wasn't even a full on crush yet, and was just barely less than that, but it was still dangerously close to being an attraction towards Jerome, and if Wayne wasn't careful the next thing he'd know he'd be swooning over Jerome like he'd swooned over Selina and was currently swooning over Silver. 

Wayne just needed to focus on Silver and hope he was right about her being innocent, considering if she wasn't then he wouldn't be able to have anything to distract him from letting this damn crush grow and no no no-- this wasn't fair, dangit. 

Nighttime was beginning to suck for Wayne-- his mind went and wandered places like this, forcing him to realize things he frankly really didn't want to realize. 

Wayne tensed up, feeling Jerome move around somewhat in his sleep, the red haired teen tightening his arm around Wayne subconsciously. 

Wow. Jerome was actually very muscular. Plus, he had a pleasant jawline. Not to mention he smelled nice-- was he wearing a dash of some sort of cologne? 

Wayne groaned in aggravation, nuzzling against Jerome's neck shyly, trying to hide his blush despite there being no one there to see it-- he had to get this- this thing under control before he got a REAL crush on Jerome, because he was undeniably close to having such. 

"You alright?" Jerome murmured, feeling Wayne freeze up underneath him as he spoke. 

Shit. How long had Jerome been awake? 

"I'm fine." Wayne lied meekly. 

"You sure?" Jerome inquired, feeling Wayne tense up more as he rubbed the smaller one's back soothingly. "You keep nuzzling against me and making kinda' annoyed noises." Maybe he'd been holding Wayne too tightly? 

Wayne's pulse was racing with an irritatingly fast pace. "I'm just cold is all." 

That had been the wrong thing to say, Wayne realized, as Jerome pulled him closer, Wayne chewing on the inside of his cheek nervously. 

"Need another blanket?" Jerome offered with a yawn, growing ever so slightly concerned with how Wayne was shaking. 

Oh Ra-- Wayne was anxious to the point he was trembling. "Yes please." Space. Wayne needed some space. 

Jerome pulled away, Wayne sitting up as the other stood, the seventeen year old grabbing a large, wrapped up, violet shaded blanket from one of the closet's shelves, turning back to look towards Wayne and arching a brow at how pink Wayne's face was. 

"Are you feeling alright?" Jerome asked slightly worriedly, kneeling on the tiny twin mattress and pressing his palm against Wayne's forehead. "You're burning up." 

"I'm fine, just cold." Wayne lied, not about to very well let the other catch onto the fact he was blushing, knowing that would raise too many questions. 

Jerome eyed Wayne skeptically, eventually nodding nonetheless, wrapping the purple blanket over the gray one Wayne was already huddled in before laying back down, Wayne timidly laying beside him. 

Wayne took in a deep breath, calming his mind the best he could as Jerome instinctively hooked an arm around him again, the younger of the two silently reassuring himself that as long as he and Silver could make things work this almost-crush would go away. 

"Jerome?" Wayne piped up, knowing he should probably keep his mouth shut and wait until morning to utter a single word to the other-- he was too exhausted and irrational now. 

"Hm?" Jerome hummed tiredly, feeling Wayne grip his shirt nervously. "What's wrong?" 

"Do you really not have a-" Wayne paused, pulling back to look up at the awaiting Jerome. "I may possibly-" Dangit, he didn't know what to say much less how to say it. "What if we-" Wayne swallowed thickly, giving a sigh. "Never mind." 

Jerome had no idea on what Wayne was rambling on about, staring down at the boy who buried his face against the crook of his neck. "Wayne, come on, what's up?" 

Wayne took in a deep breath, hesitantly pulling away from Jerome's neck, staring up at the other broodingly-- a quick kiss. That would be all Wayne would do to get his point across pertaining to how he didn't honestly feel anything for the other, and see just how much he actually liked Jerome. 

Because who wouldn't act on random impulses with shitty reasoning when they were tired and as flustered as hell? 

Wayne got ready to briefly press his lips to Jerome, knowing in the back of his racing mind this was probably a horrible idea, although he was the king of horrible ideas, and was ready to do this quick enough to where rationality wouldn't be able to kick in until afterwards. 

A blur. This was all moving in a blur. Most things people would surely regret tended to do that. 

The fourteen year old boy clenched Jerome's shirt, just barely starting to move forward when a soft knock was heard at the door, Wayne halting. 

Silver peeked inside. "Wayne? Could- could you lay with me for a little while? I had a nightmare." 

Jerome had little to no idea on what exactly Wayne had just been about to tell him, but he wanted to know. "Sorry sweetheart, but we're talking-" Jerome answered, flashing an annoyed smile. 

"No problem!" Wayne answered, voice cracking as he hopped up, Jerome's brow raising, Silver staring at the raven haired boy pleasantly surprised. "See ya' in the morning, Jerome!" Wayne laughed nervously, hurrying out of the walk-in closet and into his room. 

Jerome watched as the door shut, more confused than pissed off... Wayne was certainly acting weird. 

"Thank you so much, Wayne." Silver sighed graciously, offering a sweet smile. 

"Mhm! No problem!" Wayne laughed anxiously, getting into the bed and laying down with the other. "Night!" Oh gosh-- he'd almost tried to kiss Jerome. 

Silver noticed the strangely nervous behavior, yet didn't comment on it, figuring Wayne had simply never slept with a girl before. 

Wayne blinked as Silver cuddled up next to him, hesitantly allowing her to, unsurely wrapping an arm around the girl-- he was just trying to see if he felt the same way like this with her like he did with Jerome was all. 

... 

Oh no-- no no no-- sure, Wayne had to admit that this felt nice, but he was already missing Jerome over Silver, and nope-- this couldn't be happening. 

Silver nuzzled against the wide eyed Wayne's neck, the girl more or less sleeping like a baby as the boy found he was way too antsy to get any rest. 

No-- Wayne just didn't fully trust Silver-- that was all. As soon as he saw Silver was being genuine, he'd go back to adoring her, and he would no longer be freaking out about ALMOST liking Jerome, because then this annoying little resemblance of a crush would be gone. 

Wayne was fine-- he just needed to get his hormones to calm down was all, and focus on Silver... 

~*~*~*~ 

"I need you to tell me the truth, Silver." Wayne stated as the girl exited his manor's threshold, causing her to stop in her tracks. "Why were you working with your uncle?" 

Silver stayed quiet for a few lengthy seconds, inhaling deeply and allowing her eyes to briefly shut, finally turning to face the other. "I'm not a bad person, Wayne; I care about you, and I care about Jerome, too-- I truly, truly do." Her words sounded so sincere... "I only did what my uncle told me to, not jus because he's my uncle, but also because I knew that if I didn't then all three of us would be hurt." Even her expression looked incredibly genuine... 

Wayne's brow furrowed. "By your uncle?" 

Silver swallowed thickly. "No-- my uncle is not a bad man either, okay?" She was clearly sure about that, although Wayne would argue otherwise. "Yes, he's made a few empty threats, although that's only to keep people in their place so they won't get hurt-- he cares about me, and about you." Wayne couldn't help but frown at that-- it almost seemed like Silver had been groomed to believe this shit... maybe she wasn't acting. 

"He broke out Arkham inmates, double crossed Jerome, and intended to kill me." Wayne countered, taking note of the way Silver faltered. 

"He- he has a bigger plan-- this looks bad now, but in the long run you'll see he was just- he's just setting the chess pieces." Silver assured, it being unclear as to whether she was trying to convince Wayne or herself of such. "He's forcing the evil to come out in Gotham so he can get rid of it with the good; this is his home-- our family built it, alright? Really-- I promise he knows how to take care of it." Silver was either an expert at acting or genuinely believed Theo was a hero. "The only people who should be afraid of uncle are people who aren't innocent, and I know you're a good person Wayne-- you don't have to worry about him." 

"Silver-" Wayne sighed, getting the feeling this wasn't an act-- Silver's walls were breaking down. 

"Wayne, please, trust me-- my family is a good family, and Theo works towards the greater good, and he needs Tabitha's help along with mine-- I would never ever hurt you or Jerome, and I didn't want Jerome to get hurt, alright? I- I feel horrible for what happened to him, and I'm sure Theo does as well." Dangit, Wayne couldn't tell how much of this was true and how much was false-- Silver could either be making all of this up or believe every word she spoke. "Uncle has done questionable things, and he's willing to go far, but I know he would never be willing to go far enough to kill you or Jerome, or anyone-- or at least anyone good!" She insisted desperately, needing Wayne to believe her, however it being unclear as to whether she needed him to believe her due to a plan or if she sincerely wanted to mend what had gone and broken. "I know he stabbed Jerome, but he's alive, isn't he? Uncle- uncle must of made sure Jerome would live! Or- or he didn't realize Jerome had some good in him, and was just trying to-" 

"I believe you, Silver," Wayne interjected, Silver's rambling pausing. "I know- I know you're a good person, okay?" He hoped he wasn't making a mistake by trusting this girl again... fool me once and whatnot. "But Jerome is certain Theo's trouble, and I believe Jerome just as much as I believe you-" 

"I don't want to know what Jerome believes about my uncle," Silver spoke up shakily, looking about ready to start crying again. "I want to know what you believe about him." 

Wayne's gaze averted. "I believe Jerome when he says Theo is-" 

"I know you care about Jerome, Wayne," Silver informed before Wayne could finish. "I know you trust him, and see him as family, and I understand that-- but we see you as family, too, and when it comes to character, you need to realize no one is better than Jerome-- not after what he's done," Her tone was gentle rather than brash, being sure to not scold Wayne and instead simply inform. "So maybe you should judge our character the same way you're judging his, because I'm sorry to say you seem a lot more lenient when it comes to forgiving Jerome for what he's done when none of us have even come close to partaking in some of the actions he's committed." Silver paused, Wayne staying quiet. "I love you, Wayne-- we all love you, and while it may not seem like it, we never ever meant to hurt you." 

Wayne swallowed dryly as Silver placed a quick loving kiss against his lips, not at all knowing what to do as she walked away. 

Silver had better be telling the truth, because second chances were the most Wayne figured he'd be willing to give her. 

~*~*~*~ 

"You called her?" Jerome questioned, earning a nod. "And she's coming back over?" 

Wayne kept his eyes locked on the floor. "Yes." 

Jerome wasn't smiling. "So you believe her?" Wayne didn't need to answer-- he could tell that was a yes by his expression. "Fine." 

Wayne winced at the sour tone. "I still believe you about Theo being someone I should stay away from, but as far as I can tell Silver's genuinely sorry, and she doesn't realize Theo is manipulating her-- I just need to act like I believe her uncle's a good man, get some information out of her about an offer he made, and then convince her he doesn't have her best interest at hand." 

"And what if she's playing you?" Jerome countered, arms crossing. 

"Then people don't get more than two chances." 

~*~*~*~

Jerome decided he actually liked Alfred quite a bit when Wayne came storming into their room while ranting about how his guardian had apparently thrown Silver out. 

"He's just looking out for ya', kiddo." Jerome mused, hoping that at least the butler would be able to knock some sense into Wayne considering Jerome had apparently failed to do so. 

"He called Silver a minx!" Wayne argued irked. "And he's the butler-- since when are butlers supposed to give the orders?!" 

Jerome smirked-- a minx? Alfred was growing on him more and more ever second. "The guy is you're guardian, Wayne," He countered with a chuckle. "He's got some say in what you can and can't do."

Wayne gave a grumble-- that was true, but he was still going to be bitter about Alfred's actions. "I'm calling a taxi." 

Jerome's eyes rolled. "So you can go meet her?" He questioned knowingly, grabbing Wayne's cellphone on the drawer and holding it above him while standing up to lean against the wall, still having a difficult time getting around without crutches, keeping the electronic device out of the smaller one's reach. 

Wayne glared at Jerome. "Yes, now please give me my phone back." He said through clenched teeth, attempting to reach for his phone, letting out an annoyed huff as Jerome backed up. "Jerome-" 

"You need to listen to your guardian and stay here." Jerome insisted with a shrug, back bumping against the wall. 

"No, you need to give me my phone so I can sort things out with the Galavans." Wayne snapped irritatedly, giving a half assed jump in attempt to reach his cellphone. "Please just-" 

"You're beginning to believe Theo's not all that bad, aren't you?" Jerome accused, smirking irritatedly at how Wayne wasn't able to look him in the eyes at that. "Silver is playing you again, Wayne-" 

"No she's not, because I'm making sure we don't get turned against each other again-" 

"Kinda' like how you're making sure you don't trust Theo again?" Jerome challenged, keeping the phone held high. 

"I'm just considering all possibilities, and one possibility is that Theo's innocent." Wayne defended, gripping Jerome's arm and attempting to pull it downwards to no avail. 

"Which means you're considering the possibility that Silver's right about me being against you?" Jerome continued persistently, gripping Wayne's wrist and pulling the other's hand away from his arm. 

Wayne frowned at that. "No-- I'm not." He answered truthfully, Jerome not releasing his wrist. "I already told you that I'm on you're side, and I believe you-" 

"Then stop siding with the asshole that stabbed me in the neck and the chick that got me beat to a pulp." 

"Silver didn't mean for you to get hurt-" 

"You sure about that?" Jerome inquired further, Wayne going quiet. "Do what you want, Wayne-" He offered icily, letting go of the other's wrist. "-but don't get distracted by gals that make big ol' googly eyes at you." He warned, holding out the cellphone. 

Wayne stared down at the small phone, chewing his lower lip unsurely. "I need to find out what's going on," Wayne sighed, taking the device. "But I'm not going to do anything that would get you hurt in the process." 

"Yeah, well, don't do anything that would get you hurt either." Jerome murmured, arms crossing. 

Wayne felt his cheeks heat up at that, suddenly feeling rather shy as he averted his eyes. "I won't." Jerome cared about him even when he knew he was probably being a little shit... that was sweet- wait. Nope nope nope-- Wayne had to get this forming crush under control before it became a full on one... Silver should be able to keep his mind more or less distracted, right? As soon as this was all said and done with the Galavans Wayne would totally and completely forget about almost crushing on Jerome... right? 

Jerome arched a brow at the rather peculiar behavior-- was Wayne being bashful? That was certainly new. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Trying to sneak out again?" Jerome mused, Wayne sliding the key he'd stolen back from Alfred into his pocket. 

"Yes, I am." Wayne confirmed determinedly, deciding it'd be best to sneak out the downstairs parlor window. 

Jerome nodded, pondering for a few seconds as Wayne started to leave the room. "Wayne?" 

Wayne paused, looking over his shoulder. "Yeah?" 

Jerome stood up. "I'm coming with you." It wasn't a request. 

Wayne blinked, hesitantly nodding. "Okay," He actually didn't mind that-- it'd be nice to have someone by his side. "Alfred's on his toes, so he may be expecting me to sneak out-- would you mind going through the window?" If Wayne did get caught wandering through the house he didn't want Jerome to be caught with him-- he'd rather not have the seventeen year old thrown out as well, and he doubted Alfred would like the guy that had more or less nearly killed Wayne much more than he'd liked Silver. 

Jerome nodded, knowing Wayne was still too afraid of heights to follow-- the kiddo had a long way to go before he was fearless. 

This was a terrible idea, but Jerome couldn't very well just allow Wayne to go and get himself killed-- perhaps Jerome was getting a little too attached to Wayne... 

Wayne though? Wayne was definitely getting way too attached to Jerome-- as in dangerously attached... which was why Wayne needed to fix things with Silver as soon as possible so he could just focus on her-- that may or may not being a tiny reason Wayne was so set on believing Silver was innocent... okay, not, that wasn't a tiny reason-- it was honestly a huge reason Wayne was being so damn irrational and rushing to fix things between him and the Galavans... the Galavans who may or may not want him dead. 

Peachy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so apparently December-Febuary there will be a two month hiatus on Gotham, and considering this fic corresponds with the show I wanted to get your input on what you reckon I should do! I already got input from two other readers, so I just wanted to check in with everyone :) 
> 
> Overall, I'll probably do one of two things, and while any comments given will be a huge factor on what I end up doing, I most likely won't know for sure what I'll do until the last episode for the first half of the finale is aired since a lot of it depends on what all goes down in said episode. 
> 
> Now then, the two things I plan on doing consist of either... 
> 
> 1) Writing Jerome and Wayne as adults after the last November episode-- I planned to do this when the season was over, although this was before I heard about the hiatus. 
> 
> 2) Take a break from this fic and waiting for hiatus to end. Meanwhile, I'd write a corrupted-Wayne AU that I was planning on writing when finished with this fic before hearing about the hiatus, although if you'd rather I could just write it from December-February and then return to this fic when the series starts back up-- I would continue writing the corrupted-Wayne AU after returning to this one, although I would update that AU less frequently at the return of the show. 
> 
> For a brief summary of those who are interested in the corrupted-Wayne AU-- basically, it would be a fic where Wayne would end up on the streets rather than with Alfred because of Wayne Enterprises trying to get rid of him, and he'd end up meeting Jerome (who hasn't snapped yet) at the circus and more or less be taken in by the other. Jerome would become canonly corrupt, and Wayne would gradually follow until they'd grow into being the feared creators of Gotham's chaos. Please keep in mind this fic would be a lot darker, more mature, and overall a lot angstier. 
> 
> Either way, I'd still be writing a jeromeXwayne fic, and either way I'd still write the corrupted-Wayne AU sometime, and I would still finish this fanfic, (or at least that's the plan) so which one would you guys prefer? Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I'd love to hear your opinions!


	14. The Enemy of My Enemy

"Jerome." Selina greeted coldly, arms crossing. 

Jerome's brow quirked at the icy attitude, noting her stiff posture. "Silvia." What was she doing here? 

"It's Selina." The catty girl snapped with a glare. 

"Yeah yeah, sure, whatever." Jerome snickered, waving off her comment carelessly. "When did little miss sass get here?" 

"Excuse me?" Selina scoffed, stepping towards the smirking Jerome in annoyance. 

"Selina wants to show us something." Wayne answered, moving in between the two as the older male and younger girl stared one another down challengingly. 

"Wrong, I want to show you something." Selina corrected haughtily. 

"Selina-" Wayne sighed, giving a glare Jerome's way with how he was clearly urging the girl on; why did all of Wayne's three friends have to hate each other? 

"Weren't you just asking for my help the other day, sweetheart?" Jerome chuckled, head cocking. 

"Jerome-" Wayne pleaded, attempting to keep the peace. 

"Yeah, and you didn't do jack-shit." Selina resorted bitterly. 

"Oh? I didn't?" Jerome laughed, Wayne catching the other's familiar annoyed tone despite the red haired teen's smile. "You're not one to talk, sweet-cheeks-- if I remember correctly you didn't exactly manage to save the day." 

"At least I tried to help Wayne out-- you just ran away with your tail between your legs." 

"Guys-" Wayne persisted, the pair looking about as likely to get along as a cat and dog... or a cat and hyena. 

"Which one of us got beat up again?" Jerome countered with a tight smile. "Because it sure does seem like you got away just fine." 

"I got arrested-" Selina defended, obviously not about to back down. 

"And now you're out, and without a scratch on that pretty little face of yours." Jerome interjected sharply, gripping his crutches in irritation. 

Selina's lips pursed. "You're not honestly friends with this guy, are you Wayne?" She sighed in disbelief. 

Rude much? "Hey now, what's that supposed to mean?" Jerome scoffed before Wayne could even begin to answer. 

"I mean what I said-" Selina turned her attention back towards the stressed Wayne, elaborating, "-you're not really friends with the guy that took you hostage twice, murdered several people, and worked for Galavan, are you?" 

Fine. Jerome could be rude too. "You're not really friends with the chick that killed your guardian's best friend, stole from you, and lied about knowing who the murderer of your parents was, are you?" 

"You told him that?!" Selina questioned, glaring daggers at the sheepish Wayne. 

"I-" Wayne started meekly, expression falling as Selina went from furious to somewhat hurt, letting out a frustrated and shaky breath as she suddenly stomped off. "Selina!" 

"You're clearly in better hands!" Selina shouted sarcastically, patience grown thin-- she'd been through too much shit lately... they all had. 

Jerome caught the way Wayne glowered up at him. "What?" He scoffed with a pissed off grin. "What? What did I do? She started it-" 

"Why can't any of you get along?!" Wayne huffed, hurrying after Selina, half of him wanting to find out what she knew about Silver while the other half was genuinely worried about the upset girl-- just because he and Selina weren't on good terms didn't mean he was going to just up and stop caring about her, much less forget what all she'd done for him in the past. 

In Jerome's defense Selina had started it. Then again, Jerome was older than her, so he should've probably done the adult-like thing and been a gentleman who apologized... pft, yeah right! Where was the fun in that? 

Nonetheless, Jerome definitely preferred Selina over Silver, and if she could get Wayne to realize St. Cloud wasn't such a saint after all then he'd take it. 

Jerome walked the way Selina and Wayne had ran off to, hoping he hadn't gone and ruined his chance of getting dirt on Silver by chasing the brunette off. 

All Jerome had to do was help Wayne find Selina, give a semi-apology, and hope she'd cooperate-- there was little to no chance she wouldn't considering she clearly worried a lot about Wayne, and most likely wouldn't just let him continue to be tricked by Silver considering he doubted Selina would want Wayne ending up in danger. 

Jerome walked around a hedge casually, stopping in his tracks at the sight of Alfred, swallowing dryly as the butler's eyes tore away from the weeds he was pulling and landed on him. 

Alfred bolted upwards, allowing his gardening tools to drop. "Stay right where you are." He warned, grabbing the shovel leaning against a mound of dirt and holding it up menacingly. 

Shit. 

Jerome forced on a smile, limping backwards cautiously with his crutches while laughing nervously. "You uh- you got a map? I may be a little lost." He joked, attempting to lighten the situation. "I mean, this certainly isn't the market, ami'right?" 

Alfred wasn't amused. "You're after Wayne, aren't you?" 

Jerome gave a brief laugh. "No, actually-- I'm looking for someone else at the moment; have you seen a gal run by here by any chance?" This wasn't good-- he was still weak from the beating at Oswald's place, and the crutches didn't help much. 

"A girl?" Alfred interrogated, eyes narrowing. "Are you talking about Cloud?" Was Jerome working with her..? 

"No, but ya' know what? You obviously haven't seen who I'm looking for, so I'll just be on my way." Jerome chuckled, shuffling backwards with his crutches. "Thanks for the help though!" 

Alfred gripped his shovel. "Right, right-- and I'm just supposed to let you, the boy that took Master Wayne hostage twice, go off and be on your way?" 

Dangit. "Okay buddy, listen, I don't wanna' have to hurt-" 

"Judging by the state you're in I doubt you could do much harm." Alfred interjected with a shrug. "I'm afraid I can't very well just let you up and leave." 

Jerome scoffed. "What is this, an episode of Downtown Abby?" He laughed sarcastically, eying the shovel anxiously, hesitantly adding, "You're not gonna' kill me, right?" It was a joke, but there was a tinge of unsettled seriousness in the jest. 

Alfred pondered on the question, which definitely wasn't comforting in the least for Jerome. "Depends on whether or not you're willing to come calmly." 

"And where exactly would I calmly be going?" 

"To the GCPD." 

Jerome contemplated on the offer-- briefly. "Thanks, but no thanks." He flashed an apologetic grin. "Sorry for not being able to stick around!" He said with a shrug, sprinting away the best he could with his crutches, a limp in each stride. 

Alfred was surprisingly fast for a fifty year old, Jerome found while jogging away from him, only getting a few yards away before being forced to turn towards the butler and block his shovel with his crutches-- at least Alfred was just trying to knock him out... Jerome had an uneasy feeling he'd be in a lot more trouble if this guy trained in combat decided he be better taken not-so-alive. 

Jerome tried to swipe the shovel out of Alfred's hands with one of his crutches, letting out a huff as the butler simply knocked said crutch out of Jerome's hand instead, the red haired teen reluctantly tossing the other crutch to the side and resorting to running off once again, having to stumble to a stop after just a few mere seconds, his healing fractured ankle still difficult to walk on, causing the seventeen year old to begrudgingly sit down as pain began to strike up and down his leg. 

"Shit..." Jerome laughed under his breath, ankle throbbing as Alfred approached warily. 

"Stop!" A voice shouted, Alfred blinking and Jerome raising a brow, Wayne abruptly sprinting in between the two. 

"Wayne, what are you-?" Alfred questioned, brow knitting together, not at all knowing why the smaller boy was standing quite protectively in front of the older one. 

And then, everything seemed to abruptly make sense. 

Alfred's expression fell-- Wayne's strange behavior, the person he'd heard him talking to in his room, the 'friend' Wayne would hang out with after school until late at night-- it wasn't Selina, it was the bastard that had nearly killed Wayne. 

Wayne could tell Alfred had began to piece together what was going on. "Alfred-" 

"You get away from him right this instant, Wayne." Alfred warned, looking more pissed off than ever-- he didn't know why Wayne was hanging out with this little twat, and at the time he frankly didn't care-- he just wanted Wayne to get away from the prick that had attacked the boy he'd sworn to look after. 

Wayne took in a shaky breath, hands going into fists, chin raising. "No." Alfred had only wanted to get Jerome unconscious with a quick and relatively harmless tap before, but now he looked ready to beat the poor teen unconscious. 

"Wayne, that boy-" 

"Is none of your concern." 

Alfred paused at that. "I am your guardian, and I am telling you to move-- now." 

"And you are my butler, and I am ordering you to step down." Wayne countered stubbornly, not wanting to make Alfred feel inferior with childish retorts, yet also not about to let Jerome get injured anymore than he already was. 

The guardian and his orphan stared one another down, a long while going by before Alfred straightened up, looking about ready to stomp forward and move Wayne out of the way, yet freezing up as Jerome forced himself to stand. 

Wayne tensed, feeling Jerome wrap an arm underneath his arms and around his torso, a sharp jagged rock pressing against his throat in warning as Jerome muttered against his ear, "Trust me." 

It was a funny thing to say when holding someone hostage. 

Alfred faltered, and he genuinely looked ready to back down-- briefly. "You won't harm him." 

Jerome laughed, pressing the rock against Wayne's throat ever so slightly firmer, earning a soft whimper. "You really wanna' take your chances on that?" His arm tightened around Wayne's chest, giving a reassuring squeeze. 

"I don't know what's got you so interested in my boy, and I hardly know why you're associating yourself with a murderer, Wayne, but what I do know about you, Jerome, is you're the sort that doesn't like to give up their toys-" He paused, knowingly repeating, "-you won't harm him." 

Jerome smirked. "Aw, you remembered my name-- how sweet." He chuckled, not confirming nor denying Alfred's accusation, deciding to give the other as little of a reaction as possible so the butler wouldn't find out he was actually quite right about the fact Jerome wouldn't hurt basically the only person he'd gone and grown a soft spot for. 

Wayne's expression fell at that-- toy? He wasn't Jerome's toy-- he was his friend... right? 

Alfred caught the frown that flickered across Wayne's face-- good, he was getting through to the boy. "Wayne, listen to me-- I don't know what Jerome's gone and done to get you trusting him, but I know men like him, and it's men like him that don't give a damn about you." He knew he probably wouldn't be able to convince Wayne to walk away from the other now, although he was certainly going to give the boy something to ponder over so he'd get back to being in his right mind. "They play nice to get you to entertain them, get bored, and kill you off without a second glance." 

True, Jerome did do that with a lot of people, like Greenwood and whatnot, and probably would've done it to Barbara, although he would not do that to Wayne. "Come on, isn't that a little harsh-" Jerome started, an irked grin taking place on his lips as Wayne furrowed his brow. 

Alfred had to convince Wayne to get away. "You're a possession to this chump, Wayne, not a person-- you need to-" 

"Put the shovel on the ground." Jerome snapped with a crooked smile, feeling Wayne begin to tremble ever so lightly. "Do it-- unless you really want to test how much I'm willing to play nice?" Jerome threatened, Wayne briefly squirming uncomfortably. 

Alfred stared at Jerome quizzically, eventually giving a sigh-- it wasn't worth the risk to see just how far Jerome was willing to go for his playthings. "Alright." The butler murmured, his free hand going up in a surrendering gesture. 

Jerome waited for Alfred to look downwards while gradually kneeling in order to carefully set the shovel against the ground, the older of the two boys pressing his lips against Wayne's ear to assure, "I won't hurt you." 

Wayne's eyes slid shut as he swallowed dryly. "Jerome-" 

"Don't listen to him-- we can talk after we're out of here." Jerome knowingly said under his breath, referring to Alfred's rather convincing speech. 

Wayne let out a shaky breath, watching as Alfred stood back up. "Okay." 

Alfred held his hands up, showing he had no tricks up his sleeves. "Now let him go." 

Jerome gave a laugh. "So you can what? Attack me when Brucie here is safe and sound?" He flashed a smirk. "I'll let him go at the end of the road-- if you want to get this kiddo back then I really do strongly suggest you don't follow." 

"I'm just supposed to take your word for that, am I?" Alfred questioned, eyes ablaze. 

"The way I see it you either get him back to you alive and well when I'm out of here, or you get him back dead now if you don't let me leave-- which will it be?" Jerome chuckled, feeling Wayne shrink into himself at his words. 

Alfred narrowed his eyes as Jerome whispered something to Wayne-- the cheeky little bastard had the nerve to comfort the antsy boy. "You won't lay a hand on him." He accused once again with a knowing tone, not quite able to figure out why Jerome was bothering to reassure the frightened Wayne, yet guessing he probably just wanted to smugly show he had somehow gotten a hold on the poor orphan. 

The butler would've never guessed Jerome frankly gave a shit about Wayne, and wasn't about to up and hurt him-- particularly not after getting his ass kicked for the fourteen year old a time or two. 

"Won't lay a hand on him?" Jerome mused with a wicked smile nonetheless, keeping the facade up. "I kinda' already am, buddy, and we already went through this-" He tightened his grasp, Wayne gripping his arm meekly, Jerome not wanting to freak Wayne out as much as he was, yet not about to let Alfred murder him with a shovel before grounding Wayne for life. "-let me leave or the kiddo dies-- just because he's fun doesn't mean I'm gonna' risk my life for him." Sure, that was a lie, because Jerome HAD risked his life for Wayne when refusing to tell the men who had beaten him up where the boy's whereabouts were, but it only made Alfred's words send alarm signals off in Wayne's mind even more so. 

Wayne felt his gut sink-- what if Alfred was right? 

The fact was, Jerome did care about Wayne, and he looked out for him because he honestly didn't want Wayne to get hurt-- not just because Wayne was fun to get a rise out of every once in a while... 

... but Wayne didn't know that. All that Wayne did know at the moment was Jerome had taken him hostage again, Alfred was making a compelling argument, and the fact Wayne had began to trust a serial killer probably wasn't the best idea much less all that rational-- when exactly had Wayne gone and decided to put his guard down and get all buddy buddy with Jerome anyways..? 

Nonetheless, while Alfred was mostly wrong about Jerome, he was also right in a sense-- Jerome was protective of Wayne, and protective to the point he was possessive at that. 

Wayne was Jerome's friend, which meant- in Jerome's eyes- Wayne was more or less HIS, and if Wayne was his then that meant Wayne was along the lines of something Jerome saw as a possession, and while that certainly wasn't exactly a healthy thing to see Wayne as Jerome also saw Wayne as his friend, and that was something Alfred didn't understand-- or at least hadn't figured out. 

Jerome would look out for Wayne, and he'd kick the ass of anyone who laid a single finger on Wayne, and he would do that half because Wayne was the one person Jerome actually gave a shit about, but also half because Wayne was HIS, and Jerome frankly didn't like to share his things. 

It was complicated, and quite problematic, but things between a villainous criminal and a boy with a growing hero complex tended to be. 

Alfred took the bluff and finally stepped to the side, earning a wide grin from the pleased Jerome. 

"I'll let him go when I get to the end of the road, and he'll be right as rain," Jerome offered, knowing Alfred's words had gotten through to Wayne-- he'd have to make sure the poor traumatized boy knew he wasn't on Jerome's to-kill list when they were out of ear range, which was really saying something considering practically everyone was on that list. "But if you call the cops then he dies, capiche?" 

Alfred eyed the shaken up Wayne, begrudgingly giving a nod, reckoning Jerome would kill Wayne off if the cops came, even if he managed to get away-- the teen seemed to be a man of his word perhaps a bit too much. "I'm coming with you." 

"It's fine, Alfred." Wayne assured in a wavering voice, Jerome feeling like an asshole-- why didn't Wayne realize he wasn't against him? Hadn't Jerome made it clear they were on each other's side? Wayne should know this was a bluff... then again, Alfred had been rather convincing with his little speech about how Jerome was a big bad villain, but hey-- even villains needed company, right? 

Alfred stared at the pair broodingly, eventually sighing and reluctantly nodding, not wanting to take a chance and get Wayne done off with. 

Jerome walked by the glowering Alfred, ignoring the growing pain in his ankle the best he could, Wayne allowing the limping other to lean on him somewhat, the pair getting halfway down the road when Jerome finally spoke up and said, "You okay?" 

"Sure." Wayne grumbled bitterly, yet relaxing ever so slightly as Jerome's grasp loosened vaguely. 

"Ya' know I wasn't going to hurt you, right?" Jerome questioned just to be sure, earning a scoff. 

"Well you were clearly going to kill me before you risked yourself getting caught." Wayne snapped hoarsely. 

"I was bluffing-" 

"How am I supposed to know that's not a lie?" 

"Because I've had several chances to kill off you and Alfred, and you're both still alive." 

Wayne swallowed thickly, eyes threatening to gloss over, yet managing to keep them mostly dry. "Yeah, well, I guess you're just not bored yet then." 

"Don't get cheeky-- you're not exactly the definition of entertaining, Mr. Cranky Grump." Jerome teased, trying to lighten the situation. 

"Thanks." Wayne huffed sarcastically, not calming down in the least at that. 

"I'm just saying I don't keep you around for fun." Jerome corrected, realizing now probably wasn't the best time for jokes. 

"Sentimental value?" Wayne resorted coldly. "Don't like to get rid of your toys or something?" 

"What? No- yeesh Wayne, show a little bit of trust, will ya'? I know Alfred has your best interests at hand or whatever, but that doesn't mean he's always right." 

"Then why-" 

"I give a shit about you, okay?" Jerome interjected, expression going from a smirk to being semi-uncomfortable-- he wasn't used to talking about anything like... this. "I have playthings, and you're not one of them, alright?" Geez, he felt like they were having a lovers quarrel, and it was awkward as hell. 

"You mean you care about keeping your possessions hoarded up." Wayne persisted stubbornly. 

Jerome sighed, letting go of Wayne and taking a step back, causing the other to turn to face him surprised. "I told you-- it was a bluff," Jerome countered, hands raising in surrender. "I wasn't going to hurt you." 

Wayne glanced behind Jerome anxiously, going wide eyed as Alfred began to come their way while Jerome kept his arms up defenselessly. "What are you doing?!" Alfred was going to take Jerome to the GCPD if the other continued to stand there like a sitting goose. 

"I've gotten my ass kicked several times for you-- believe me, I wouldn't do that for 'playthings.'" Jerome answered with a shrug. "If you'd rather me go back to Arkham than be taken as a fake hostage then-" 

"No, I-" Wayne objected, Alfred halfway there. "Okay, fine, I believe you, just-" He walked forward, earning an amused smirk. "Look, point made, alright? I get it-- you were bluffing-" Jerome continued to stare at him smugly. "Just- Jerome, Alfred's going to-" Wayne sighed frustrated. "Just take me hostage again!" 

Jerome chuckled, head cocking-- that was something one certainly didn't hear every day. "Take you hostage again?" Jerome mused at that, nonetheless doing so, wrapping his arm around Wayne's neck and turning to face Alfred as the butler stopped in his tracks while the pair of boys backed up. "Sorry, but I changed my mind-- surrendering is just too boring." Jerome chimed with a shrug, Wayne unable to meet Alfred's questioning gaze. 

Alfred couldn't help but wonder if he'd seen that correctly-- it was almost as though Wayne had let Jerome take him hostage rather willingly... 

The two turned back around, continuing to walk forward, only a few yards away from the exit-- why did Alfred have to hate all of Wayne's friends? 

Jerome reached the end of the road, walking to the right and out of the nervous Alfred's sight, making his way over to a tree before letting Wayne go and leaning against the bark, ankle throbbing. 

"I'll go try to find Selina before Alfred confronts me-- I'll tell him someone was waiting for you in a truck and you already drove off." Wayne assured, frowning at how tightly Jerome was gripping his sore ankle. "I'll get your crutches, too." 

"Alfred knows something's up." Jerome mused with a pained grin, hoping he hadn't gone and fractured his ankle more by walking on it. 

Wayne rubbed his upper arm anxiously. "Yeah, I know." 

Jerome eyed Wayne uncertainly. "You still believe him?" The younger boy's gaze flickered towards his. "About-" Jerome wasn't exactly sure on how to phrase his question. "-us?" 

And just like that-- just at Jerome's poorly worded sentence containing 'us' in a way that could've nearly resembled a sappy romantic comment if taken out of context, Wayne was reminded he had not only befriended a criminally insane individual by allowing himself to grow a soft spot for the Arkham patient, but he was also gradually developing a crush on the guy that had taken him hostage three times now, and crap-- how had Wayne gone and gotten himself into his mess? 

Wayne tried to ignore the way his shirt's collar suddenly felt uncomfortably tight, tugging at it and clearing his throat. "I-" He paused, cheeks heating up. "Considering you offered to let yourself be taken into the GCPD I reckon you had to be bluffing." Half of him was embarrassed as hell with how he was more or less beginning to feel rather shy around his almost-crush, while the other half was wondering why the hell he was even beginning to gain a crush on this law breaker in the first place. 

Jerome noted the peculiar behavior, guessing Alfred's words were just getting to the smaller boy, and while that was true Wayne was freaking out more about the fact he was falling for a wanted criminal, the fourteen year old beginning to realize he was in very, very deep water here. 

"Listen-" Jerome sighed, not knowing how to convince Wayne he was on his side and growing ever so slightly irked at Alfred for going and pitting Wayne against him so easily. 

"I'll go get Selina, but it may take me a while to sneak back out-- Alfred's probably going to ground me." Wayne laughed nervously, trying to ignore the way Jerome eyed him over, growing somewhat self conscious and wondering in the back of his mind whether or not Jerome had at least ever felt a tinge of attraction towards him, although he doubted it with how Jerome had made it clear he didn't have a taste for younger guys. 

As adults a three year age gap wouldn't be all that bad, but as teens it was rather drastic all things considered. 

Jerome couldn't help but wonder if Alfred's words weren't the only things Wayne was fretting over-- something was off about him. "What-" 

No no no-- Jerome couldn't question Wayne, because he'd sure as hell find out the flustered boy was beginning to like him a bit too much, and Wayne was not about to let that happen. "Let's talk about what Alfred said later, okay?" It wasn't easy being attracted to the person that could potentially be using you, and Wayne was beginning to question his own sanity because of that. "I have to go back before he comes looking for us." What if Alfred was right? What if Jerome didn't give a shit about Wayne? "Just- just wait here." Wayne had let himself get close to a guy that had made it clear he had toys, and possessions, and playthings, but no friends, and Wayne didn't know why he'd let himself do that. 

Jerome observed Wayne quizzically as the rather confused boy ran off, the ginger giving a sigh and closing his eyes, resting against the tree. 

Wayne had been acting quite odd lately... 

Just one day without one of the two boys questioning the other was all Jerome wanted-- just one normal, uneventful, good day-- was that too much to ask for? 

Five minutes went by, Jerome beginning to wonder just how long he'd be stuck in the outskirts of the woods waiting, when a familiar girl eventually showed up. 

Jerome stared at the wary Selina, offering a smirk. "I'm guessing Alfred grounded Wayne for life?" 

Selina nodded, approaching Jerome cautiously. "Something like that." Her eyes glanced towards his bruised up ankle. "I can wrap that up for you-- it needs to be set so it doesn't fracture more." 

Jerome flashed a grin. "Ooh, suddenly being nice, are we?" 

Selina fiddled with the ends of her sleeve. "I saw what happened between you and Wayne with Alfred," She admitted, referring to how Jerome had been willing to let the butler take him back to Arkham in order to prove he wasn't using the orphan. "I guess you were telling the truth about caring about Wayne, huh?" 

Jerome laughed unsurely, eyes averting to the side. "I wouldn't call it 'caring', but sure." 

Selina nodded-- she got that-- she refused to admit she cared about Wayne, too, and while neither the girl or the boy verbally confirmed such it was obvious they gave a shit about Wayne. 

"He'll probably just sneak out again in a few minutes-- an hour at the most." Selina assured, kneeling next to Jerome and taking out a roll of bandages from her jacket, earning a quirked brow. "When you're on the streets as long as I've been you tend to carry stuff like this around." 

Jerome nodded as Selina wrapped the bandage around his ankle; he honestly liked this girl a lot more than Silver-- she wasn't as pampered and prissy... but that didn't mean he liked her per se, he just liked her a bit more was all. "Does this mean you're going to let me tag along with you and Wayne to see whatever it is you wanna' show him?" He inquired musingly, wincing slightly. 

Selina glanced up at the smirking other, staying quiet for a long while. "The way I see it we both wanna' look out for Wayne, and while you and I may not like each other we should at least try to get along for his sake-- the last thing we need to do is pull a Silver move and make him choose between us-" She paused, chewing on the inside of her cheek broodingly. "-so yeah, you can come tag along." 

Jerome grinned at that. "Okay, I'll admit it-- I'm curious-" He chuckled, Selina tearing the bandage and tying it up nicely. "-what precisely are you planning on showing Wayne about little miss Cloud?" His grin shifted into a more wicked and crooked smirk. "And just how pissed off am I gonna' be about whatever dirt you have on her?" 

Selina couldn't help but crack a pleased smile-- at least she and Jerome had one thing in common: they both despised Silver. "Believe me, you're gonna' be pretty pissed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thank you all so much for the wonderful feedback on the last chapter about what I should do over the hiatus! I'm taking each opinion into consideration, and it means a lot that you all took the time to answer my question :) 
> 
> In any case, like I said before, I probably won't know what I'll do for sure until the last episode-- just because I'd basically need to see where the story would leave off. 
> 
> In any case, thank you again for all the replies, and feel free to give your own opinions if you haven't already until December! 
> 
> Thanks :)


	15. Change For the Better

"We shouldn't be doing this." Wayne murmured as Selina toyed with the lock on Silver's safe. 

"We should definitely be doing this." Jerome disagreed with a grin. "I like this gal-- she's a lot more fun than-" 

"-that two faced slut?" Selina offered with a smirk, earning a crackle of laughter from the red haired teen. 

"Keep it down." Wayne hissed as his arms crossed, clearly disapproving of the way they spoke about Silver-- at least the two criminals were bonding rather than arguing... even if they were doing so while trespassing and talking shit about his supposed girlfriend. 

"Aw come on, that was funny-" Jerome chuckled, earning a glare from Wayne as the smaller boy elbowed him. 

"It was immature." Wayne grumbled irritatedly. 

"I vote I'm funny." Selina mused with a shrug. 

"I gotta' say-- you're not half bad, sweet-cheeks." Jerome admitted with a snicker, earning an eye roll from Wayne. "Two against one-" 

"I get it." Wayne grumbled, slapping Jerome's hand away as the other playfully ruffled up his hair, shuffling to the side stubbornly. 

"We're just playing around some," Jerome assured, the corners of his lips tugging upwards. "Lighten up a little." 

"It's a bit hard to lighten up when you're doing something extremely illegal because you're two best friends talked you into believing this was somehow a good idea!" Wayne snapped anxiously. 

"Did you hear that, Jerome?" Selina began to tease. "We're Wayne's two best friends." 

"Aw, I knew he liked us more than Silver." Jerome jested, swinging an arm around Wayne's shoulders and cracking a smile as the fourteen year old shoved him away irked. 

"Yeah, and she's my girlfriend-- and I do not!" Wayne countered in annoyance, still on edge as he could only hope they weren't going to get caught any second; besides, just because he was beginning to get a crush on Jerome didn't mean he was going to just go and forget Silver... he still cared about her-- a lot. 

"Ex girlfriend pretty soon." Selina murmured under her breath. 

Wayne crossed his arms, continuing to eye the door unsettled, having little to no idea if and when someone would waltz through its threshold. "Why can't you just tell me what's in there?" 

"Because then you wouldn't believe me and demand proof, so you'll see it when I've got the-" The lock clicked open, Selina cracking a pleased smile. "-evidence." 

Wayne didn't catch the file from the safe when it was thrown towards him, Jerome letting out a snort of laughter as the papers fell at the boy's feet, scattering everywhere while he unsuccessfully attempted to grab them. "Shut up, Jerome." Wayne grumbled, kneeling down to pick up the papers, an unimpressed Selina and snickering Jerome helping. 

"I didn't know you had a phobia of bats." Jerome mused, eyes scanning over a file. 

"What?" Wayne yanked the paper out of Jerome's grasp with a crinkled brow. "Why-" He swallowed thickly. "Why does she have this report on me?" A pause went by, Wayne gradually beginning to realize just what precisely was going on. "Are all of these- are all of these files on... me..?" 

Selina could tell Wayne knew the answer, but he sure as hell didn't want to believe it. "She was set up to get close to you, Wayne," She answered, confirming his assumptions, her tone suddenly a lot more serious and even a bit empathetic. "This stuff had to be teaching her how to get close with you-- why else would she have it?" 

Wayne's mind searched for an answer-- for any answer; Silver couldn't be bad... she'd promised him she was on his side. 

"Silver could be being manipulated," Wayne defended, not sure as to whether he was trying to assure himself or the other's of such. "Or even threatened-- it's obviously Theo that set her up to this-" 

"Even if she is everything between you two has been fake," Selina interjected, not bothering to beat around the bush; sometimes people needed to be blunt, and she was honest as hell-- the best liars always were. "And that means she doesn't care about you, so you need to get as far away from that bitch as you can-- whatever her uncle wants from you can't be good, and you should stay out of-" 

"What if she needs help?" Wayne argued, mentally exhausted with how his mind determinedly kept on relentlessly searching for excuses for the girl he'd already given a second chance to. "What if Theo's forcing her to-" 

"As far as I'm concerned the only ones Theo cares about is family-- he wouldn't do that." Selina resorted, genuinely not realizing in the least that Theo had indeed threatened to cut his sister's throat not at all that long ago. 

Wayne stared down at the files in disbelief, stressed mind running out of good reasons to defend Silver. "But-" 

Selina froze up and quickly covered Wayne's mouth, eyes going wide as the sound of a key inserting itself into a lock was made, the trio glancing at one another uncertainly. 

Jerome sighed, briefly debating on just letting them all get caught before instead quickly gesturing Wayne and Selina under the bed, knowing someone had to take the blame for the opened safe as well as distract whoever was coming inside so the other two could escape-- it's not as though he was about to go and let the little trouble makers be discovered... only one of them needed to be caught, and he-- the oldest, just so happened to get that 'honor.' 

Sure, they could all get caught together, however that would mean Wayne would be in big, big trouble if Theo found out he was onto him, so that wasn't exactly an option for the time being. 

Silver stepped into the room right as Wayne dove under the bed next to Selina, the blonde haired girl drying off her hair with a towel while adjusting her bathing suit strap, humming a song and grabbing some clothes from her suitcase before flipping the light switch on, halting at the sight of Jerome. 

"Hey there, blondie." Jerome greeted with a grin, Silver taking a cautious step back. 

Silver's wide eyes narrowed, her agape lips pursing, chin raising as her arms crossed, chest puffing out bravely. "What the hell are you doing here?" 

Wayne quirked a brow, glancing at Selina taken aback-- he'd never heard Silver talk like that... 

Selina nodded, patting Wayne's back sympathetically. 

"Just wanted to drop by and see an old friend." Jerome answered smoothly, flashing a smile. 

Silver scoffed, hands lowering down towards her hips, taking on a brave stance. "Sure you are." Her eyes lowered towards the opened safe, tensing up and cussing under her breath. "Why-" 

"I figured you wouldn't mind me stealing a few jewels or wads of cash," Jerome lied with a shrug. "But just a bunch of boring ol' papers? It's kinda' disappointing to be honest." 

Silver studied Jerome uncertainly, nonchalantly asking, "Did you read those papers?" 

"Nah, I'm dyslexic," Jerome fibbed with ease as he gave a smirk. "I've gotta' say, I'm kinda' curious-" 

"Well I guess you'll have to remain curious, because they're none of your concern." Silver interjected icily, stomping forward to pick up the scattered files courageously, obviously not caring she was in the presence of a murderer. "Now I suggest you leave before I call the police." 

Jerome had to either keep Silver's attention on him or lure her away so Wayne and Selina could sneak out... easy enough. Hell, maybe he could even get her to show a bit more of her true colors. 

"You're kinda' cocky for a girl who's standing alone in the room with a serial killer, aren't ya'?" Jerome chuckled, stepping on one of the papers, causing Silver to glare up at him. 

"I'm not scared of you, Jerome," Silver carelessly informed while standing. "My uncle could have boys like you killed in a second." 

Jerome's lips curled upwards. "Then why am I still alive?" 

"Because I managed to get him to back down," Silver admitted with a shrug, placing the files on the mattress. "As far as he knows you're not a threat, and I've still got Wayne on a leash." 

Jerome's brow arched. "You got your uncle to spare me?" He laughed, head shaking-- was he really supposed to believe that? "What do you want me to do? Thank you?" This was the chick that had been the cause of why he'd gone and gotten beat to a pulp-- he doubted she'd go and bother with trying, much less wanting, to 'save' him. "I mean, gee! Thanks miss Cloud-- you sure did do me a big favor! Is there any way I can repay you? Maybe I could just forgive you for nearly getting me killed and waltz outta' here instead of calling you out on your bullshit!" Jerome sarcastically quipped with a resenting smirk, Silver visually growing wary. 

"I'm not lying-" Silver insisted, earning a laugh. 

"If I could count all the times you've stuck with this innocent schtick-" Jerome snickered, walking forward as Silver stepped back unsettled. 

"I'll scream if you don't stop where you are." Silver warned, grabbing a hairbrush off of her bed and holding it up threateningly. 

Jerome let out a crackle of laughter, examining the hairbrush amused. "Sorry sweetheart, but that isn't exactly the most menacing-" Silver whacked the brush against Jerome's shoulder. "Ow-" Jerome shielded himself with his arm as the girl swung the brush at him again. "Hey-" Another hit-- this was a feisty little shit. 

"Go away!" Silver demanded, giving one last wham against Jerome's arm, backing up defensively as he grabbed the brush and yanked it out of her hand, tossing it to the side. "Help!" 

Shit shit shit. "Hey-" Jerome started, tucking the crutches in between his arms as his hands raised in a non-threatening manner, the last thing he needed being concerned people showing up and recognizing him as the asshole on T.V. that had taken a charity organization hostage. 

"Intruder!" Silver shouted, starting to run towards the door and letting out a scream as Jerome dropped his crutches and grabbed her, one arm wrapping around waist. "Somebody-" Silver started, voice muffled as Jerome pressed a palm against her lips. 

"Just-" Jerome started, letting out a pained laugh as Silver stomped on his fractured foot, finding it was rather difficult to not kill the younger girl off considering he doubted Wayne would approve of such. "Shut up please." Jerome sighed, Silver attempting to yell before biting down on his palm. "Shit-" Jerome hissed, swiping his hand away. 

"Please-" Silver called out. 

"Be. quiet." Jerome snapped, covering Silver's mouth again. "Believe me, I want to kill you, but I'm not going to, alright?" This gal was lucky Wayne was here, because Jerome typically would've killed off little nuisances like this the second they started causing trouble, and she'd been causing trouble for a while now. "I'm going to let you go, but if you scream then I'm frankly not going to give a shit about how upset Wayne would be if I killed you off, got it?" 

Wayne's expression fell, fixing to move out from his hiding place to say something, yet pausing was Selina grabbed his arm and shook her head. 

Silver swallowed dryly, nodding shakily, stumbling away from Jerome as he hesitantly released her, turning to face him as he picked up his crutches. "What do you want?" She inquired ever so slightly breathlessly, the poor thing looking just about ready to hyperventilate. 

Well, now was as a good a time as ever to confirm the truth. "Why is your uncle using you to get to Wayne?" 

"He's not-" 

"Don't lie." Jerome interjected. 

Silver stared at Jerome quizzically, chewing on her lower lip before letting out a sigh-- fine. "He wants me to get close to Wayne so he trusts us-" A pause. "-and I am." Silver stepped forward, frightened facade falling, a much more... almost sinister one taking place. "In fact, I'd say Wayne's going to be back on my side in less than a week." She mused, meeting Jerome's gaze daringly. "He's already forgiven me, and it wasn't that hard to get a second chance from him-- he's as loyal to me as a dog." A sickly sweet smile took place on her lips. "What about you, Jerome?" Silver challenged. "What do you have on him?" Her lips formed a barely visible smirk. "The only reason he's keeping you around is because he feels bad about you going and getting your ass handed to you-- it's a pity thing, and pretty soon I'll have him throwing you out and taking me in again." 

Jerome smirked-- he'd gotten Silver to screw up. "Looks like you've got me." He chuckled with a shrug, knowing that if anything could get Wayne to give up on Silver it was that. 

Silver smoothed out the wrinkles in Jerome's shirt, and he found it incredibly difficult to not snap her damn wrist in half. "I'm his girlfriend, Jerome-- you and that gutter trash bitch are just friends, so I suggest you both stay away if you want to stay alive." She stepped away, walking over towards her suitcase and rummaging around for clothes. "Face it-- Wayne's going to choose me when it gets down to it, and if you keep trying to push us apart then you're going to just make him hate you." She hummed, tucking the clothing under her arm and turning to face Jerome. "Now I'm going to take a shower, and I suggest you be gone when I get out." 

Jerome gave a nod, continuing to smirk as Silver walked towards the restroom, waiting for her to close the door and hear the sound of water hitting the bathtub's flooring to tap his crutches on the ground, Wayne and Selina shimmying out of their hiding place. 

"Wayne-" Selina sighed, Jerome blinking as the younger boy practically jogged out of the room, the pair of criminals glancing at one another before quickly following. "Wayne, wait-" The curly haired girl called out, chasing Wayne down the hall. 

Wayne halted as Selina ran in front of him, looking towards the ground when she placed her hands on his shoulders. "Leave me alone." He grumbled hoarsely, eyes glossy and rimmed with red. 

"Come on, Wayne, just-" Selina started, the boy yanking away from her grasp. 

"I don't feel like talking at this time." Wayne informed choked up, attempting and failing to sound calm and collected, attempting to walk around Selina. 

Jerome placed a palm on Wayne's shoulder, trying to give a comforting smile that just looked more unsure than anything. "Hey-" 

"Go away!" Wayne abruptly shouted, jerking his shoulder out from under Jerome's hand. "Just-" He rubbed at his eyes with the back of his sleeve. "Just- just go away." 

Jerome rubbed at the back of his neck uncertainly, Selina gripping her upper arm broodingly, Wayne refusing to look at either of his friends as a choked up noise left his throat every few seconds, a long while going by. 

"Kiddo-" Jerome finally sighed, reaching towards the trembling Wayne again. 

"Why the hell are you mad at us?" Selina grumbled more hurt than coldly, causing Jerome to pause. "We weren't the ones using you-- Silver was." Her tone was low and shaky. "You didn't believe either of us, so we went running around trying to find proof, and now you're telling us to screw off?" Selina's hands went into fists, fingernails digging into her palms. "I mean, come on, are you seriously still on her side or something?" She swallowed thickly. "You can't just- you can't just get pissed off at us for giving a shit about you and trying to keep you safe by telling you the truth, even if you don't like it!" Selina snapped-- she'd lost too many people, and she was tired of having to choose between letting her loved ones die or go their separate ways. "If you're going to be sore over having to settle with us instead of Silver, then-" 

"No, that's not-" Wayne started, continuing with attempting to bring his tears to a halt. "I didn't-" His voice was cracking and it was absolutely humiliating. "I just-" His shoulders slumped, hands lowering as he looked towards the ground weakly. "I just hoped the Galavans were being honest about wanting me to be-" He swallowed, small droplets of water falling onto the carpet he stared down at. "-part of their family." Embarrassing. This was embarrassing, and Wayne hated crying-- he felt weak and vulnerable, and couldn't stand looking so pitiful. "It was- it was foolish and I- I know I should've listened to you guys instead of just... getting mad at you for just trying to-" He rubbed at his eyes with the backs of his hands. "I'm sorry- you shouldn't- you shouldn't have to deal with this-- I don't- I don't want to pull either of you into-" 

Wayne blinked, feeling arms wrap around him, Selina placing her chin on his right shoulder. "Shut up, Wayne." Selina sighed, her tone nonetheless much more understanding and even a bit more sympathetic than it'd been just a second ago. "We're you're family, alright? And we're not letting you go at this alone-- you're stuck with us." She tightened her grasp comfortingly. "Ya' got that?" 

The tension in Wayne's muscles visibly decreased as he gave a shaky laugh, brow furrowing while more salty water streamed its way down his cheeks. "Y-yeah." He choked out in a sob, wrapping his arms around Selina, eyes squeezing shut-- this... hurt, but it was comforting at the same time and that at least... that at least helped ease things up, even if it was only by a little. 

"Good." Selina stayed quiet for a while, eventually saying, "Jerome?" 

Jerome, who had been standing to the side somewhat awkwardly, blinked. "Yeah?" 

"Get your ass over here." 

Jerome's eyebrows arched at the girl's words, a slight grin tugging at his lips. "Uh-" He gave a chuckle, setting his crutches against the wall. "Right-- sure." 

Wayne relaxed more so when he felt Jerome wrap his arms around his shoulders from his left side, resting his cheek against the red haired teen's chest as Selina shifted to hug Wayne more so from his right, the girl nuzzling against the crook of the fourteen year old boy's neck in a friendly and assuring fashion, Wayne bringing up his hands to grasp at his friends arms against his chest as his shaking gradually calmed, sobs quieting little by little and eyes eventually no longer brimmed with water. 

Wayne felt safe, and his friends would make sure he stayed safe-- no matter the risk. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne didn't want to go home. He didn't want to go and meet up with Alfred, because he'd gone and snuck out even after Alfred had told him to stay put until the he was ready to tell his butler what was going on-- such as just why he'd been hanging out with a criminally insane criminal. 

So, Wayne didn't go home, and he instead explored the streets of Gotham with Jerome on his left and Selina on his right. 

"You'll have to go home eventually." Selina spoke up, shoving her hands into her pockets. 

"I'll go home at midnight-- Alfred should be asleep by then." Wayne resorted with a shrug. 

Selina scoffed. "There's no way he's going to get a wink of sleep before he gets the chance to see whether or not you're okay." 

"Well I'm not going back now." Wayne grumbled, arms crossing. 

"You're just prolonging the inevitable." Selina mused knowingly. 

"Yes, well, I don't exactly feel like being lectured by my butler at the moment, so-" Wayne started, suddenly coming to a stop and staring forward wide eyed. 

Selina paused, head tilting. "What's up?" She questioned, following Wayne's gaze curiously, eyes landing on none other than Jim Gordon. "Oh great." 

"Turn around." Jerome muttered with a nervous smile. "He hasn't noticed-" The detective glanced upwards. "-us." 

Jim froze in his tracks at the sight of the cheeky Jerome, sheepish Wayne, and annoyed Selina. 

"You guys know the park by my school?" Wayne sighed as Jim's facial expression hardened, earning nods. "We meet there." Jim began to speed walk towards them. "Selina, you go right, Jerome, you go left." He requested, Jim breaking into a jog. 

"Got it." Selina agreed, sprinting down an alleyway. 

"Police chases are always fun." Jerome sarcastically sighed with a smirk, running into a crowd of people. 

"Hey!" Jim shouted as Wayne turned around and hurried away, the officer cussing under his breath and deciding to go after Jerome-- he was the biggest threat, and would be the easiest to catch on crutches. 

Jerome half-limped half-ran his way through the crowd, weaving his way in and out of circles of mingling people, giving half assed apologies as his crutches accidentally hit several peoples feet, Jim relentlessly following him and forcing his way through the dozens of Gotham citizens. 

Jim had already put Jerome in an insane asylum-- couldn't he give the poor guy on crutches a break? 

"Let's split up, Wayne said," Jerome chuckled irritatedly under his breath. "It'll be fun, he said." 

"Stop where you are, Valeska!" Jim shouted in warning, less than ten yards away. 

"No can do, Jimbo!" Jerome laughed, afterwards annoyedly mumbling under his breath, "Screw off.", before noticing a car with an opened window and no one inside just a a few dozen strides away, smirking and waiting for another wave of people to surround him when he was close enough to the vehicle before holding out his crutches to the side, causing one person to fall and many to follow, successfully creating a chain reaction of yelping and stumbling individuals, Jim being forced to halt considering he'd rather not trample the citizens, the cop nearly getting pulled down with them while Jerome ignored his aching ankle and practically lunged through the car window. 

Jerome crouched down in the backseat while staring out the window to make sure Jim hadn't seen him, letting out a breathy triumphant laugh and turning his eyes towards- towards the growling... towards the growling Rottweiler in front of him. 

Shit. 

Huh. So that's why the window was open-- fresh air for the dog. How wonderful. 

Jerome gave an anxious laugh, carefully gripping one of his crutches with both hands, gradually lifting it into his lap. "Hey there-" The canine barked threateningly. "No no, shh-- no noise, please-" He couldn't have Jim finding him, although then again that could be the least of his worried considering the large beast he was trapped with took on a crouching position, fur standing on end. "Come on, I love dogs-- you're part of the hyena family! You and snakes are great, okay? Please don't make me have to kill-" The dog leapt forward. "Shit-" Jerome held the crutch up defensively, blocking off his face and throat, the dog biting down on the metal while clawing at his torso. "Shit shit shit-" Jerome hissed through clenched teeth, giving an uneasy chuckle as the Rottweiler gave a low growl. "For the love of-" The canine began to violently yank on the crutch, attempting to pull it away. "Stop being an asshole and get off of me-" Jerome huffed with a frankly terrified forced smirk, successfully managing to kick the dog off of him, whacking it on the nose as it got ready to pounce again, earning a whimper and cowering stance. "Stay." 

The Rottweiler shook its head to wave off the human's blow and gave a growl, Jerome holding his crutch up menacingly, causing the animal to tense up and stare Jerome challengingly for a long, long while, eventually crouching back down submissively, laying its chin against its paws and giving a huff through its snout, staring up at the cautious Jerome in defeat. 

Jerome let out a relieved sigh, leaning against the car door and closing his eyes, ankle throbbing. 

This had been a wild day. 

Jerome waited a good ten minutes to warily leave the car, looking over his shoulder at the alert dog while crawling through the window, tucking the crutches under his arms whence outside and cracking his neck from side to side-- okay, now all he had to do was get to the park and hope Jim wasn't too close by... 

~*~*~*~ 

"I probably should go home before Alfred begins to worry." Wayne admitted with a meek frown, knowing his poor guardian was probably freaking out. 

Selina stared down from the branch she was on towards the boy leaning against the tree's trunk. "Let him worry a little." She suggested with a shrug, still rationally bitter about the little slap the butler had gone and given her. 

"Selina." Wayne scoffed with a laugh, staring up at the curly haired girl, eyebrows arching at her expression. "Oh. You're not kidding." He observed, looking back towards the ground, fiddling with a flower that had fallen from the tree. "You guys really don't like each other, do you?" 

"Everything he says just feels like a real slap to the face." 

"What?" 

"Nothing." Selina waved off, deciding she'd actually rather not go and make Wayne's day even worse by revealing anything that could upset him. "Here comes carrot top." She added before the other could question her. 

Wayne perked up, Selina swinging down towards the ground as he stood, the pair walking towards the limping Jerome. 

"Are you okay?" Wayne asked concerned, noticing the marks on Jerome's shirt. 

"I'm fine, I just got attacked by a dog." Jerome assured nonchalantly. 

"You 'just got attacked by a dog'? That's not exactly something small, Jerome-" Wayne started worriedly. 

"Oh relax, he probably got attacked by a chihuahua or something." Selina mused with a smirk. 

"It was a Rottweiler and it was vicious." Jerome defended with a pissed off grin. 

"See? This is why people need cats as pets-- they don't try to murder you." Selina chimed proudly, almost as though she somehow considered her a feline herself. 

"Lay off, canines are better." Jerome scoffed, preferring hyenas over anything in the feline family. 

"Are not-" Selina argued, Wayne rolling his eyes at how they were really bickering over something so irrelevant. 

"I need to get home," Wayne interjected before the rather useless argument could continue, getting the feeling these two would banter over way too many pointless subjects in the future. "Alfred's probably worried sick." 

Jerome's smile almost fell. "I uh- I guess I'll go find somewhere to stay?" 

Wayne pondered on the question. "No, I'm not forcing you out on the streets-- you can come to the manor." He turned his attention towards Selina. "You too, Selina-- you're welcomed to stay with us." 

Selina's cheeks heated up, Jerome quirking a brow as the tough girl averted her gaze and cleared her throat. "I- I would prefer to stay on the streets with Ivy, but thanks." 

"Ivy could stay, too." Wayne offered, Jerome smirking as the younger boy crossed his arms somewhat shyly and looked to the side, his ears turning a soft shade of red. 

"I-" Selina chewed her lower lip, both she and Wayne rubbing their upper arms uncertainly. "I may take you up on that-- I'd have to see what Ivy would say." She turned away, looking towards the ground embarrassedly. "I- I have to get going, see ya' later!" 

"Bye!" Wayne called out, watching Selina walk away with a smile before noticing Jerome's smirk. "What?" 

Jerome snickered at the defensive tone. "Nothing, nothing." He assured, walking off with the embarrassed Wayne. "So am I sneaking inside then?" 

"No, Alfred will check my room-- he knows I've been hiding you." Wayne answered, chin raising as he determinedly added, "I'm going to explain why you should be able to stay, and he is going to let you." 

Jerome arched a brow. "Right... and you actually believe he'll just step aside and let me, the guy that took you hostage two- well, three- times, waltz in and get comfy?" 

"If he doesn't then we'll figure something out." Wayne answered calmly. "Don't worry-- I've prepared what I'm going to say to him, and I'm sure it'll be convincing." 

Jerome sighed, yet didn't argue. "Whatever you say." He had a bad feeling about this... "In any case, I have a plan on how we could find out who your parents killer was." He added musingly, deciding changing the subject could calm his antsy nerves. 

Wayne's brow raised. "I'm listening." 

~*~*~*~ 

"I dunno', Jerome," Wayne sighed while entering the gates to his manor. "That sounds way too harsh..." 

"It sounds fun." Jerome scoffed with a cheeky grin as the pair walked through the garden. 

Wayne wasn't amused. "It's a bit much." 

"A bit much?" Jerome gave a laugh of disbelief. "It's what she deserves after all the shit she's gone and done." 

Wayne contemplated, walking up the steps to the front door. "I'm just not sure it's exactly our best option." 

"Just brood on it or whatever the hell you do, alright?" Jerome suggested with a grin as Wayne opened the door, earning a sigh. 

"Fine, but don't get your hopes up, and expect a no." Wayne warned, entering the household. "Alfred!" He called out, Jerome closing the door behind them. "Alfred, I'm home!" No reply. "Alfred?" Wayne murmured, walking down the hallway, Jerome following, the pair looking from threshold to threshold until finding the butler in the parlor, both walking inside. "Alfred-" 

"Master Wayne." Alfred greeted much too calmly, hands properly behind his back. 

"I-" Wayne started, Jerome eying the butler warily. 

"You know, a while back you began acting rather suspicious," Alfred relentlessly interjected, chin raising. "You were suddenly coming home late, seemingly talking to yourself in your room, and giving quite a bit of sass to detectives Gordon and Bullock-- was that due to him?" 

Wayne swallowed dryly, Jerome's pulse racing. "Yes." Wayne admitted quietly. "But-" 

"You were also coming home bruised and tattered up as well," Alfred interrupted once again, meeting Jerome's unsettled gaze with a glare. "Was that 'cuz of him, too?" 

"What-" Wayne's expression fell. "No- no, Alfred, he didn't-" 

"So this twat shows up around the same time you start getting beat up, and I'm supposed to believe he didn't give you that busted lip those fractured ribs you had?" Alfred countered, eyes ablaze. "I suppose that means he didn't give you that black eye or gashed cheek either?" 

"No, he didn't- Alfred, he never attacked me-- he tried to help me when I was being attacked-" Wayne assured, Alfred looking unconvinced and ready to take a few swings at the cautious Jerome. 

"And just who was he failing to help you get away from when being attacked?" Alfred interrogated, chest puffed out. 

"Just- just some boat harbor thugs and fight club members, okay?" Wayne answered, beginning to wonder if bringing Jerome back before explaining things to Alfred was a good idea. 

"What in the blazes were you doing at the boat harbor?" Alfred scoffed, practically fuming. "Much less a fight club?" 

Wayne suddenly felt rather meek. "We-" He looked downwards. "I was just-" 

"It was my idea." Jerome finally spoke, stepping forward and meeting Alfred's glower. "I talked him into going." 

Alfred straightened up, arms crossing. "Well that isn't much better, now is it?" 

"Please, just-" Wayne piped up in a shaky voice, stepping next to Jerome. 

"Have you forgotten this boy's a murderer, Wayne?" Alfred inquired, causing Wayne to visibly wince. "Forgotten he took you hostage thrice?" Wayne averted his gaze down towards the floor. "Perhaps you've allowed the fact that he's criminally insane slip your mind?" Alfred continued, Wayne meekly shuffling back somewhat. "I don't know why you decided it'd be a swell idea to befriend a serial killer, but you have, and you clearly don't know serial killers don't give a damn about anyone," Alfred wasn't going to sugarcoat things or beat around the bush-- he needed Wayne to see this was wrong and back down. "I've met my share of murderers, Wayne, and all they care about is killing for entertainment, the rush of being chased after, being famous in the papers, and possessions-" 

"That's not-" Jerome started to argue, moving in front of Wayne protectively. 

"Which is it, Jerome?" Alfred inquired, staring the teen down. "Are you waiting until he trusts you to kill him for a bit of fun?" 

"No-" Jerome answered, gripping his crutches irked. 

"No?" Alfred challenged. "So what, you enjoy being chased after by a damn fourteen year old who doesn't know better?" 

Jerome's jaw clenched. "No-" 

"Perhaps you want to be Mr. Wayne's famous little friend." Alfred persisted, arms crossing. 

"No, I wouldn't-" 

"Then you see Wayne as a possession." It wasn't a question-- it was an accusation... but that didn't mean Alfred was right. "A trophy maybe?" 

"Alfred, stop-" Wayne pleaded, Jerome and the butler both practically seething, looking about ready to lunge at one another. 

"I'm only giving facts, Master Wayne." Alfred interjected sourly. 

"How about I help you get your facts straight-" Jerome growled, stepping forward menacingly, yet halting as Wayne gripped his arm. "Back off!" He warned, blinking as the smaller boy went wide eyed at his tone, frowning when Wayne hesitantly let go and backed up. Shit. "Hey-" He hadn't meant to sound so... harsh... he was just- 

"Come on, Wayne, you're not a foolish boy-- you know he's dangerous." Alfred insisted, clearly ready to step in if Jerome attacked the younger male, and that really, really pissed Jerome off, because he would never attack Wayne and it wasn't his fault Alfred didn't realize that. 

"Wayne, come on-" Jerome laughed in a strained and unsure voice as the raven haired boy stared up at him uncertainly. "-you know I wouldn't hurt you." Wayne had to know that-- he had to; Wayne couldn't just suddenly distrust Jerome because he'd snapped at him a little after a few of Alfred's well placed words... could he? 

"Come here, Wayne." Alfred instructed protectively, Jerome faltering as Wayne glanced at his butler and chewed on his lower lip. 

This was all happening too quickly, and Jerome didn't know how to stop it with how fast his mind was rushing. 

"No, Wayne, please-" Jerome more or less pleaded, because he couldn't lose the one person he cared about when he'd been doing so well. He was doing better-- getting better. Hell, he hadn't killed anyone for well over a month! He hadn't committed a single murder since befriending Wayne, and he couldn't lose the one damn thing that was helping him keep his feet on the ground. 

"He doesn't care about you, Wayne," Alfred wasn't trying to be cruel, he simply genuinely believed what he was saying, and he was trying to keep Wayne safe-- but he didn't realize just how much harm he was inflicting, because every good thing that had taken well over a month to form was beginning to fall apart between the pair of friends. "He can't." 

Wayne stared at Jerome broodingly, turning his attention towards Alfred and frowning before looking back towards the frankly desperate Jerome, hesitating before straightening up and approaching the butler. 

Jerome's expression fell. No no no-- Wayne wouldn't- but he was. Wayne was his friend- well, he had been. This couldn't be happening-- oh, who was he kidding? Of course the kiddo would choose his own guardian over a simple friend. 

Wayne came to a halt in front of Alfred, and Jerome was going to kill the bastard that went to hug Wayne, because Alfred had taken something that was Jerome's, and oh look-- Jerome was already beginning to descend back into being a remorseless asshole. 

Nonetheless, Wayne stepped away from Alfred's opened arms, causing Jerome and Alfred to both stare at the small boy unsurely. 

"I appreciate your concern, and I can see why you said what you did," Wayne began, chin raising bravely. "But you're wrong, and I'm going to have to request that you allow me to explain why Jerome is going to stay here as well as why you shouldn't have a problem with that," He wasn't going to abandon Jerome-- not after what had happened to the seventeen year old last time. "So please allow both of us to give our end of the story, and then feel free to give yours." 

Alfred frowned, and Jerome smiled. 

Briefly. 

"I'm doing this because I know what's best for you, and I'm meant to protect you," Alfred informed sternly. "I can assure you that you'll understand and thank me when you're older." 

"Huh?" Wayne's brow furrowed. "Doing what?" 

Alfred paused, staring down at Wayne almost apologetically. "Alright chaps, get a move on!" 

"What-" Wayne blinked, hearing footsteps approach and turning around as GCPD officers entered the parlor, gut sinking. "No!" Alfred wrapped his arms around the younger boy when he attempted to rush over to Jerome. "Let me go!" Wayne shouted, Jerome backing up as a police officer approached him. "Jerome, run!" 

Alfred kept his hold on the struggling Wayne. "This is for the best- ouch!" 

Wayne stomped on Alfred's foot again, managing to squirm out of his grasp and sprinting over towards Jerome, standing in front of him protectively. 

"Move out of the way, kid." A policewoman warned, there having to be at least a dozen cops. 

"No." Wayne objected, not knowing what to do-- he couldn't let them take Jerome back to Arkham... it was inhumane and horrid, and just- he had to do something. 

"Wayne, go," Jerome urged, not wanting the younger one to get in anymore trouble than he was. "I'll be fine." He'd be able to find a way out of this... this was okay... everything would be alright... wouldn't it? 

"No-" Wayne stubbornly replied, one of the policemen grabbing his wrist. "Stop! Let go of me-" 

"Outta' the way." The man grunted, more or less shoving Wayne to the side like a Raggedy Ann doll. 

Alfred's brow knitted together as Wayne hit the floor rather hard. "Oi!" He protested, quickly rushing over towards the orphan-- he'd possibly briefly forgotten many cops in Gotham weren't precisely good cops. 

Yes, Alfred was angry at the poor behavior, but Jerome? Oh, Jerome was absolutely enraged. 

Jerome swung his crutches towards the officer that had pushed Wayne hard enough into the floor to bruise, managing to get a quite satisfying blow against his jaw, getting the jackass to stumble back, ready to accept his fate of getting arrested afterwards, yet finding Wayne was not nearly as ready as he was when the small boy tried and failed to pull a policewoman grasping Jerome's upper arm away from him, causing her to firmly push the younger boy to the side. 

"Look here you little shit-" The detective that Jerome had swung across the face growled, shoving the policewoman out of the way and grabbing Jerome by his shirt, sneering as Wayne attempted to tackle him to no avail. "Control your kid!" He growled at Alfred as the butler tried to pull Wayne away, the officer elbowing the dark haired boy in the chest and wincing as Wayne kicked him where it counts. "C'mere!" He more or less snarled, grabbing Wayne by his collar and heaving him up menacingly, grunting as Jerome lunged at him, forcing the cop to release Wayne as he and the criminal hit the floor. 

"Wayne-" Alfred started to urge worriedly, trying to push by the police officers and gritting his teeth as two of them kept him back. "I need to-" 

"Please step to the side, sir, we're handling this." One of the cops assured as another cop attempted to grab at Wayne unsuccessfully. 

Alfred scoffed. "Well you're doing a bloody poor job-" 

"Sir, we need you to-" The officer paused, looking over their shoulder as the struggling policeman under Jerome flipped them over, pinning the teenager underneath him and taking a swing at his jaw. "Hey! Off the suspect-" 

"I'm detaining him." The cop resorted, defense half-assed as he readily pulled his arm back to take another swing at Jerome, letting out a frustrated sigh through his clenched teeth as Wayne grabbed his arm before he could punch the other. "Get off of me you little bastard!" He instructed threateningly, getting off of Jerome and instead facing Wayne, grabbing the fourteen year old by his throat and shoving him against the floorboard, Wayne seeing stars and growing dizzy as he heard a voice order the policeman to stand down, Alfred sounding more pissed off than ever. 

Jerome yanked the officer off of Wayne, pushing him away and letting out a pained laugh as the cop kneed him in the stomach, knocking the breath out of him. 

Wayne stumbled in front of the kneeling Jerome as the red haired teen clutched his torso, the younger one's hands going up defensively as the violent detective glared daggers at him, a pair of officers holding the menacing law enforcer back. 

"Kid-" A different cop spoke up, walking in front of the tattered up Wayne. "-we need you to move." 

Wayne swallowed dryly, staring up at the detective with a glare, standing his ground and blinking as Jerome stood up, brow crinkling while the older boy walked in front of him. "Jerome-" 

"It's fine." Jerome assured, looking over his shoulder and flashing a reassuring grin, Wayne staring up at him with a frown. "I'll be alright." 

"You have the right to remain silent," An officer began, cuffing Jerome's held out hands. "Anything you say can and will be held against you..." 

Wayne felt Alfred pull him to the side, watching as the officer continued telling Jerome his rights, not knowing what to do as the cops ushered the jokester out of the parlor, pulling away from Alfred's hand on his shoulder after a few long minutes and sprinting towards the restroom-- he was going to be sick. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Why were you housing Jerome Valeska?" Detective Bullock questioned, staring Wayne down. 

Wayne's expression was practically blank, looking more exhausted than anything as he weakly murmured, "I'd like to speak to detective Gordon instead." 

"Gordon's discussing matters with Galavan, so you're stuck with me, kid." Harvey informed unapologetically. "Now why were you hiding Valeska?" 

Wayne swallowed thickly, keeping his gaze averted. "Is he okay?" 

"I'm the one that asks questions here." Harvey warned impatiently. 

Wayne was quiet for a long while, staring at the floor broodingly. "Why were you and Mooney so buddy buddy?" He finally muttered under his breath sarcastically. 

"Excuse me?" Harvey scoffed, eyes narrowing. "Was that supposed to be a threat?" He leaned forward menacingly, palms pressing down on the metal table. "Because I'm not sure I like being threatened by a fourteen year old." 

"And I'm not sure I like being trapped in an interrogation room, so I suppose we're even." 

What a sassy little- "Look, I've had a long day, you've had a long day, and I'm sure we'd both like to go home as soon as possible, so how about you just answer the questions-" 

"Alright, fine-" Wayne crossed his arms, meeting Harvey's gaze challengingly. "-what do you want me to say? That I didn't have a choice or that I foolishly welcomed him in? You're choice." 

"I want the truth-" 

"If you want the first one, then Jerome needed a place to stay and he threatened to kill me as well as Alfred if I didn't help him out, and I was worried Alfred and I would be hurt by him in the future if we simply allowed the police to take him away." Wayne offered with a shrug. 

"Kid-" Harvey sighed, it being more than obvious that was a lie and Wayne no longer gave a shit about being convincing. 

"If you want the second one, then I, oh I don't know, got a case of Stockholm after being taken hostage by him a second time and decided it'd be just fantastic if he stayed with us." Wayne interjected, earning a long exhale of breath. "Satisfied?" 

Harvey observed Wayne quizzically. "Alright, sure," He breathed as a migraine began to come on, giving a shrug. "So which one is it?" He knew it was neither, although he also knew no one was going to get anything out of Wayne other than Jim, and Jim wasn't there for the time being. 

"Take your pick." Wayne answered, frankly not caring which story Harvey chose. 

Harvey pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't just-" 

"Do a favor for me and use eenie-miney-moe to choose for all I care," Wayne snapped, forcing his glossed over eyes to not water, voice wavering. "And I'll do a favor for you by not bringing up your questionable past with Fish Mooney." He didn't want to be here-- he just wanted to go home. 

Harvey's jaw set in annoyance. "Fine, but just a word of advice?" He gave a bitter smile. "I wouldn't threaten any other cops here-- a lot of them aren't exactly as squeamish as I am when it comes to killing a kid." 

Wayne's teeth gritted, watery eyes still rimmed with red. "Noted." 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne was laying in bed and feeling rather lonely without Jerome beside him when Selina crawled through the window. 

"I heard what happened to Jerome." Selina spoke of softly, placing a comforting hand on Wayne's shoulder while sitting on the mattress. 

Wayne took in a shaky breath, sniffling slightly, burying his face against his pillow embarrassed. "Alfred wouldn't of caught him if we hadn't been sneaking out to Silver's hotel." He in a sour tone, voice muffled. 

Selina frowned-- was Wayne blaming her..? She had just been trying to help. "I didn't mean to-" 

"It's not your fault," Wayne muttered, Selina blinking at that. "Silver's the one that pitted all of us against each other-- she put us on the edge, and forced us to act out in a risky fashion, and now Jerome is locked back up in Arkham." Selina wasn't at all used to hearing Wayne so pissed off. 

Selina hesitantly laid next to Wayne, rubbing an assuring hand against his upper arm soothingly, causing his tense muscles to relax. "So what do we do?" 

Wayne was quiet for a long, long while. "Jerome had a plan on how to get Silver to talk," He eventually revealed, venom laced in his words. "We're using it, and then we'll find a way to save him." 

Selina's brow raised-- so this was kind of a revenge thing... that was somewhat off when it came to good natured Wayne-- he seemed... different. 

Wayne was beginning to change. 

~*~*~*~ 

It turned out hiring someone to pretend torture Wayne, before being threatening to torture Silver, flawlessly managed to get exactly what Wayne needed from her considering he now had the name of the man that he'd seen that night in the alleyway that seemed like so long ago. 

Perhaps Wayne should take up Jerome's ideas more often... 

Wayne was looking through Arkham files he'd managed to find in his library, attempting to come up with some sort of plan to rescue Jerome, yet finding his mind wouldn't stop wandering back towards a few words Wayne had told Silver to gain her complete trust-- he was quite proud of them, really. 

'I've never met anyone like you.' Jerome. He'd been talking about Jerome when he said that-- he really had never met anyone like the trickster. 

'And I trust you with my life.' That though? That had been about Selina-- he knew she'd never let him do anything too risky, and if he did she'd be there to look out for him. 

'The truth is, I feel tied to you in a way I can't explain... but that won't change-- ever.' That... that had been for both Jerome and Selina-- Wayne couldn't help but believe they'd all be connected to one another forever in at least some way. 

Wayne blinked, being pulled back into the real world and away from his pondering as the door opened. "Alfred, is that you?" He piped up, relieved his butler was back-- he had been growing worried. "You wouldn't believe what I-" 

Theo stood at the threshold, Wayne's expression falling. "Sorry-- not Alfred." He apologized amusedly, striding into the study. 

Shit. No no no-- this couldn't be happening... Jerome was locked away, and Selina was who knew where... Wayne was alone, and he didn't know what to do. 

"What do you want?" Wayne questioned in the bravest tone he could muster up. 

Theo held his chin up, a smirk spreading on his lips. "Why, you're life-" He admitted much too nonchalantly, pulling a sharp blade from his jacket. "-of course." 

Wayne's brow furrowed, eyes going wide and lips parting despite no words leaning his lips, backing up as several men in robes entered the room. 

Not good.


	16. When Chaos Meets Fear

Jerome attempted to continue staring down at his crappy outdated magazine from the 70's, but he found it rather difficult to concentrate with the brown haired teenage boy staring at him from the tattered couch across from his worn out chair. 

The red haired seventeen year old glanced up from his magazine for what felt like the dozenth time, forcing on a smile and earning an unfazed stare, causing Jerome to raise his brows while averting his gaze back towards his magazine and uneasily chucking, "Okay then.", under his breath-- was he sitting on this looney's seat or something? 

Jerome tried to keep his eyes on the magazine, he really did, but he could feel that weirdo's eyes practically boring into him, causing the ginger to let out a long exhale while lowering his magazine onto his lap, giving another tight grin. "Can I help you?" He finally asked in an irritated chuckle. 

The brunet didn't falter. "At the time? I doubt it." 

Jerome stared the expressionless male down, eventually rolling his eyes and giving an annoyed laugh, picking his magazine back up and once again trying to read it, only around thirty seconds going by until he hesitantly once again glanced up at the teen continuing to watch him. 

"Is there a reason you're staring at me?" Jerome snapped, smirking irked. 

Silence... and then, "It's Valeska, right?" 

Jerome quirked a brow. "Yeah, who wants to know?" 

The stranger held out a hand. "Jonathan. Jonathan Crane." 

Jerome eyed the stretched out palm, contemplating for a long stretch of time before hesitantly standing up and tossing his magazine onto his armchair's cushion, striding forward to shake the other's offered hand. "Nice to meet cha'." He greeted, putting on a charming grin-- people needed friends in places like this-- particularly people with 'pretty faces'... he'd found that out the hard way. 

Jonathan nodded properly. "Likewise." He paused, pulling his arm back. "I recall seeing you on television at a charity event." 

Jerome gave a cheeky smile. "Oh? How'd I do?" 

Jonathan studied Jerome broodingly, eventually allowing the right corner of his lip to twitch upwards. "I'd say you killed." This trickster had a bit of an ego... if Jonathan wanted to get on his good side, then he needed to feed it. 

Jerome's grin widened-- ooh, did he have an admirer? How fun! 

The jokester's smile spread as gave a bow of thanks. "So, Johnny- can I call you Johnny?" He didn't wait for an answer. "What are ya' in here for?" 

"Schizophrenia and a lack of emotions." Jonathan answered nonchalantly. 

Jerome's brow arched. "That's it? Come on, this place is for the 'criminally' insane-- what law didja' break?" 

Jonathan wasn't amused by the other's curiosity. "If you must know, I used fear-inducing toxins on a rather crude individual, that I'd say deserved it if you asked me, and ended up getting caught by my grandmother." 

Jerome cocked his head intrigued, the corners of his lips curling upwards interestedly. "Fear toxins?" 

"Chemicals my father stirred up," Jonathan waved off with a shrug. "They cause the individual who encounters them to hallucinate and see images pertaining to their greatest fears." 

"Your dad sure sounds like an entertaining fellow." Jerome mused with a wide smile, wondering just how difficult it would be to get ahold of such an amusing little drug. 

Jonathan looked towards the side, arms crossing. "He's dead." 

"Oh." Oops. "Uh, sorry-- my condolences." Jerome chuckled apologetically. 

"No need to be-- there's little use in crying over spilled milk." Jonathan assured, standing up and looking Jerome up and down broodingly, observing the other while pondering before inquiring, "Am I right to assume you're the type to risk getting into a bit of trouble?" He knew how to read people, and as far as he could tell Jerome was just the person he needed to help him out with a little... plan. 

Jerome snickered, wondering what precisely this sixteen year old had in mind. "As long as it's fun." He confirmed with a smirk. 

"Would you consider breaking into Arkham's medical room 'fun', by any chance?" 

"Eh..." Jerome made a so-so gesture with his hand. "Sound's kinda' boring." 

"You're more than welcomed to kill the guards as you'd please." Jonathan offered, taking note Jerome looked like a damn kid in a candy store at that. "I'll even give you a cup of fear toxin." 

Jerome gave a pondering hum, looking over Jonathan quizzically. "How exactly would I kill the guards? I mean, they've got tasers, and I'd prefer to have something other than by bare hands." 

"I have a shiv you're more than welcomed to use." Jonathan offered, earning a taken aback smirk. "When you're as frail as I am you tend to need a weapon in a place like this." 

"True." Jerome agreed with a chuckle, walking back over towards his chair to take a seat, lounging back comfortably while crossing his legs, elbow resting against the armrest as he tucked his fist under his jaw. "So, Johnny, what's the plan?" 

Good-- Jonathan had reeled him in. "I need to get my hands on some of the medical chemicals to make fear toxin, and that's what we'll use on the guards to break out." 

"We'll be going against guards either way-- why don't we just skip the toxin part?" Jerome questioned musingly. 

"The medical room isn't as heavily guarded, so we have a better chance of bringing down the guards there-- that way we can equip ourselves with enough fear toxin to escape the bigger and badder guards looking over the exit." 

Fair enough. "I'm assuming you need me because you're not much of a fighter?" Jerome snickered, earning an ever so slightly irked glare. 

"Yes, and I also can't risk getting caught." 

Jerome scoffed. "Oh? So what, if I get caught you're going to just run away then?" At least the kid was honest. 

"Yes, but then it'll only be you heavily locked up and watched over-- they'd remain unsuspicious of me, and I'd have the chance to make the fear toxin in peace; I'd come and break you out after the guards were drugged, of course." Jonathan explained calmly. 

"And I'm just supposed to take your word on that?" Jerome challenged with a laugh of disbelief. 

Jonathan didn't falter. "Why, yes-- I would assume so considering I doubt you have a better idea." 

This was a snide little bastard. "Alright," Jerome eventually agreed with a sigh, unable to come up with a different plan-- he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible... as in before the doctors tried to medicate him with drugs that made everything dull and boring. "Fine-- but double cross me and I'll carve a smile on that pouty little face of your's, got it?" 

Jonathan's expressionless facade stayed set. "Understood." 

Jerome cracked a smile. "Good." He picked his magazine back up, flipping through its pages. "So we doing this at sleeping hours or what?" 

"Unless you have something better to do at that time." 

Jerome snickered-- sarcastic much? He kinda' reminded Jerome of Wayne a little... 

The seventeen year old's smile nearly fell at that-- Wayne had probably been interrogated by the GCPD about housing him... oh Ra, he hoped the kiddo was okay... if not, he was going to have to show a few police officers just who the boss of Gotham was, along with just what happened if you touched his damn things. 

Jerome ended up tossing his magazine onto the coffee table, giving an antsy sigh and running a hand though his hair before standing up and shoving his hands into his pockets, chewing on his lower lip-- what if Wayne got thrown in Arkham for helping Jerome? No-- he didn't need to freak out right now; he needed to stay calm and collected so attention wasn't drawn to himself... he had to be on his best manners if he wanted to break out without any suspicions arising beforehand. 

Television. Jerome should watch television. That could distract his buzzing mind. 

Jerome walked over towards the small and frankly crappy T.V. set a group of inmates were huddled around, seeing it was the news that was on the fuzzy screen and watching the first few minutes rather bored- wait, what did it just say about Galavan? 

"Theo Galavan was pardoned earlier..." The captions read, Jerome's stomach sinking-- if Theo was free, that meant he'd almost certainly be attempting to get Wayne back on his side... and if he caught onto the fact Wayne knew about what Theo had made Silver do... oh no. No no no-- this wasn't good. For all Jerome knew, Theo had already tried to contact Wayne, and that poor boy was sadly a horrible liar as far as Jerome knew. 

Wait-- Jerome didn't need to worry. Wayne had Alfred, and it's not as though Silver or Theo knew Wayne had found out about them... unless Wayne went and played out Jerome's idea on how to get Silver to talk. Shit- no, this was fine-- everything was fine-- there was a good chance Wayne hadn't confronted Silver yet. 

There was no need for Jerome to worry! Wayne was probably safe and in bed at his manor with Alfred being overly protective and making sure not a single person stepped foot inside the mansion after the little incident between him and Jerome-- Wayne was okay... he had to be. 

Wayne simply couldn't be in danger-- Jerome was just getting paranoid and making a big deal out of nothing... right? 

Okay, yeah, that was enough T.V. for the day-- there had to be something a bit less stressful for Jerome to do. 

Jerome walked over towards the bookshelves barely being held together by their hinges, picking up a tattered up novel with missing pages and flipping through it quickly, mind racing. 

Oh. This book was about a kid being chased after by a fatherly figure he'd once trusted. Joy. 

Jerome shoved the book back onto the bookshelf, resorting to making his way over towards the board games with missing pieces, grabbing an armful of the flimsy boxes. 

Risk. Wayne was at risk... Monopoly. Theo practically owned enough of Gotham to be considered one who had a partake in Monopoly... Surgery. If Wayne got caught and lived then he'd definitely need some- 

Jerome more or less threw the board games he'd picked up back into the bin, deciding to simply go to his room and take a nap while just waiting for midnight when everyone would be asleep. 

The agitated teen walked into his room, more or less flopping down onto his bed and burying his face against his pillow, eyes sliding shut. 

... 

... Jerome was really used to sleeping next to Wayne- 

Jerome groaned, sitting up and rubbing a palm over his face while keeping his eyes shut and giving an antsy laugh-- all one had to do would be add a bit of romantic attraction and he'd practically have a crush on Wayne with how he couldn't stop fricking linking ever little damn thing he did back to the billionaire orphan. 

It was reasonable to be this worried, right? Jerome wasn't freaking out too much all things considered, was he? When it came to the fact he couldn't get Wayne off his mind that was normal under the circumstances, right..? 

"Now I'm laughing to myself..." Jerome grumbled with a strained smile, fluffing his pillow somewhat violently. "Oh, yay, and look-- talking to myself." He added irritatedly, yanking his sheets over him as he laid back down, staring up at the ceiling with a worried grin, wondering if Wayne was alive, dead, safe, in danger, and so forth before letting out a long sigh. 

Things were boring without Wayne... 

Half an hour of Jerome trying to get some shut eye went by, his fretting mind eventually starting to calm as he began to finally drift off, when suddenly there was a knock at the door. 

Jerome's eyes snapped open, tired and pissed off smile tugging at his lips-- he was ready to kill whatever asshole had decided this would be a grand time to come in and bother him when he was close to having a meltdown at the fact Wayne could be tied up in Theo's basement for all he knew. 

... Wayne was too much for the stressed out Jerome, and the seventeen year old still wasn't at all used to actually caring for anyone, so apparently when he did he 'cared' about them perhaps a bit too much. 

Jerome stood, walking towards his door and swinging it open with an irked grin. "Can I help-" He blinked, seeing it was Jonathan waiting for him. "Oh. Hey." 

"Chew this and then stick it against your lock." Jonathan instructed, holding out a wrapped up sliver of gum, earning an arched brow. "It'll keep it from locking and allow you to escape when everyone's asleep-- I can't open your door from the other side without a staff card if it locks." 

Jerome's lips broke into a grin. "Ooh, fun-- I like the way your mind works, buddy." He praised, taking the treat and unwrapping it. 

"Flattering." Jonathan replied blandly. "I'll come get you when it's time, alright?" 

"Sounds good to me." Jerome chimed, tossing the gum into his mouth. 

Jonathan put his arms behind his back pleased, giving a nod farewell before walking away. 

Jerome did as directed with the gum before laying back down, excitedly waiting for the intercom to come on and instruct the inmates back to their rooms and letting a wide smile spread on his lips as it did so, rolling over on his side to hide his smirk as a guard entered his room in order to check whether or not Jerome was in said room before moving onto the next one. 

A knock was finally heard at the door after about fifteen more lengthy minutes, causing Jerome to hop up practically giddy and stride over to swing it open with a satisfied grin, Jonathan waiting for him vaguely impatiently. 

"Ya' miss me?" Jerome jested, Jonathan bringing a finger up to his lips to shush him. 

"Oh yes, very much so-- I could hardly stand to be away from you." Jonathan whispered sarcastically, earning a scoff and a snicker. 

Jerome couldn't tell whether or not this kid liked or hated him, guessing it was probably just a neutral feeling more than anything, knowing he was just a means to an end. 

It was obvious Jonathan was using him, but Jerome didn't mind all that much considering he'd be able to have a bit of fun with assisting the other while also having the chance to escape. 

Nonetheless, Jerome couldn't help but recall the fact Theo had also used him, and honestly Jerome didn't exactly feel like getting stabbed in the neck again-- stab me once shame on you, stab me twice though... 

No. Jerome didn't have time to worry about that-- he had to check up on Wayne as soon as possible, which meant getting out of Arkham ASAP, and Jonathan was his best bet when it came down to it. 

The pair of criminals snuck down the hall of inmates rooms, Jonathan standing on the left side of the main door and Jerome moving to the right as the ginger quietly piped up, "What-" 

"There's a janitor that comes through here about twenty minutes after lock up," Jonathan began to explain under his breath. "You need to knock him unconscious-" Jonathan pulled a wooden shiv out from the elastic waist area of his pants, holding it outwards. "-or kill him." 

Jerome more or less beamed. "I like option B better." He mused, keeping his voice low as he took the offered weapon. 

"Just try to not get any blood on the uniform," Jonathan warned softly yet firmly. "You're gonna' need to wear it so you can distract the front desk lady while I figure out which of his keys opens the door to the medical room." 

"I'm going to distract her?" Jerome scoffed. "Shouldn't you be the one doing that? I'm a little too well known considering I was on live television killing people." 

"I chose you to help me because you're charismatic and chaotic-- you're going to charm her while doing off with anyone who gets in our way, and I'm going to make sure everything goes according to plan." Jonathan informed sternly, voice low. "Stay in the shadows and act like your mopping a mess up while conversing with her, alright? She won't be able to recognize you if you keep your distance." 

"Why can't I just kill her off, too?" Jerome suggested, twirling the shiv in between his fingers. 

"Because I didn't manage to break the cameras out there, okay?" Jonathan huffed annoyedly. "I could only break the one in here considering 'accidentally' throwing a ball at more than one to 'play with my imaginary friend' would cause quite a bit of suspicion to arise, not to mention they took said ball away from me before I even got the chance to break the other cameras." 

Jerome managed to hold in his laugh. "When did you 'accidentally' break their camera?" How long had Jonathan been planning this and waiting for the right helper to come along..? 

"A little over a week ago," Jonathan answered quietly. "It's Arkham-- it takes them ages to replace their crappy equipment." 

Silence lingered after the elaboration-- briefly. 

"Wait, if there's cameras out there then how are you supposed to sneak to the medical room?" Jerome spoke up under his breath. 

Jonathan sighed frustratedly. "The janitor, comes in, you kill him and take his keys, you go to the janitor closet on the other side of the room out there, you grab a trash bag, you come back and put me in the bag, you carry me outside and set me by the medical room door, you grab an armchair and claim you're cleaning under the furniture like your boss told you to, you move the armchair in front of me to block me off from the camera, you distract the desk lady with flirting to avoid suspicion as I figure out which key unlocks the medical door, and when you're done cleaning up you tell her you were told to clean a spill in the medical room and hope your charms worked on her well enough to avoid suspicions, and then you carry me down into the medical room in the bag." 

"No need to be so snappy," Jerome whispered with a smirk. "It's not my fault you didn't tell me the whole plan earlier." 

"Just-" Jonathan let out a long exhale, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just please shut up-" He blinked, the door opening as he went quiet, making eye contact with Jerome and earning a nod. 

Jerome stabbed at the janitor as Jonathan forced the door to shut faster, the red haired teen letting out a string of cuss words under his breath as he only managed to knick the employee's arm as the worker narrowly dodged his attack. 

The wide eyed janitor stumbled away from the two, barely managing to stay on his feet, blinking at the sight of none other than Jerome Valeska. "You-" 

"Me." Jerome confirmed with a wicked smirk, flashing his shiv and getting ready to stab at the other once again, eyes set on his torso. "Sorry about this-- it's nothing personal." He chuckled, arm pulling back. 

"I- I'm actually-" The man's lips broke into a smile eerily similar to Jerome's. "I'm actually talking to you!" He laughed, Jerome raising a brow and pausing at the strangely joyful tone-- did this guy not realize he was a serial killer that was pointing a damn shiv at him or something? "When- when I heard you were alive I nearly lost it!" The janitor paused, hands going up assuringly. "Don't worry though-- I managed to keep a straight face! No one caught onto how relieved I was in the least!" 

Jerome eyed the man uncertainly. "Do I know you?" Who the hell was this guy? 

"Oh no no no, of course not-- why would you know me? I'm just a janitor! Well... for now!" He chuckled, even his laugh sounding suspiciously close to Jerome's. "But I know you." 

Oh that wasn't creepy at all. "Am I missing something here?" Jerome questioned, glancing towards the unsettled Jonathan. 

Jonathan parted his lips to answer-- apparently Jerome hadn't heard about the little... 'fans' he'd inspired. 

"I'm sorry, I'm being rude-- allow me to introduce myself!" The janitor interjected with a grin. "I'm your biggest fan!" Well shit-- this obviously wasn't going to end well. "Really, I am! I- I adore your work Mr. Valeska, I really do! I- I practically adore you in all honesty..." Dear DC this wasn't good... this guy was a little over the top, which was saying something when it came to a flashy guy like Jerome. "You- you can call me whatever you want! How about Rome Alaska?" Did this bitch practically just steal his name, too? 

Jerome gave a strained and anxious laugh, observing the stranger uneasily. "Right..." Hells, he didn't have a clue on just how loopy this guy really was, knowing he seemed like the unpredictable type... "Well, it's been nice meeting you, 'Rome', but-" 

"Wait!" The janitor pleaded, Jerome holding his shiv up defensively as the worker stepped towards him, causing the man to stop in his tracks. "Oh, please don't worry-- I wouldn't hurt you! You're my idol!" 

Was this guy for real? Because he was overdoing this whole 'biggest fan' thing to where it was more than creepy. 

"That's nice, but-" Jerome started, forcing on a tight smile. 

"I'm being serious!" The janitor assured, almost looking hurt. "You've given me the courage to kill my wife and toss my son out with her!" His smile was nervous, and more desperate than anything, obviously not wanting Jerome to direct his gaze away from him for more than a second. "I- I haven't done it yet, but I will! I'll go to it right now!" He offered determinedly. "I could even help you kill off the mayor or that Wayne kid you'd taken hostage if you like!" 

Jonathan perked up, an idea coming into place. "I bet sneaking us out would really impress Jerome." 

The janitor beamed. "Would it? I can do that! Come on, the exit's just this way-" He blinked, feeling a sharp object abruptly come into contact his neck. 

"What the hell, Valeska?!" Jonathan hissed through clenched teeth, watching as Jerome stepped away from the choking employee. "He was our easy way out-" 

"I'm not a fan of copycats much less shitty fathers," Jerome shrugged off much too nonchalantly, calmly wiping the red substance off his shiv with his shirt perhaps a little too carelessly. "And I really, REALLY don't enjoy hearing someone offer to off 'that Wayne kid.'" He added, flashing an eerily collected smile Jonathan's way. "Ready to finish the plan?" 

Jonathan swallowed dryly at how Jerome's voice changed into an almost sinister tone, his grin a bit too deviously wicked, taking a mental note to not talk shit about that orphan Wayne boy he knew very little about. "Sure..." He'd chosen a dangerous partner-- a hell of a good one, but a dangerous one nonetheless. 

Jerome hoped the lady sitting at the front desk wouldn't notice the red stain on his shirt collar and sleeve, deciding he'd just say it was spilt cranberry juice or something of the sort if asked. 

"How are you doing tonight?" Jerome asked with a charming tone, carrying the bag he'd gotten from the janitor closet over towards the door Jonathan was waiting behind. 

The woman blinked, glancing up at the charismatic Jerome being hidden by shadows made from dim lighting. "I'm doing well, and you?" 

Jerome flashed a magnetic smile through the shadows. "Hearing a voice as lovely as yours?" He gave a wink. "I'm doing absolutely fantastically now." 

The woman blushed, giving a taken aback laugh and biting down on her lower lip shyly. "Well you just made my day." 

Jerome opened the door, giving a chuckle. "A gal like you deserves to have every day be her day." He complimented, earning an embarrassed giggle as he went through the threshold, letting the door shut behind him before gesturing towards the garbage bag. "Ya' know, I never really considered you a trashy kinda' guy until now." 

"Ha ha." Jonathan blandly replied sarcastically, giving a glare as Jerome laughed when he reluctantly climbed into the bag. "The janitor's in your room by the way since I-" 

"Yeah yeah, since you have to avoid suspicions and all." Jerome chuckled knowingly, picking up the trash bag and letting out a strained laugh. "You're a lot heavier than you look." 

"Don't drop me-" 

"I double bagged you-- you'll be fine as long as you don't squirm." Jerome assured, heaving Jonathan over his shoulder while walking back outside, giving a smile towards the lass at the front desk once again. "Boss wanted me to sweep under the furniture." He lied, earning a taken aback stare. 

"Really? Usually the boss hates when people stay overtime since he has to overpay them and all... do you want me to call him and make sure you didn't misunderstand him by him by some chance or something? I don't want you losing your job..." 

Crap. "Uh-" Jerome started, more or less dropping Jonathan onto the ground, earning a quiet irritated grunt. "No, it's fine, don't worry about it, cutie." 

The receptionist blushed at the nickname. "Are you sure? I mean, it is my job to check up on these sorts of things, so I wouldn't mind at all, and I don't want you to get in any trouble-" 

"Can I be honest?" Jerome offered smoothly, giving an award winning smile while pushing a recliner in front of the trash bag containing Jonathan to block him off from the cameras. "I kinda' just want to get to know you better, gorgeous-- I don't mind working off the clock a little bit to do that." 

The lady practically swooned, Jerome relieved this was the type of chick that liked that sort of artificial romantic crap. 

"I-" She started, giving a shy laugh and averting her gaze bashfully. "I suppose I can keep my lips sealed, as long as you don't try to get paid extra." Her smile fell. "It's a shame you're offering to work for free though..." She perked up. "How about we go out for some coffee tomorrow instead? Or you could just stick around for a little while and not do any chores if you'd rather." 

Jerome was gay as hell and had no intentions of going no on an actual date with a chick unless it was due to some sort of ulterior motive-- honestly, he found there were no longer many guys he fancied either, the only 'serious' crushes he had being ones that were really just 'puppy love' when he was eight. 

Frankly, the only guy Jerome could see himself actually falling for would be- well... huh. He didn't really have anyone that came to mind-- perhaps Wayne, but that would only be when they were both older- as in adults- at best considering a three year age gap was a bit too much for Jerome's taste when it came to teenage years. 

Then again, Jerome doubted he'd ever like Wayne as more than a friend when he didn't even quite know how to properly separate caring about someone from seeing someone as a possession when it came down to it, so there was always a chance Jerome just didn't know how to recognize attraction from friendship for the time being... 

Jerome cleared his throat, doing his best to not ponder over such meaningless and frankly useless things, instead forcing his attention back towards the awaiting woman. "Coffee sounds fantastic, but I've already started cleaning up-- may as well finish, am I right?" Jonathan needed to hurry up and find the right key so they could get out of there. "How about we meet at that little café a few blocks away from here tomorrow at, oh I don't know... eight?" He almost feel bad for the fact he was going to ditch this gal-- almost. 

When all was said and done, escaping to make sure Wayne was alright was more important than sparing a stranger's feelings. 

"The bronze colored café?" She questioned with an excited smile. 

"Er..." Jerome hadn't really had an actual place in mind, honestly just making one up. "Yeah, that one." 

The woman smiled, giving a nod. "That would be lovely." 

Jerome winked at her flirtatiously. "It's a date." 

Ten minutes of Jerome wooing the swooning lass went by as he impatiently waited for Jonathan to find what key unlocked the medical room's door, eventually deciding ten minutes had been more than enough time as he ran out of things to say. 

"Well, I need to go tidy up the medical room now," Jerome fibbed, pulling the furniture back into place. "I'll see you tomorrow-" 

"You need to clean the medical room?" The lady inquired, eyebrows arching. 

Jerome had not just wasted several minutes of sweet talking this broad to have this plan fail. "Yeah, I um-" He put on a meek yet charismatic smile. "I was actually supposed to do it earlier." He spoke in a quiet tone despite no one being there, acting as though he was going and letting her in on a little secret, successfully earning a blush and laugh. 

"Oh! Okay, well, I won't tell." She promised with a wink. 

Jerome gave a relieved grin. "Thanks, darling." He hummed pleased, grabbing the garbage bag containing Jonathan and taking the key the other had poking out. 

"Hey!" The woman spoke up as Jonathan's hand dropped the key in Jerome's palm, causing the red haired teen to go stiff, knowing she'd probably managed to catch a glimpse of Jonathan's hand- "What's your name again?" 

Jerome's tense muscles relaxed-- that was close. "Jerry." He lied with a captivating smile, throwing the bag containing Jonathan over his shoulder. "See ya' around, sugar." He added, walking through the threshold and letting out an exhausted sigh as the door closed behind him-- it was after midnight and that chick had really worn him out with how it seemed like he hadn't gotten a single damn breath in, more or less having to talk the whole time to continuously dodge suspicion. 

"There's definitely cameras in here," Jonathan spoke up, voice muffled. "Carry me around and I'll tell you what to grab." 

Jerome let out a groan-- why did he have to do all the work? 

... Eh. At least he'd gotten to kill someone-- he hadn't been able to do that in a while... perhaps he should leave that little detail out when telling Wayne about his 'great escape.' 

After tossing in various bottled up chemicals and a few bottles of pills along with some equipment as well as a pair of face masks into the trash bag with Jonathan, Jerome finally went back to his room, laying on his bed fatigued and ready to take a nap, eyebrows arching as Jonathan threw some of the medical containers onto his mattress. 

"They'll see you on the cameras-- unless you want them to find out someone was with you, you need to have some of the supplies you actually stole." Jonathan explained, earning a nod. "We should be broken out by five in the morning-- I assume they'll come to get you around two." He turned, walking towards the door. "The janitor is under your bed." 

"Why do I have the feeling you're gonna' double cross me?" Jerome interrogated, dangerous smirk tugging at his lips and eyes narrowing. 

Jonathan paused at the threshold, glancing over his shoulder expressionlessly. "I wouldn't dream of it." 

Jerome chuckled, his door closing-- oh yeah, real assuring. 

The guards came to get Jerome a little over an hour later, putting the compliant patient into a straitjacket before tossing him inside a padded room and slamming the door shut, Jerome blowing two strands of hair away from his eyes and giving a sour grin-- if Jonathan knew what was good for him, he'd better not leave him in a room where he couldn't even scratch the damn bridge of his nose. 

Jerome squirmed around in the jacket every once in a while, trying to shimmy out of it to no avail, letting out constant aggravated sighs and even more constant pissed off laughs, feeling more cramped as the room seemed to get unbearably warmer and warmer, wondering where the hell that sixteen year old brat was as he resorted to trying to sleep in order to ignore the irritating restraints without success. 

Jonathan had apparently gone and left Arkham without Jerome, and now Jerome was stuck in a position that sucked even more than it previously had- 

Jerome blinked, hearing muffled screams from outside his door, eyes and grin both widening as a teenager with a face mask pushed open the padded room's door and tossed a spare mask towards the smirking ginger. 

To put things in a short and sweet perspective, Jonathan simply knew Jerome was merciless, and he knew Jerome would hold a grudge-- he knew Jerome was the type to kill anyone who did as much as looked at him funny, and while it sounded as though Jerome had a soft spot for whoever this Wayne kid was and probably wasn't nearly as violent around him from the sounds of it, Jonathan was simply not Wayne, and Jonathan did not want to be on Jerome's bad side. 

So, naturally, Jonathan kept his promise, because Jerome was one of the few criminals that he couldn't help but notice was clever enough to get what he wanted, and Jonathan REALLY didn't want Jerome wanting him dead. 

Jerome was charismatic, and he was witty, and he was dangerous-- Jonathan was not about to have someone like that pissed off at him. 

Besides, taking a few seconds to break Jerome out was a small price to pay for being broken out himself. 

They were both individuals one would not want to piss off, and Jonathan understood that meant he should leave Jerome alone just as much as Jerome should leave him alone while neither should risk going against one another-- that much was evident to both. 

Fear and chaos were different, but that didn't mean one was any less menacing than the other. 

Jerome stood up after Jonathan opened his straitjacket, looking the brunet up and down broodingly-- this kid was entertainingly unpredictable, so... he'd let him live for now, guessing he'd get bored with the other eventually-- although for now Jonathan was fun enough. 

"A spray of this is enough to make an individual's mentality crumble if not treated in twenty-four hours at most, two sprays is deadly." Jonathan stated simply, handing Jerome the tightly sealed jar of fear toxin he'd promised. "I haven't perfected the antidote, so I'd recommend not accidentally catching a whiff of it." 

Jerome was definitely going to use this on Theo, and maybe even that little prick that had bullied Wayne one too many times... "Pleasure doing business with you, Johnny." He hummed, stretching out his palm. 

Jonathan paused, eying the offered hand before hesitantly reaching out to give a polite shake. "The pleasure's all mine." 

Jerome flashed a grin, arm falling back down towards his side. "I gotta' admit, I'm intrigued-- where are you planning to stay in any case?" Jonathan gave him a wary stare. "Aw what's wrong, don't wanna' hang out sometime?" He teased with a smirk. 

Jonathan contemplated for a long while, eventually letting out an uncertain breath and saying, "If you want to get ahold of me then go to the old 'scarecrow' farm-- I wander around there every once in a while, although I can't guarantee you'll be able to count on me being there." 

"Scarecrow farm?" Jerome inquired curiously, putting on the face mask. 

"Gotham knows all about it-- look it up if you must." Jonathan murmured, turning away from the other. "Try to not bother me unless it's urgent, alright?" 

Jerome adjusted his face mask, tossing the jar of fear toxins up and down in his hand. "Deal." 

Jonathan broke out through Arkham's front doors first, Jerome not having a difficult time at all whence following, finding most of the guards and whatnot were already intoxicated and too busy screaming to stop them much less bother calling the cops, noting the familiar female secretary freaking out behind the counter and giving an apologetic grin along with a shrug as he gave a wave goodbye to the hallucinating woman. 

Jerome knew he acted out a bit more when Wayne wasn't around... alright, a lot more, but what else was he supposed to do to satisfy his boredom when Wayne wasn't there? Things just weren't nearly as amusing without the fourteen year old billionaire! 

When Jerome finally arrived at Wayne's mansion he hid his face mask in a nearby bush, deciding he'd rather not freak the poor boy out by walking into his room with said mask on, afterwards sneaking inside and fixing to go to Wayne's room whence seeing no sight of Alfred, yet freezing as he noticed the knocked over decor on the floor, giddy expression falling. 

"Wayne?" Jerome hesitantly called out in an unsure voice, not receiving an answer. "Wayne?!" Nothing. "Alfred?" Silence. 

Jerome sped walked over towards the knocked over object, noticing scratch marks on the threshold of the door a few feet away and walking into the room leading to such, feeling his stomach sink at the sight of multiple things knocked over, such as filed and furniture. 

This wasn't good. Jerome's mind was racing and he couldn't focus on what one should do in a situation like this in the least, feeling as though he was going to be sick, adrenaline pumping anxiously-- was Wayne alive? Did Theo do this? Where was Alfred? What happened? Why was this all suddenly happening much too fast- 

"Dumas said you'd come." A voice spoke up, Jerome blinking and turning to face a peculiar man in a brown cloak. "I've been waiting for a few hours now." 

Jerome swallowed thickly, and for once he felt a glower grace his features rather than a smile, his brow furrowing irked while the corners of his lips turned downwards in distaste. "Who the hell are you?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Where's Wayne?" 

The robed man didn't falter. "I am a cleanser of Gotham, and I am here to kill you." He gave an almost assuring smile. "Don't worry, Wayne will be reunited with you shortly."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay-- so I noticed a couple of people were asking why I typically refer to Bruce as Wayne rather than his first name, and tbh it's because Bruce is the name of a close relative of mine and it's frankly just super weird to type because I don't call my relative by his name basically, and it's kind of complicated overall-- I hope this makes sense? Ahaha- 
> 
> Like, in the first chapter I went over why Jerome referred to Wayne by his last name and whatnot since it didn't sound as serious, so yeah-- there's that, too. 
> 
> In any case, I know some people may prefer to see the name Bruce rather than Wayne when reading, so I provided some links below that will let you 'find and replace one word with another', which means all you have to do is go to these links depending on the browser you use, follow the instructions (don't worry-- they're short and easy to follow!), and voilà-- it'll replace Wayne with Bruce on your computer ;) 
> 
> So yeah, just go to the link for whatever browser you use and have fun reading! 
> 
> Sorry for the trouble-- it's just a bit weird for me to type and not something I'm exactly comfortable with-- I guess that would be the easiest and best way to explain or whatever lol :) 
> 
> Google Chrome- https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/search-and-replace/bldchfkhmnkoimaciljpilanilmbnofo?hl=en-GB
> 
> Safari- https://help.apple.com/motion/mac/5.0/en/motion/usermanual/index.html#chapter=16%26section=8%26tasks=true
> 
> Firefox- https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/foxreplace/
> 
> Internet Explorer- Unavailable :( 
> 
> If your browser isn't listed, just type in "find and replace words for _'browser name here'_", and if you have any questions feel free to ask :)


	17. Heroic Villains

Jerome gripped the cloaked man's wrist, struggling to breathe as the other held him above the ground, giving a choked out snicker as his vision began to blur, attempting and failing to kick the robed individual where it counts, the monk's thumbs pressing into his windpipe more so. 

"Do a favor for me?" Jerome choked out with a laugh, eyes watering, earning a tilted head. "Ya- ya know-- a one last- reque- request thing?" He chuckled hoarsely, vision blacking in and out, the other giving a hesitant nod. "Let me take some of my medicine?" Jerome requested as the grasp briefly loosened in order to let him speak, the older man's eyes narrowing unsurely. "It- it kinda' numbs me out- so-" 

"Death will numb you out." The robed male countered, beginning to tighten his grip back to normal. 

"Just- just lemme' have this one l-last request?" Jerome forced on the most pitiful smile he could, knowing there were going to be bruise marks on his neck. "Please?" He was beginning to feel dizzy. 

The monk pondered for a lengthy while, eventually giving a nod and releasing Jerome, watching as the boy unscrewed a jar's lid and blinking when the other abruptly splashed a dash of the golden liquid with a strange aroma on his face, letting out a furious noise while wiping the fear toxin away with the back of his sleeve, glaring daggers at Jerome and fixing to attack the other once again, yet pausing as the chemical's hallucinations almost instantly took place, eyes widening at the sight of his deceased 'brothers' as he let out a scream, Jerome hurriedly racing off while the man stumbled after him, managing to get just outside of the manor's gates before the cloaked individual finally gave up the sloppy pursuit and cowered in fear as he resorted to tripping over towards the woods, leaning against a tree while letting out incoherent noises. 

Jerome swallowed, eying the huddled up man and begrudgingly approaching him, keeping a yard or so away just to be safe, cautiously questioning, "Who's Dumas and where's Wayne?" The attacker only whimpered, causing Jerome to sigh-- this was going to take a while. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne glared up at the older man as he continued dabbing what seemed to be holy water on him in ritualistic patterns. "Detective Gordon will stop you." He spoke up, attempting to move away as the elder pressed a thumb to his cheek. 

"Gordon's missing, and a wanted man at that." Theo countered with a smirk, shrugging with mock sympathy. "Sorry." 

Wayne bit at the lead monk's hand, earning a glower as he narrowly missed. "Fine-- Alfred will stop you." 

"I'm afraid my sister is on her way to kill Alfred as we speak," Theo countered smoothly, Wayne's expression falling at that. "In fact, for all I know he's already dead." 

Wayne pursed his lips, jerking away from the elderly male trying to finish the blessings. "Selina could kick all of your asses." He snapped, heart racing-- Alfred had to be okay... and Gordon couldn't of gone bad... right..? Alfred and Gordon were fine-- they'd come save him! Theo was just spouting lies again... wasn't he..? 

"Selina?" Theo inquired, head tilting. "Ah, are you referring to- oh, how did Silver put it? That 'gutter trash' girl?" He examined the fuming Wayne carelessly. "She sounds like a risky young lady, although I doubt she'd take the chance of coming in here-- a bit too dangerous even for a child who's grown up on these rotting streets, wouldn't you agree?" 

Wayne eyed the robed monk as he dipped his fingers back into the bowl of water before returning his gaze to Theo, jaw set stubbornly. "Jerome wouldn't mind offing the lot of you." 

Theo's eyes briefly narrowed before he shook his head and gave a chuckle. "Isn't Jerome in Arkham?" 

"He's already broken out once thanks to you, maybe if he finds out what you're doing and gets pissed off enough you'll give him the right amount of motivation to break out again." Wayne spoke in an icy tone. "Either way, at least he knows how to properly take someone hostage!" 

Theo blinked as Wayne kneed the older cloaked man where it counts, eyes widening as the boy yanked away from the men holding his shoulders from either side of the chair, hands going into fists whence Wayne broke into a run, sprinting towards the exit. "Get him!" 

Wayne held his tied up wrists to his lips, biting down on the restraints and tugging on them roughly while continuing to run, letting out a sigh as his teeth did little to nothing, lowering his bounded wrists and resorting to just sprinting faster, getting to the staircase and glancing downwards as he ran, letting out a huff-- this was way too high up, and there were an unbelievable amount of stairs. 

The raven haired boy hurried down the stairs, a group of monks only a couple of yards behind him and gaining speed, jumping after the fourteen year two steps at a time, causing Wayne to gulp and attempt to jump down three steps at a time, letting out a noise as his foot missed and hit the edge of the step, cussing under his breath whence dropping forward, shielding his face with his tied up hands and yelping out a whimper as his body made contact with the concrete, tumbling down a few of the stairs with bruising force. 

"Ow..." Wayne shakily sighed, curling up as his ankle throbbed, keeping in the cowering position when hearing Theo shout at the monks to leave him be, hesitantly staring up at the approaching male that had nearly been like a father to him not at all that long ago. 

"Are you alright?" Theo crooned, kneeling next to Wayne and placing a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, earning a hesitant and shaken up nod. "Good." 

Wayne blinked, feeling Theo grab him by his throat, gripping the older man's wrists with wide eyes as the other heaved him against the wall, feet inches from the floor. "W-wait-" 

"I don't have to play nice with you anymore, Wayne," Theo interjected with a disturbingly cold stare. "I could break every bone in your body, throw you in a ring of dogs, and beat you unconscious if I wanted to as long as you're still alive by midnight." He threatened, Wayne struggling to breathe and trying to push his arm away. "So I'm being nice when I say I'm going to give you a warning-" 

"Screw you." Wayne choked out, eyes watering as his vision blurred in and out. 

Theo's jaw clenched at that, sizing Wayne up broodingly. "Okay," He sighed, tossing Wayne onto the steps with ease, earning a slight shout of pain. "You clearly need to learn some manners-" He observed, walking towards the kneeling boy staring up at him unsettled. "-I can't just have you going and trying to run off again, now can I?" 

Wayne eyed Theo as he undid his necktie, wrapping it around his knuckles. "I'm not scared of you." The fourteen year old spoke up in a trembling voice, standing up as his knees shook. 

Theo quirked a brow at the daring stance and surprising words. "Foolishness is not bravery, Wayne." 

"So I'm a fool?" Wayne challenged, forcing his gaze to not break away from Theo's. "In that case, it takes one to know one." 

Theo's chin raised disapprovingly. "You don't care for the sins your ancestors have committed, kicked the elder who was only trying to give you his blessing, and talk back to an adult so crudely-- I am not punishing you out of anything other than what you deserve." 

Wayne scoffed. "Your a nut job." 

Theo inhaled deeply, mentally reminding himself Wayne had to die at midnight rather than now. "I must admit... I'm surprised you talk about 'nut jobs' so freely considering you've spent quite a bit of time with one." 

"At least Jerome isn't complaining about shit his ancestors did decades ago." 

Theo's nose scrunched in distaste at the sass. "He's clearly rubbed off on you." 

"Yeah?" Wayne knew Theo had meant that as an insult, yet smirked. "Thank goodness it was him and not you." If Wayne was going to get murdered by this jackass he was going to take the chance to make an impression that would leave a bad taste in this killer's mouth for years. "I mean, at least he's good at being a villain-- what are you good at? Playing hero while hiding behind your sister and niece?" Jerome would've been proud of Wayne's snappiness. 

Theo had heard just about enough from this brat. "That's big talk for a child." Theo commented with eery calmness, moving his way towards the boy standing his ground. 

Wayne stared up at Theo stubbornly. "You're the childish one here-- at least I can let go of grudges." 

Theo didn't say anything for a long, long while, eventually rolling his eyes and abruptly bringing his arm up, slamming his elbow down into Wayne's shoulder and managing to make the boy let out a pained hitched gasp while falling forward. 

Wayne turned over to glare up at Theo, eyes glossing over somewhat, letting out a shout as the adult pressed his shoe against his chest menacingly, pushing into his torso just enough to shorten Wayne's air supply. 

"That red haired brat has made you rather snide-- it doesn't suit you." Theo commented, flexing his fist with the necktie wrapped around his knuckles. 

Wayne spit at Theo, causing the adult to fume as he spat, "Bug off!" 

Theo stared down at Wayne irked, lifting his foot away and reaching down to grab the boy by his shirt's collar, holding him up unimpressed. "Just because I have to sacrifice you doesn't mean I have to do it with all your limbs attached." 

Wayne yanked forward, slamming his face into Theo's, earning a groan as the other dropped him, Wayne quickly standing up and sprinting back down the stairs, only getting a few steps down before feeling Theo grab him by his upper arm and shove him against the wall, jaw hitting the hard surface as Wayne saw stars. 

"You want to leave?" Theo challenged, grabbing Wayne by his shirt and heaving him towards the balcony, holding the squirming boy over the edge. "Because by all means, if you tell me to let you go, I will." 

Wayne heard a whimper force its way out of his throat, suddenly feeling rather small, worriedly grabbing at Theo's sleeve. "Stop- please-" Oh gosh this was high... 

"Are you going to behave?" Theo questioned, earning a hurried nod and quick 'yes.' "Yes what?" 

"Yes sir." Wayne assured, no longer feeling nearly as tough several stories up, mind too filled with fear to be courageous. 

Theo studied Wayne broodingly, watching as the boy practically trembled, until finally dropping him onto the steps in front of his feet, looking down at the shaking and frankly terrified teen. "Tie him up and throw him in his cell," He turned, arms going behind his back as he walked off promptly. "And will someone find that Valeska boy? He needs to be killed off-- we can't have anyone coming in to play hero and ruining things." 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome had all the information he needed from the hallucinating robed man. "I would kill ya' buddy, but the truth is I don't like you bastards taking my things, and I'd much rather let ya' suffer." Jerome admitted bitterly, patting the terrified man on the back with clearly fake sympathy, smile resentful. 

The man intoxicated with fear gas looked up at Jerome timidly as the other began to walk away. "You-" He swallowed dryly. "Monsters can't be friends with the innocent." 

Jerome paused, glancing over his shoulder, eyes narrowing and an irritated smirk tugging at his lips. "Excuse me?" 

"Monsters can't be friends with..." The cloaked individual trailed off. "You- you- why risk saving an object? A- a possession that doesn't- possessions don't care about their owners- they- they can't." 

Jerome sighed, eyes rolling as he turned to face the other, arms crossing. "What are you babbling on about?" 

The older man gave a laugh that turned into a frightened whimper. "Good people- good people don't fancy bad people- they only use them if they can do some good with them and then- and then you're trash when your use is up." 

"I'm going to assume you're talking to one of the hallucinations-" 

"The son of Gotham protects Gotham to the death- to the midnight- tonight he dies for his home-" The man interjected with a nervous laugh. "The son of Gotham protects Gotham from everything- from chaos-" Jerome's smirk fell at that. "The son of Gotham will drive the chaos out of its streets- he loathes chaos-- he loathes the creators of chaos-" 

Jerome wasn't amused. "Are you referring to-" 

"You can't go against your nature!" The man laughed hysterically, Jerome's jaw twitching. "Why bother saving the Wayne son? You're- you're going to have to go against each other one day! Chaos and peace cannot stay side by side without one eventually trying to rid itself of the other-" 

"Ya' know what, I take that back-- I am going to kill you." Jerome informed in an uneasily smooth tone, striding towards the other calmly. 

"Your impulses will be the death of more than just me-- it'll be the death of the innocent, of the good, of the law, of the son of Gotham-" 

"Good to know." Jerome interjected with a scowl rather than grin, looking around for a suitable rock to take this delusional asshole out with. 

"Our natures are rooted inside us-- we cannot go against them without taking the seed of ourselves out and replacing it with what is not us-" 

"Oh put a sock in it." Jerome snapped, settling for kicking the rambling male in the jaw, managing to shut him up as the other fell unconscious, deciding that was good enough considering he had to get to Wayne ASAP. 

Now then... Jerome was finally going to see Theo for the first time since that little magic show incident-- since that little... betrayal. 

Honestly? Theo should be terrified-- because Jerome was a lot more pissed off now than he'd been after being stabbed with a dang knife, and that was saying something. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Where are you going?" Tabitha inquired curiously, Silver freezing in place at that. 

"Oh! Auntie!" Silver laughed anxiously, swallowing thickly. "It- it's a beautiful day for a walk, wouldn't you agree?" 

Tabitha studied her niece quizzically. "It's never a beautiful day in Gotham." 

Silver gulped, eyes averting. "I- I need some fresh air." She defended with a shrug, rubbing her upper arm while shuffling her right foot around on the floor meekly. 

Tabitha crossed her arm, chin raising. "Care if I join you?" 

Silver chewed on her lower lip-- dangit. "Of course you can! That would be lovely." 

Tabitha smirked at her forced answer, gesturing for her men to leave the room, Silver keeping her eyes on the ground, refusing to meet her aunt's eyes. "I heard that Jerome boy broke out of Arkham." 

Silver felt her stomach sink at that-- Tabitha was on to her. "Oh?" 

"What? You didn't? It's all over the news." Tabitha challenged, Silver staying quiet at that. "Poor kid's probably defenseless." 

"Probably." Silver agreed in a murmur, curling her hair around her pointer finger in an antsy fashion. 

Tabitha eyed Silver broodingly. "Ya' know, it get's boring around here sometimes-- you're more than welcome to borrow my toys," She mused, Silver hesitantly looking up at her in surprise. "Any friends of your's are, too." 

Silver's brow furrowed. "My friends?" She inquired, earning a knowing nod. "Oh!" Silver gave a taken aback smile, relief washing over her-- her aunt was being pleasantly surprising. "Thank- thank you, auntie-- that genuinely means so-" 

"Just don't touch my whip." Tabitha waved off with a shrug, walking towards Silver and ruffling her hair up. "Have a fun walk, and I wasn't able to find that butler guy-- he may come snooping around here again, so be on your guard." 

Silver waited for her aunt to leave the room before letting out a shaky sigh, giving a quiet chuckle of pleased disbelief-- that had been close... if it had been Theo that caught her sneaking out, he wouldn't of been nearly as lenient-- maybe Tabitha was softening up some? It was doubtful though, so why... No, Silver didn't have time to contemplate on this-- she needed to get out and find help; if she was lucky, Tabitha wasn't trying to trick her into screwing up... 

Tabitha made her way down to where Wayne was being held, deciding her brother could wait to be told about the butler escaping-- the butler Tabitha totally hadn't known had gone and hid in the cooler, because she totally hadn't just nonchalantly walked by said cooler with a clueless facade. 

Truth be told? Tabitha was still sore about Theo going and let Barbara get hurt, and she frankly didn't approve of the way he'd been treating Silver lately, not to mention she wasn't exactly fond of this whole 'I'm going to murder a child and become the king of Gotham because I'm bitter about the past I wasn't even a part of' charade; women Tabitha could kill if she had to, and men she could definitely go after, but kids? That seemed low-- even to Tabitha. 

Nonetheless, Theo was family, and Tabitha had already stuck with him through this much-- she couldn't back down now. 

Tabitha walked in front of Wayne's cell, gesturing for the guard to leave, staring down at the tied up boy with a frown. "Do you need anything?" She spoke up, earning a glower. "Food? Water?" The youngest Tabitha had killed was twenty-two-- this poor kid was eight years younger than that... 

Wayne glared at Tabitha before sourly rolling over on his side, back facing her. "No." 

The least Tabitha could do was make him comfortable. "I could come in and help you lay on the bed." She offered, earning silence. "That cold hard ground can't be pleasant." 

"Getting killed can't be all that pleasant either." 

Tabitha cracked a smile at the sarcasm; she'd only seen his polite side up until now-- he was definitely a lively little fellow. "Come on, don't you at least wanna' live like a king before dying?" She urged, having little to no idea if this was even remotely comforting. "Have a lobster and steak plate, some sparkling water? We have a good book that only has three copies in the world-- you could read that if you want, or if you'd rather we have a copy of this old and expensive French film-- the original one got melted in a fire... oh, don't worry, it has subtitles-" 

"No thank you." Wayne interjected annoyedly, stubbornly refusing to face her. "I just want to be left alone." 

Tabitha's expression fell. "Alright," She sighed after a few seconds of pondering, arms crossing. "Fair enough-- if you decide you want anything then just tell the guard to summon me, yeah?" No reply. "See ya' around, kid." Ah yes, good job Tabitha-- amazing words of comfort! 10/10 farewell! 

Tabitha walked away from the cell, rubbing the back of her neck and letting out a long exhale, eyes shutting. 

Well that hadn't gone well at all; maybe Tabitha just didn't have a way with children-- or maybe Wayne was a tad bit resentful about the fact Tabitha had lied to his face and was now letting her brother get ready to sacrifice him for a rather petty reason... Typical Gotham drama. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome had just turned the corner, Galavan manor only a few yards away, when none other than Silver St. Cloud stepped in his pathway. 

"You-" Jerome practically growled, eyes narrowing and teeth gritting. 

"You're going to get caught by uncle's guards if you try to just up and march through the front doors," Silver warned, hands going up defensively. "Kill me and you won't have a way in." To the point and no beating around the bush-- Silver reckoned Jerome would prefer that. 

Jerome arched a brow at that, gradually realizing just what what Silver was supposedly offering and giving a laugh. "Oh? So what, you're going to help me get inside and save Wayne out of the good in your heart?" He scoffed in disbelief. "Nice try, sweetheart, but I'm not as gullible as-" 

"We don't have time to bicker," Silver snapped, holding out a firearm and earning a taken aback stare. "Are you going to help me save Wayne or not?" 

Jerome eyed the weapon quizzically. "Where the hell did you get that?" 

"My aunt's letting me borrow it, so you'd better give it back when we're done here." Silver answered, sighing as Jerome stared at the firearm skeptically. "We need to-" 

"Remind me why I should trust you?" Jerome challenged, smirking in irritation. "All things considered I'm willing to bet this is a trap with how you, oh, ya' know, blackmailed me and tried to talk Wayne into bending backwards for you-" 

"I'm being honest, Jerome-- I don't want Wayne to die," Silver persistently assured, lowering the offered weapon to her side. "My uncle's going too far-" 

"Oh really?" 

"I'm not in the mood for sarcasm-" 

"Yeah?" Jerome snickered, taking a step forward, causing Silver to shuffle back. "Well I'm not in the mood for bullshitting minxes-" 

"I don't want to hurt you." Silver threatened, shakily holding the firearm up with both hands as her back bumped against the wall, Jerome halting. "We both want to save Wayne-" 

"My ass you want to save-"

"If I wanted you dead I would set this thing off right here and now." Silver insisted, gripping her weapon tighter. "Why would I bother luring you into a trap when I could just-" 

"Maybe you don't want to kill me off with all these people around," Jerome countered, nonetheless not moving any closer, deciding he'd like to stay alive for the time being. "Or maybe Wayne got away and you need bait to get him back." Jerome added, giving a shrug. "For all I know your dick of an uncle could want to stab me in the neck again." He laughed, arms crossing. "Frankly I could care less about why you'd want to 'sneak' me into your fortress, but I doubt we have the same intentions because there's no way in hell you give a shit about Wayne after all the manipulative B.S. you've-" 

"Says the guy that didn't see Wayne as anything more than means of entertainment only a little over a month ago." Silver spoke up coldly. 

Jerome's smirk faltered in annoyance. "Give me one good reason to believe you're not lying your ass off like you've been doing since the second we met." 

"Because Wayne's in trouble," Silver spoke knowingly, managing to get Jerome's smile to briefly fall. "And he needs help-- if you don't trust me, you'll be dead before you can get over the gates, and Wayne won't have a chance." 

Jerome contemplated on the reasoning, lips pursing into a thin line-- the last time he'd been this irked was when detective Gordon had gone and figured him out at the circus... "What's stopping me from taking you hostage and just demanding Theo let Wayne go?" 

Silver swallowed, giving a quiet and strangely weak laugh while looking towards the ground, brow crinkling as she chewed on the inside of her cheek, rubbing the back of her neck and letting out a shaky sigh. "Uncle doesn't care about anything other than sacrificing 'Gotham's son.'" She admitted hoarsely, eyes beginning to gloss up. "If Tabitha and I had to die for everything to go according to plan at midnight, he wouldn't bat an eye." 

Was Silver acting? Because she had gotten a little TOO good at pulling the pity if she was. 

Jerome's eyebrows quirked as he looked Silver over uncertainly, contemplating on his options for a few lengthy seconds before giving a sigh. "If this is a trap and I die then I'm going to make sure you come down with me." 

Silver glanced up at him, obvious hope washing over her features. "So you'll help?" 

Jerome gave a reluctant nod, holding out his hand and taking the weapon from the excited girl. "I don't really have a choice, now do I?" 

~*~*~*~ 

Theo was pissed. 

Tabitha had lost the butler, Silver was acting more and more fidgety as midnight came closer despite it still being light out, Gordon as well as Cobblepot's whereabouts were unknown, the assassin that was supposed to kill Jerome if the other happened to escape from Arkham had not been heard from, and Wayne was being a sassy little shit. 

Why couldn't Theo just kill a fourteen year old kid in peace? 

Theo walked down the hall, pondering on why it seemed as though the universe was against him-- it's not as though he was a bad guy, he was just righting a wrong! 

... Well, as far as Theo was concerned that's all he was doing. 

Theo was pulled out of his brooding when Silver turned the corner, coming to a stop as she halted in her tracks. 

"Uncle!" Silver greeted with a forced smile, causing Jerome to freeze up where he stood, staying behind the corner as Silver stood in the hallway. "What are you doing down here?" 

"I was looking for Tabitha." Theo answered, arms crossing. "Do you know where she is? The guards told me she got back half an hour ago." 

Oh. Right-- Tabitha hadn't found Alfred... she was probably avoiding Theo. "I'm not sure." Silver admitted, Jerome quietly backing towards a decorative table to hide behind. "How's Wayne doing? Can he breathe okay? The basement is awfully musky." 

Jerome took note of Silver's words-- so Wayne was in the basement? 

"He's doing fine, although we moved him to a hidden room-- we can't have police coming and finding him too easily, now can we?" Theo waved off nonchalantly, starting to walk forward again as Jerome crouched behind the table, hoping it would be a suitable enough hiding space. "I'm in a bit of a rush at the moment though, so I'm afraid we'll have to catch up later-" 

"Oh! I just remembered-- I saw Tabitha in the top floor's office!" Silver interjected, stepping in front of Theo, his eyebrows raising quizzically. "Sorry-- I've been getting prepared for the ceremony and my mind's a bit of a mess." 

Theo stared down at Silver for a long, long while, and her heart sank at his pondering stare-- he'd figured her ou- "That's understandable." He said with a smile, taking the bait. "Let me just grab a few things from my office-- I'll meet you upstairs." 

Silver knew she couldn't protest too much, not wanting her uncle to grow suspicious and instead begrudgingly giving a nod, reluctantly walking away while hoping Jerome would just stay put-- she'd come back to get him later so they could go find the room Wayne was hidden in. 

Theo strode towards his entertainment room filled with things such as a pool table and liquor cabinet along with a dart board as well as flat screen television and whatnot, deciding he just needed to take a second to unwind and relax-- the world could be stressful for a man planning murder. 

Theo had been pouring a glass of scotch when he heard a click, causing him to pause and quirk a brow before hesitantly looking over his shoulder, eyes landing on a familiar red haired teen with a firearm aimed towards him. 

"Jerome-" Theo started to greet, eying the handheld weapon cautiously. 

"Where is he?" Jerome interrogated, finger on the trigger-- he doubted he'd be able to just up and find the hidden room Theo had moved Wayne to. 

Jerome knew he probably should've just waited for Silver to see whether or not she knew where Wayne was, but he wasn't exactly the most patient guy on the planet, and he was going to find Wayne as soon as possible, so Theo had better start talking if he wanted to keep his pulse beating. 

Theo couldn't help but feel unsettled at how the usually cheeky younger male wasn't smiling. "He's safe," The older man assured, setting the glass of alcohol on the counter, hands raising defenselessly, showing he meant no harm. "He's just-" 

"Of course he's safe," Jerome scoffed, grip tightening on his firearm. "I doubt any of you freaks would want to lay a single scratch on him until the ceremony or whatever the hell you wanna' call it," He continued almost knowingly, recalling what the cloaked assassin at Wayne's manor had told him of Theo's plan. "Now answer my question-" He threatened irritatedly, Theo growing wary at how Jerome was clearly finding it difficult to not just make a bang ring out. "-where. is. he?" 

Theo swallowed dryly, hesitantly lowering his hands, earning narrowed eyes. "What are you trying to do here?" He inquired curiously, demeanor forcefully calming. "Be the knight in shining armor?" Jerome clenched his jaw at the words, Theo nearly smirking at the reaction. "I mean, I must admit-- it's a bit strange to see you going and risking your life for, well, anyone-" 

"Shut up." Jerome interjected, teeth gritting. "You've got ten seconds to tell me where you're keeping Wayne before I give this carpet a nice dash of red." 

Getting stabbed? That pissed Jerome off, it pissed him off A LOT-- but taking one of his things- no, taking Wayne away? That made him furious, and making a usually happy go lucky individual furious was a rare moment many should not try to achieve-- when someone who always smiles is scowling, it's a good sign you royally screwed up, and Theo was beginning to understand that. 

However, Theo had a silver tongue, and he knew how to get his way, as most wealthy manipulative folk did-- talking people down was a piece of cake, although Jerome was more cunning than most, so all Theo had to do was be wittier than usual. 

Anyone could be tamed-- Theo knew that, he just had to find out what precisely why Jerome bothered being here and use that against him... yet someone who displayed majorly only glee could be a bit difficult to persuade emotion-wise, but at the same time Jerome was indeed not the least bit gleeful for the time being, and while it was odd it still meant he could be manipulated, just like every other person-- and minors always were easier to bring down when it came to being cunning. 

"I'm sure we could work something out if you just tell me why you're so interested in saving this boy." Theo offered smoothly. 

"Ten." Jerome began menacingly, expression stern. 

"Is it a possession thing?" Theo guessed with a much too friendly chuckle. "Don't like people taking your toys? Because I'm not trying to steal your playthings here, Jerome-- I'm just trying to-" 

"Nine." Jerome continued in annoyance. 

"Would Wayne do this for you?" Theo challenged, earning a glare. "Oh? I'll take that as a no-" 

"Eight." Jerome interrupted haughtily. 

"Come on, Jerome-- you're bigger than this!" Theo insisted persistently. "You're supposed to be making Gotham tremble with fear by giving its people a show-- not saving some kid-" 

Jerome sank his teeth into his tongue irked. "Seven." 

"There's plenty of other rich snobby kids you could take in, but I need this one Jerome, I really do; it's nothing personal-- just business." Theo had to find a way to get through to the other. "You know what? I'll even help you find another 'Wayne' when all of this is over with!" 

Another Wayne? Yeah right. "Six." Jerome didn't want another Wayne-- he wanted HIS Wayne. 

"Is this about me stabbing you in the neck?" Theo continued to guess, trying to find what Jerome was playing at. "Because if you'll just let me explain-" 

"Five." 

"I took you in, Jerome! I saved you-" 

Jerome was ready to kill. "Four." 

Not good-- Jerome wasn't taking any bait. 

Theo desperately mentally searched for why the hell Jerome was doing this, because if it wasn't for revenge then he had little to no idea on what any other reason would be. "What? Do you actually care about the kid or something?!" Theo sarcastically laughed anxiously, running out of guesses. 

Jerome faltered at that, eyes blinking and gaze briefly averting as he swallowed thickly, weapon lowering somewhat. "I-" He cleared his throat, regaining his composure almost as quickly as he had lost it, raising his firearm up again and turning his gaze back towards Theo. "Three." 

Theo arched a taken aback brow, the right corner of his lip twitching upwards-- so that was it. "Oh Jerome," He sighed in a suddenly sympathetic tone, stepping forward and earning a cautious gaze. "You've gotten yourself into quite a mess, haven't you?" 

Theo knew precisely what to say now, and that was not at all a good thing-- not for Jerome. 

Jerome brought another hand up to grip his weapon. "Back off." He warned, suddenly feeling very, very trapped despite being the one with a firearm. 

"I knew you were a bit off your rocker, but delusional?" Theo gave a concerned frown, acting as though he actually pitied Jerome, but Jerome didn't need his damn pity- "I never would've guessed." 

"Theo, you need to shut your trap and-" Jerome hissed through clenched teeth, mind beginning to race just as quickly as his heart was beating and pulse was pulsing-- he'd let his facade down for only a mere second, but Theo had caught on, and he didn't know how to fix that. 

"I mean, honestly Jerome, do you genuinely believe you and Wayne are friends?" Theo asked almost innocently. "You're misplacing feelings of being frankly possessive as actually caring for someone, and at the most Wayne sees you as is something of value-- he's a good boy, we both know that, and he wouldn't befriend a serial killer unless it meant getting something for the good of others in return-" 

"Two." Jerome snapped, returning to his count down, backing up as Theo stepped forward again. "Don't move-" 

"Either you're using him or he's using you," Theo reasoned in a saddened voice. "I'm not saying either of you are meaning to, but-" 

Jerome couldn't listen to this-- he needed to get Theo to shut up. "No, we're-" 

"He's a plaything and you're an object," Theo spoke in the best knowing tone he could muster up, sounding more certain than ever. "You're going to get bored, and he's going to not need you anymore-- what exactly is he using you for in any case?" 

Answers. Wayne was using him for answers- no, Wayne wasn't using him. "One." Jerome threatened, weapon nearly trembling ever so slightly. "Last chance, Theo-- where is Wayne?" ... But what if Wayne was just using him for answers? That was the only reason the fourteen year old had helped him in the first place... 

Theo was winning-- he could tell. "Let's say I'm wrong," He dared to continue, beginning to subtly circle around Jerome. "Let's say Wayne does, for whatever impractical reason, care about you, and let's say you care about him-" Theo suggested nonchalantly, Jerome eying him warily. "-then what?" He questioned with a shrug. "I've already managed to get you paranoid with just a few words-- imagine what you'd do to poor Wayne if you got too suspicious of him." 

Jerome's expression fell. "I wouldn't-" 

"You're a killer, Jerome," Theo countered while putting on a saddened frown. "Can you really guarantee Wayne's safety around you?" 

Jerome's hands lowered slightly. "I-" No no no-- Theo couldn't be right... he couldn't. This wasn't fair-- things had been finally going good between them him and Wayne-- they'd been finally getting along up until Alfred kicked Jerome out, but now- 

"No matter how you look at it, you and Wayne can't be friends-- not without there being consequences." Theo came to a stop, no longer circling the rather vulnerable seventeen year old. "Either both of you are using each other, or you'll end up hurting him... you won't be able to help it-- it's just the way you're built." The older male held his arms out in a welcoming fashion. "Let me help you, Jerome-- I can take him off of your hands." 

Jerome didn't know what to do. "I don't want him to-" 

"It'll be quick and painless for him," Theo assured, Jerome furrowing his brow. "I know you want him to live, but the fact of the matter is he's wronged you, Jerome-- he's chosen Silver over you one too many times, and he's used you-- who's to say he won't do it again, much less keep doing it?" Theo had more or less won, and it was a sweet, sweet victory. "As long as he's alive he's going to keep a hold on you and keep you back-- you don't deserve that! You're Jerome Valeska-- you're meant to shine!" Theo paused, earning a wary glance. "But you can't shine with someone in your way." 

Jerome contemplated, chewing on the inside of his cheek and rubbing the back of his neck in a fidgety fashion. "No-" Theo was lying. Wayne wasn't just using him-- not anymore, just like Jerome was no longer only keeping Wayne around as a means of entertainment-- they gave a shit about each other... they had to... Theo had to be wrong... 

"Jerome," Theo sighed, obviously not about to give up. "I know I've wronged you, and while you may not believe me now, I genuinely regret it-- let me make it up to you." He offered, holding out his hand. "You'll either kill Wayne when you're through with him or suspicious of him-- you know that." He smiled warmly despite his words. "Let me kill him so you won't have to." Jerome stared up at Theo uncertainly. "Heck, you can even blame me afterwards if that'll make you feel better." 

Jerome pondered on the request for a long, long while, several seconds going by before he finally stepped back, head shaking. "I'm not going to agree to letting you kill him." 

Theo didn't falter-- he knew what Jerome was getting at. "But you're not going to save him?" 

Jerome placed his weapon neatly in his belt, unable to meet Theo's pleased eyes as he resorted to walking towards the exit, refusing to look the other in the face. "No-- I'm not." He'd run out of arguments, and Theo had managed to counter every little thing he'd said-- that had to mean Theo had to of been at least somewhat right, and Jerome needed to get out of this rather dangerous man's house to sort things out before he regretted doing, well, anything-- Theo had succeeded in messing up his focus, and now Jerome was wondering just how stable his actions were when the other had managed to get in his mind and make him question his own views so unbearably easily. 

Theo had won. 

Jerome left without another word, and for the first time in a long time he didn't feel like laughing, although he didn't quite feel like frowning either, he just felt... nothing. 

Theo didn't stop Jerome-- he was convinced he'd won, and as most rich men he had more faith in himself than rationality when it came down to it. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne, unlike Jerome, was feeling way too much as he laid on the floor, sore wrists tied behind his back with zip-ties and ankles wrapped together with a tight cloth. 

The fourteen year old boy attempted to stand up, shimmying over towards a wall and forcing his upper body to rise, letting out a huff as he fell forward, shoulder hitting said wall's cold concrete and taking a brief break before quickly continuing to gradually inch into a leaning over position, successfully straightening up to where he was fully standing and letting out a relieved yet exhausted sigh, eying his bed and setting his jaw in determination as he more or less hopped over towards the mattress, reaching its edge and staring at the bed broodingly before practically falling face first into the cushiony surface, afterwards swinging his tired legs up on the mattress with him. 

Wayne managed to roll on his back, eyes still glossy and rimmed with red from earlier, the small boy staring up at the ceiling while letting out a shaky breath before yanking upright, attempting to move his wrists from his back and instead underneath him, successfully getting them behind his legs, wincing in pain as the zip-ties dug into his wrists, biting down on his lower lip sorely while gradually moving his hands down the back of his legs and towards his feet, eventually getting his wrists out from behind his heels and falling back down on the mattress, letting out another fatigued yet relieved sigh as he held his hands up, staring at the restraints determinedly-- he was going to get out of this room. 

Wayne bit down on a zip-tie, tugging at the plastic with his teeth, letting out a grumble after a minute or two of nothing happening went by, instead untying his ankles and curling while uncurling his toes with a pleased smirk, regaining circulation in his feet before standing up to walk over towards the cell's bars, gripping said bars and pushing against them as hard as he could to no avail, the guard simply watching him as he kicked the jail door in frustration before stomping over towards his bed and sitting down, glowering at the stone wall for a long while, narrowed eyes glancing at the opening door as Theo strode inside after several minutes of seething. 

"Hello Wayne." Theo greeted with a smug smile, causing Wayne to avert his gaze and glare at the floor. "I said-" 

"Good evening, Mr. Galavan." Wayne bit out begrudgingly, deciding he'd rather not have the other go and 'teach him a few manners' again, not exactly wanting to be dangled off a railing several stories high. 

"If I undo your wrists will you behave?" Theo questioned, pleased with Wayne's reply. 

Wayne's lips pursed into a thin line. "Yes." 

"Yes?" Theo inquired, Wayne's jaw clenching. 

"Yes sir." Wayne grumbled in annoyance. 

Theo gave a smirk of approval. "Good." He reached out, Wayne hesitantly holding up his hands, the boy keeping his eyes averted. "I saw Jerome." Theo informed nonchalantly. 

Wayne blinked, staring up at the other taken aback. "What?" 

Theo reached into his pocket, gripping Wayne's wrist. "I'm afraid he's having doubts about your little... 'friendship', if you'd even call it that." 

Wayne frowned in confusion. "What are you-" 

"We had a little talk," Theo explained, taking out a pair of scissors. "Apparently, your just means of entertainment to him-- a bit like a toy I suppose," He mused, angling said scissors under the zip-ties around Wayne's wrists. "And as far as he's concerned you're just using him for answers." 

Wayne would've scoffed if he wasn't afraid of getting a 'disciplinary' slap. "You're-" He paused, deciding it'd be wise to not accuse his kidnapper of lying. "I thoroughly believe your mistaken." Jerome was going to save Wayne-- he cared about Wayne, and he wasn't going to let Theo hurt him; Wayne knew Jerome wouldn't believe what Theo was saying that he did for a second... 

"Am I?" Theo challenged, snipping the restraints in half. "I mean, I'm fairly sure I'm not forgetting anything-- we had a one on one talk, and while he was upset at first, he eventually remembered what I'd done for him and came around," Theo smiled much too kindly, pushing the scissors neatly back into his belt and dropping the zip ties into his pocket. "I used to be like a father figure to him, you know-- it wasn't that difficult getting him to listen to my side of the story-" He shrugged, hands going behind his back. "-sort of like how it wasn't too hard to get you on my side-- I'm sure you can both relate to just wanting a father again, right? Or at least a good one in any case." 

Wayne's expression fell-- he knew he'd been naïve, but Jerome- Jerome wasn't gullible... Jerome would've seen through Theo's fatherly charade... wouldn't he of? Wait- Theo was a damn liar-- he was probably just B.S.ing Wayne with this tragic fatherly shit; Jerome hated Theo, and he wouldn't let him get away with this. 

"I respectfully disagree with your assumptions of Jerome." Wayne spoke through clenched teeth, having half a mind to say something that would make a sailor blush, yet deciding to stick to the respectful resort to be safe. 

Theo's eyes narrowed, chin raising. "Are you implying that I'm a liar?" 

Wayne's teeth gritted. "I'm implying that you're misunderstanding whatever Jerome said to you." 

"Would you like to know what he said?" Theo offered, meeting Wayne's glare with a cocky smirk. "Because I believe his exact words were 'You used me for fame, Wayne used me for answers, and I used him for entertainment-- I don't care about the kiddo, I care about having fun, and he just happens to be fun, but I'm still not about to risk my life for all the fun in the world much less anyone that isn't me, so there's no need for you to worry about me pulling any tricks for a plaything, buddy; I plan to settle things with you one day, but not until I can take you on without the chance of being killed by one of your damn lackeys considering I would find you dying a whole lot more funny than me.' although I suppose I could be mistaken." Theo lied after his fake little recitation, apparently knowing Jerome's speech patterns quite well considering Wayne's brow furrowed at that, and the poor boy began to look so utterly betrayed in disbelief that it was exquisitely triumphant for the amused Theo. 

Wayne couldn't tell whether or not Theo was lying, and while he wanted to believe he was he had to admit... he'd gotten Jerome down to a tee, and the truth was Wayne still hadn't been able to quite figure Jerome out-- Jerome was mysterious, and unpredictable, and strange, and he was a... he was a criminally insane killer... 

Jerome had stuck with Wayne through so much though-- Wayne could have doubts, but he needed to remember Jerome had taken quite a few blows for him on multiple occasions. 

"Would you mind letting me get some rest?" Wayne requested, deciding he didn't need to hear anything else Theo had to say, not wanting to question Jerome. 

"I'm only trying to help you accept your fate in a healthy manner, Wayne," Theo assured, earning a quizzical look. "Alfred is probably dead after being stabbed twice, Gordon is a wanted criminal and has most likely become too corrupt to care for you-- for the innocent, that Selina girl clearly only looks out for herself with how many times she's obviously left you in harm's way, you know the GCPD is full of bad cops who don't bother saving people, your boss AKA Cobblepot only looks out for himself the same way most bosses do when it comes down to it, and Jerome doesn't care about you-- he isn't going to risk coming here-- no one is." Theo didn't ease up on his brutal wording even when it was directed towards a mere kid. "You're alone, and pretty soon you'll be reunited with your parents-- this is a time to rejoice and find comfort!" 

That had hit home-- hard. 

Wayne felt anger for a few lengthy seconds-- anger towards Tabitha for supposedly killing Alfred, towards Gordon for giving in and becoming a criminal, towards Selina for only looking out for herself-- towards Oswald for acting as though he had a soft spot for Wayne and then allowing this to occur, towards the GCPD for going against what they'd promised to do as law enforcers... towards Jerome for betraying him... 

And then, Wayne briefly felt nothing before suddenly realizing maybe this wasn't so bad-- maybe this would be okay... maybe this would at least have one good thing come out of it-- he'd have his family again if there did turn out to be another side. 

Maybe Wayne should just accept his fate and be happy with what he'd get, because maybe- maybe Theo was right. 

~*~*~*~ 

"You're not going to help me?" Selina scoffed in disbelief. 

Jerome rolled his eyes, smirking in irritation. "I gave you a way to get in-- I'm pretty sure that's helping you." He scoffed, referring to the passage Silver had snuck him into. 

"But you're just gonna' walk away and let me try to find people to help me save Wayne by myself?" Selina inquired, earning silence as Jerome looked towards the side, refusing to meet her eyes. "What? Are you too chickenshit to help?" 

"It's complicated." Jerome shrugged off, turning away from the seething girl and starting to walk away, sighing as she ran in front of him, blocking off his path. "Listen, you seem like a nice gal, okay?" He laughed strained while running a shaky hand through his hair, looking oddly... would weak be the word..? "You really do, and I'd rather not kill ya', so I'm going to ask you politely to just move-" 

"Silver obviously didn't say something to you considering she apparently wants to save Wayne, so who tried to talk you out of helping him?" Selina interrogated knowingly, Jerome swallowing dryly at that. "Was it her aunt? Uncle?" 

"Move-" 

"So it was Theo?" Selina persisted, noting the way Jerome's muscles tensed in agitation at the mention of the uncle. "I don't know what he said to you, but you need to step back and take a second to decide who's side you're on, because you're sure as hell not on his-" 

Jerome gave a forced chuckle, refraining from shoving Selina out of his pathway. "Oh? So you're saying I'm on your side? Because I could care less about-" 

"Yeah, I get it, you could give less of a shit about me, nice to know." Selina interjected haughtily. "I don't care about whether or not you like me, but I know you care about Wayne, and he obviously cares about you, which means you and I are on the same side, carrot top-- we're on Wayne's side, whether you like it or not." 

Jerome's jaw set annoyedly. "Listen up, sweet-cakes," He began, stepping forward, causing Selina to instinctively shuffle back in a defensive manner. "I'm not on your side-" Jerome took a second step, Selina crossing her arms and shrinking into herself. "-I'm not on Gordon's side-' He stepped forward again, Selina puffing her chest out that time. "-I'm not on Theo's side-" Another step. "-and I'm not on Wayne's side." Selina forced herself to not move as she stared up at him bravely, standing her ground. "So how about you move your ass out of the way before I-" 

"You don't scare me." Selina stated, Jerome blinking as she stepped towards him despite the little space in between them, forcing him to step back. "I've had to deal with a lot of monsters in my life, and while you're a jackass, you're not one of them." She continued, chin raising as she stood on the tips of her toes, meeting Jerome's menacing glare. "If you wanna' walk away because the same jerk that tried to kill you managed to get you to reckon believing him was a good idea, then by all means, walk out of here with your tail between your legs." Selina tapped her fingers against Jerome's chest almost painfully, it being more of a jab than anything. "But don't you dare act like Wayne doesn't give a shit about you, and don't even try to act like there's a chance you don't care about him, because I am not going to stand by and let you act like looking out for yourself is the same as refusing to look out for anyone else." She spoke, Jerome blinking taken aback. "You can't just turn away from your friends- your family- when things get rough-- you can't just stop fighting and give up because the man trying to hurt your damn friend manages to give you a few doubts," Selina swallowed thickly, taking a step back and averting her gaze, hands going into fists. "You have to fight for the people close to you-- you have to accept things aren't going to always be easy when it comes to looking out for anyone other than yourself, and you have to realize that good things don't come easily." She forced her gaze to return to Jerome's, eyes glossed over as she glowered at him. "Wayne's in trouble, and he needs our help-- you can't just sit there and suddenly decide you're not friends anymore just because being his friend at the moment might be hard!" 

Jerome quirked a brow, eying over the fuming girl, dozens of silent seconds stretching by before Jerome finally gave a smirk, crossing his arms and letting out a sigh while lowering his head and shutting his eyes, chuckling briefly. "Fine." He had to admit... this chick wasn't so bad. 

Selina blinked back the brimming water threatening to spill from her eyes. "Fine?" That was all she got after everything she'd just gone and said? Yeesh... then again, at least she'd seemingly gotten through to Jerome. 

Jerome gave a nod, oddly nonchalantly walking around Selina as she straightened herself out, regaining her composure while Jerome said, "We'll meet you at the passageway into Theo's place tonight." 

Selina arched a brow, turning to face Jerome as he continued walking away. "We?" 

Jerome looked over his shoulder, flashing a grin her direction. "I assume we need some backup?" He elaborated with a wink, giving a chuckle at Selina's questioning stare, turning his gaze forward and away from her-- he still didn't exactly like this gal, and she continued to seem a bit too annoying for his taste, not to mention she wasn't all that fun, but... she had a voice of reason, and while she and he definitely weren't friends she at least was a good enough friend for Wayne to where Jerome actually didn't mind the raven haired boy and curly haired girl being acquainted with one another, so... perhaps Jerome could at least learn to tolerate her as an acquaintance. 

Who knows? Maybe he'd even end up considering her a friend-- he'd never reckoned he'd consider Wayne one, and they'd hated each other too at first. 

Although Jerome wouldn't exactly be able to ever consider Selina a friend if one or both of them wound up dead thanks to Theo, so he'd have to make sure he got good backup... really, REALLY good backup. 

~*~*~*~ 

"You shouldn't give up on Jerome," Silver spoke up after a few minutes of lingering silence. "He cares about you, Wayne-- he'll come... I know he will." 

Wayne glanced at her with a semi-glare. "Is there a reason you're suddenly so fond of him?" 

Silver visibly winced at the sour tone, Wayne's words laced with venom. "I never hated him," She answered truthfully, both her and his gaze averted from one another's. "Honestly I- I really adored the both of you," She admitted softly, swallowing thickly. "You were both so kind to me before-" 

"Before we found out you were manipulating us?" Wayne snapped, Silver slumping somewhat at that. "If you really expect me to just believe every little thing you say after all the lies you've-" 

"I don't expect you to give me anything, not even the benefit of the doubt." Silver sighed, being genuine. "You don't have to believe me, and it's okay if you don't, but-" Her eyes were glossing up. "But you and Jerome were like family to me compared to uncle, and if I wasn't so scared of him-" 

"Don't." Wayne interjected bitterly, swallowing dryly. 

Silver respectfully nodded, sniffling slightly, trying to compose herself the best she could. "I- I just want you to know that I- I never wanted him to get beat up, or for you to get brought here; I was just trying to push him away so he'd be safe, and I've been trying to find a way to get you out of this and I-" Silver let out a choked sob, burying her face in her hands. "I'm sorry-" She apologized sincerely. "I'm so, so sorry..." 

Wayne felt his own eyes gloss over and begin to rim with red. "Jerome's not coming, so let's just change the subject, alright?" He requested hoarsely, the silence coming back as both found neither knew what to say to the other. 

Silver was becoming easier to understand, and it was sweet she was trying to reassure Wayne, it really was, but he didn't want to be assured of things Theo had convinced him weren't going to happen-- Jerome wouldn't come for him, and that was that. 

It was better for Wayne to accept Jerome had given up on him than act like a wishful fool-- no one was coming for him, and he needed to make sure he didn't get his hopes up. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Hey, we should meet up sometime." Jerome grumbled to himself, stumbling through the cornfield. "Oh yeah, sure, where do you wanna' meet up?" He added in a huff, getting whacked in the face by a corn stock as he tried to push through the starch. "Let's just meet up at the creepy-ass cornfield." Jerome scoffed under his breath, tripping forward and grabbing at another stock, it doing little to nothing as it simply went down with him. "Okay sure, that's not weird at all." He muttered irked, standing up and brushing himself off. "Screw you, Jonathan; could've given me a number, or an address, but no, you give me the location of a damn farm that's several acres wide-- I'd totally be able to just up and find you here-" 

"Talking to yourself?" A voice mused, Jerome scrambling back and falling on his ass, glaring up at the smirking Jonathan sitting on the arm of a scarecrow. 

"How long have you been watching me look for you?" Jerome grumbled, giving a bitter smile as he stood back up. 

"Oh, a while now." Jonathan admitted with a shrug, hopping down from the scarecrow and tilting his head. "I assume you're not just here for a friendly chat?" 

"Wow, you're good at that! Can you always read people so easily? I'm surprised you're able to tell-" 

"Cut the flattery and get to the point." 

Jerome gave a cheeky smile. "Can't blame me for trying." He chuckled, arms crossing. "I need help-" 

"Obviously." 

"For the sake of our 'friendship' I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." Jerome informed, arms crossings. "Listen-- I need help getting Wayne-" 

"Your friend?" Jonathan inquired curiously. 

"Yes, just- just let me finish." Jerome requested with a tight smile, clearly on edge. "I need help rescuing Wayne, okay? Long story short, he's been taken hostage and has more men than I can take on-- you in?" 

"Ah yes, because I am more than ready to just march into danger with a guy I only met last night all to save his friend I haven't even met without this being beneficial to me in any way whatsoever." 

"Ease up on the sarcasm, will ya'?" Jerome snickered in annoyance. "Besides, there's benefits that come with helping out if you-" 

"Benefits don't include me getting to keep my life." 

Jerome's eyes rolled, smiling lips growing tired. "I'm not threatening you here-- have a little faith, will ya'?" Jerome was growing impatient and irritated-- the longer he was out here the longer Wayne was trapped in there. "If you help out then you have a chance to use your fear gas on several people, alright? You can observe their different reactions or whatever-" 

"I'm assuming these people are trained brawlers or guards of some sort?" Jonathan inquired knowingly. "If I wanted to make observations I could just intoxicate a room of more defenseless people without the risk of losing my life to them." 

Dangit. "Okay, fine-- Wayne's rich, which means you'll be able to get over a million dollars in cash as a reward for saving him." 

"I could just break into a bank with my fear toxins and steal money from there." Jonathan countered carelessly, obviously bored. 

For the love of- "Fair enough," Jerome sighed, biting down on his lower lip broodingly. "You want anyone dead? I'll kill whoever and as many people as you want if you just-" 

"I could kill whoever I wanted with an overdosage of my fear chemicals." 

Jerome gave a stressed out laugh, feeling a migraine begin to come on. "Come on, how about I just owe you a favor? A friend helping out a friend kinda' thing-" 

"We're not friends." Jonathan informed, not rudely just a-matter-of-factly. 

"Ouch-- that hurt, it really did." Jerome scoffed in sarcasm. 

"If those offers are the best you can do then you're wasting my time, which means we're done here." Jonathan stated, turning his back towards Jerome and starting to walk away. 

"Wait-" Jerome pleaded, managing to get Jonathan to halt. "-just-" He didn't know what to do much less say. "-wait." He sighed, pondering for a few lengthy seconds, Jonathan rolling his eyes and beginning to walk off again. "You can have a home!" Jerome offered, feeling a tinge of hope rise as Jonathan stopped in his tracks again, a frankly desperate smile pulling at Jerome's lips. "You can stay at Wayne's mansion if you help, alright?" 

Jonathan was quiet for a long, long while. "I could just go back to my grandmother's home or intoxicate a family and stay at their place, or even find a vacant house." 

Jonathan didn't walk away, nonetheless, which was a good sign Jerome had hit the jackpot. "Didn't you say that old hag ratted you out to the police?" He persisted with a laugh. "Besides, people would notice if a family went missing, and the cops would eventually come to find you there and them intoxicated-- you'd go back to Arkham!" He persisted, Jonathan staying quiet. "Not to mention a house doesn't stay vacant forever-- a real estate agent would find you, and that sure would as hell would be awkward." 

Jonathan paused. "I could just stay on the streets like I've been doing." 

Jerome hesitated at that. "Don't you want a nice place to stay though?" He questioned despite knowing the answer. "Winter's coming up-- why sleep on the icy ground when you could sleep in a warm bed? Why dig through garbage to get food when you could have a cooked meal? You could die of pneumonia, or starving, or even getting shanked out there-- don't you want to have a safe place to stay?" 

Jonathan contemplated on Jerome's words, several seconds going by until he finally turned around. "I assume you'll need more backup than just me?" He sighed, deciding he'd need a mask if he was going to do this and climbing back up onto the scarecrow, reaching for the sack which was supposed to be its face. 

Jerome grinned, brow arching. "Who do you have in mind?" 

~*~*~*~ 

"You want me to do what?" Harvey Dent questioned, unsure as to whether or not he'd heard Jonathan right, eying Jerome unsettled. 

"Remind me why we're asking a district attorney to help us?" Jerome chuckled through nervous clenched teeth, meeting Dent's disapproving stare with a smirk. 

"Because Harvey took up my case for free and he's the only guy that comes to mind who I'm willing to trust." Jonathan answered with a stern tone. 

"Jonathan, listen-" Dent sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes closing. "-I know I told you I'd look out for you when you got out of Arkham, and you're a good kid, you really are, but I meant when you got out of Arkham legally, and by 'look out for you' I didn't mean help you with a hostage situation that the police should handle." 

"You're the one that told me the law in this city is corrupt." Jonathan countered with a frown. "You said you cared about the youth of Gotham, and unless you call the GCPD on us we're going to go save this Wayne kid, so you can either let us do that since the police obviously aren't going to do their job and save him fast enough, or you can come with us and actually practice what you teach by going against the law to provide real justice." 

"But don't try to call the GCPD on us," Jerome piped up. "Or we'll have to, ya' know, kill you." 

Dent stared at the pair of determined boys, eventually letting out a long exhale and giving a reluctant nod. "Let me grab my coat." He couldn't just let a pair of kids go and get themselves killed, and he couldn't very well just call the GCPD on them considering he knew that would decrease the chances of this Wayne boy getting rescued dramatically with how the GCPD liked to take their sweet time with everything, including hostage situations. 

When it came down to it, Dent was not a man of the law-- he was a man of justice, and now was clearly not the time to contemplate... it was the time to act. 

~*~*~* 

"Who's this nine year old?" Jerome scoffed, glancing down at the red haired girl. 

Ivy glared up at him, stepping forward in irritation. "I'm twelve!" 

"This is Ivy," Selina answered, walking in between the pair of gingers to block them off from one another. "She's going with you." 

"Is this a babysitting convention or a rescue mission?" Jonathan questioned unamused. 

Ivy pursed her lips, reaching into her satchel and digging around, holding up a glass orb with some sort of green gas and plant leaves inside of it, reluctantly stuffing it back into her bag as Selina caught her wrist and gave her a look before she could throw it. 

"We have, like, ten of us that will be coming in after you guys-- you need at least four people." Selina explained, arms crossing. "Plus Nygma and Victor along with his Zsaszettes will even it out... more or less." 

"Remind me why we don't all just go in together?" Dent questioned confused. 

"I may possibly be avoiding Jim," Nygma answered with a sheepish chuckle, adjusting his glasses meekly. "I, uh- I'd rather not get questioned by him about the fact I was letting Mr. Cobblepot stay at my place..." He added in a mutter. "I wouldn't be here if Oswald hadn't asked me to be." He admitted uncertainly. "Then again, what good's being free if you don't take a few risks?" Nygma chuckled, it being unclear as to whether he was trying to convince him or the others of such. 

"Penguin told me to go with him," Victor explained, gesturing towards Jerome. "We look out for our own, and me and the Zsaszettes stick together." 

"I hate cops." Ivy stated simply. 

"Ditto." Jerome snickered with a cheeky shrug, Jonathan nodding in agreement while putting on the mask he'd gotten from the scarecrow. 

"Don't worry, we'll come in after you guys," Selina assured, noting Dent's frown. "Gordon and Bullock just won't have time to question you-- if you meet up beforehand things are bound to get heated, and we'll lose valuable time." 

Dent sighed, already beginning to regret his decision in agreeing to do this perhaps a bit too easily. "Alright." 

Selina glanced at Victor. "You got the stuff?" 

Victor nodded, popping open the trunk of his car, several weapons and various armor being revealed as he offered, "Have at it." 

Jerome grinned pleasantly surprised. "Ooh, I could've sworn Christmas wasn't until a few more weeks!" He laughed quite giddily. 

Each individual got a vest to put on, Jerome taking a machete along with a butcher knife and cleaver plus a bazooka to even things out while Dent unsurely grabbed a pair of small matching firearms, Jonathan already having needles of his fear toxins strapped onto his wrists and spray bottles on his belt while Ivy's peculiar little orb-shaped weapons were in her satchel, Nygma settling for a golden staph, Victor and the Zsaszettes already had their weapons of choice. 

This was going to be fun. 

~*~*~*~ 

The nine individuals watched quietly as Selina gently opened the trap door, observing the way she quietly hopped outside rather impressed, brows raising whence she gracefully leapt onto Theo's guard with almost absolute silence, the group crawling out into the opening as she effortlessly brought him down before hopping up and brushing her hands off. "Go; I can buy you a twelve minute start, so you'd better get up those stairs damn fast-- unless you want to waste time arguing about why you kids should stay out of it by Jim while have you adults are questioned by Bullock." 

"Stairs?" Ivy sighed, Selina giving an apologetic shrug. 

The group started to walk off, Selina grabbing Jerome by his upper arm, earning a taken aback glance from the smirking teenager. "Jerome..." She started, and for a minute it looked like she was about to actually hug him. "... just save Wayne, alright?" She huffed, slugging Jerome's shoulder instead, causing him to scoff and rub his upper arm; he knew she'd probably meant that as a sign of affection, but she could really pack a punch. 

"Sure." Jerome snickered, giving a wave and running after his group. 

"Jerome," Selina called out again, making him come to a halt once more, glancing at her impatiently. "Just-" Selina let out a sigh, rubbing her upper arm as she looked towards the floor. "Just be safe, asshole." 

Jerome couldn't help but to grin at that-- had he grown on Selina a bit? "You too, sweet-cheeks." 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne pulled away from the fake kiss he'd given Silver, earning a soft, "Thank you.", the poor girl looking about ready to cry. 

Wayne nodded, quietly saying, "Silver?" She met his eyes at that, waiting patiently for him to continue. "Tell Jerome-" Wayne swallowed dryly. "Tell Jerome I forgive him." He didn't want Jerome to feel guilty-- it was- it was understandable that the seventeen year old didn't want to risk saving him... that was- that was okay. 

Silver stared at Wayne with a frown-- Wayne didn't deserve this, and neither did Jerome. "I will." Neither of the boys shouldn't have to go through this-- it was absolutely awful. "I'm sorry-" 

"It's okay." Wayne assured, flashing a smile as he allowed Theo to usher him away, Silver's gut dropping as a stray droplet of water rolled down Wayne's cheek despite his reassuring smile. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Didn't one of your Zsaszettes get killed?" Nygma panted out of breath, referring to how Victor had three girls by his side, two old members and one new, the group of villains (and one non-villain AKA Dent) staying close to the wall, not wanting to be spotted if Gordon and the others came inside before they were at the top floor. 

Victor glanced back at him unamused, he and the Zsaszettes being in the front, Jerome right behind him along with Ivy and then Jonathan, Dent after them while Nygma was in the very back. 

"The Zsaszettes are a trio," Victor answered, not breathing hard in the least, acting as though this was a stroll in the park. "We're holding tryouts for a new member." He elaborated, the sounds of voices downstairs coming into place-- Gordon and the others were here... nonetheless, they were already three quarters of the way up and only had a bit more to go. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne was being tied up when the eight villains and one district attorney barged inside. 

"Ladies and gentlemen," Jerome greeted, Wayne staring at him in frankly shock, Silver feeling a relieved yet taken aback smile spread onto her lips as he stepped forward, holding up his bazooka and flashing an award winning smile, even Tabitha allowing an impressed and amused smirk to just barely form on her mouth. "Good evening." 

Theo seethed, jaw clenching in disbelief, hands going into fists. "How-" His eyes slid shut as he took in a deep breath, exhaling sharply. "You know what? I don't even want to know; just kill these bastards-- now." 

Jerome smirked, swinging the bazooka's strap over his shoulder and instead holding up his machete, not wanting to risk, well, blowing up Wayne. "I'm afraid you and I have a score to settle." 

Theo's eyes narrowed. "I'm afraid you're not worth my time." He resorted, gesturing for the cloaked men to attack. 

Jerome let a wicked smile spread on his lips, gripping his machete readily. "Who's ready to have some fun?" 

"If I wanted to have fun I would've skipped out on this and read a good book." Jonathan grumbled, grabbing two bottles of fear toxin from his belt and spraying it into the faces of a pair of men that came at them. 

Jerome snickered, swinging his machete at one of the robed men, eyebrows quirking as the other dodged it with ease, resorting to jabbing it at him and missing once again, giving a huff before slicing towards him multiple times, only managing to get air, letting out a laugh and wincing as the older one kicked his wrist with ease while using full force, knocking the machete out of Jerome's hand effortlessly as a bruise began to form on said wrist, Jerome rubbing the sore area with a smirk-- this was going to be difficult. 

The cloaked individual crouched into a stance, ready to attack, Jerome jolting as a bang rang out, looking over his shoulder at the somewhat freaking out Dent as his attacker fell over while clutching his torso. 

"Thanks." Jerome chuckled, taking the cleaver out of his belt. 

Dent nodded, holding up the pair of firearms in each shaking hand, timidly glancing around alertly. "No problem." 

Jerome turned around just as another robed male came running at him, attempting to dodge his punch and failing, the adult's fist coming into contact with the teen's jaw, Jerome at least managing to land a swipe against the other's arm, scoffing as the gash didn't even seem to make the other falter-- could these guys not feel pain or something..? 

The monk's fist swung at Jerome's throat, the red haired boy barely managing to dodge the punch, accidentally tripping over his own feet with how fiercely his body had instinctively jerked to the side to get away, landing on his back and cussing under his breath as the taller man stomped on his arm, forcing him to let the cleaver go before bringing his foot over Jerome's chest, about to stomp down yet falling forward as Nygma stabbed his staph at him from behind, Jerome rolling out of the way and staring up at the cheeky riddle-loving man relieved, the dark haired male clearly waiting to be praised. 

"Nice job." Jerome snickered, taking ahold the staph as the other pulled him up with such. "Hey, aren't you the guy that-" 

"Almost did the autopsy on you?" Nygma chimed, nodding in confirmation. "I have the power to mend what is broken, I am only of worth when genuine, and I'm something which only requires one word to be spoken-- what am I?" 

Jerome's eyebrows arched-- was this a riddle? In- in the middle of a damn battle? "I don't-" 

"An apology." Nygma answered with a pleased grin. "Sorry!" 

"It's-" Jerome didn't have time to finish, Nygma going off towards another man in robes. "-fine." 

"Look out!" Ivy shouted, Jerome blinking and heeding the warning, glancing to his right while yanking his butcher knife out from his belt as a cloaked male grabbed him by his throat, holding him off the ground and beginning to squeeze right as Jerome stabbed his wrist, forcing the man to let go. 

Jerome landed on his feet, ramming the blade into the man's hip, smile dropping in disbelief as the other easily shoved the teenager away while pulling the weapon out of himself, tossing it to the side while Jerome sighed, "You've gotta' be kidding me..." 

The robed male grabbed Jerome by his throat again as the other tried and failed to back away, heaving him back off the ground and once again starting to squeeze, Jerome wincing as the bruises- from the assassin that had done this earlier at Wayne's manor when he showed up there after breaking out of Arkham- throbbed painfully. 

Ivy leapt onto the cloaked man's back despite him being several feet taller than her, biting down onto the cork keeping her glass orb sealed and yanking it off with her teeth, spitting it to the side while bringing the container with green gas escaping from it up to the monk's nose as he attempted to shake her off, causing him to let out a choked noise and drop to his knees, letting go of Jerome at that. 

Ivy hopped off of the man, stuffing the opened orb only containing leaves rather than gas back into her satchel before pulling another one filled with green gas out, Jerome not even having time to thank her as she ran off to go help out Victor. 

Jerome really needed to actually kill someone off rather than having to get his ass saved for a fourth time. 

"A little help?" Jonathan called out, Jerome directing his attention towards the masked boy being held down by a man in robes, causing Jerome to grab his butcher knife laying on the ground before sprinting over towards the other, finally managing to get a good kill in as his blade disappeared into the attacker's upper back on his right side, Jonathan freeing one of his hands and sinking the syringe held against his finger with restraints against the man's neck for good measure. 

Jerome gave a cocky grin, pulling the cloaked male off of Jonathan, earning a grumble. "What was that?" Jerome teased with a cheeky smirk. 

"Thank you!" Jonathan snapped, standing up on his own while refusing to take Jerome's offered hand. 

"You're welcome." Jerome hummed pleased, taking note Victor and the Zsaszettes were doing just fine, sighing whence seeing there still wasn't a clear pathway to where Wayne was being held and going back to, well, stabbing. 

The brawl lasted a mere seven minutes overall, a few black eyes and busted lips being given to the lesser-villains and district attorney while a handful of men in robes were killed off or critically injured-- but then the more skilled fighters, such as Theo, Tabitha, and the elder along with a few others decided to step in. 

Theo was fueled with rage, the elder was surprisingly agile for his age, and while Tabitha was clearly going easy on them she was still too much to handle. 

"I'm going to kill you for good this time." Theo stated, staring Jerome down. 

Jerome let out a breathless chuckle, holding his bleeding upper arm as he met the other's glare with a smirk. "I'd like to see you try." 

"Stop!" Wayne abruptly shouted, and surprisingly enough Theo did stop walking towards the injured Jerome. "Please stop-" Wayne practically begged-- Jerome along with the others were alive, but they were wounded, and they didn't stand a chance-- not against Theo, not against the elder, and not even against a merciful Tabitha. 

Theo stared over his shoulder at Wayne broodingly, and Silver- who had been watching just as helplessly as Wayne from the sidelines, took her chance. "Let them live, uncle," She pleaded, earning narrowed eyes from Theo. "If you want them to suffer then let them watch Wayne die." She had to keep them alive-- if one of them could manage to break free after being captured then maybe, just maybe, they'd be able to save Wayne. 

Theo was actually quite... quite pleased at his niece's suggestion despite not understanding her motives, nonetheless countering, "I want Wayne to suffer more than them, but I must admit I'm impressed with your-" 

"Then kill them after," Silver persisted, not knowing what else could have even the slightest chance of keeping everyone alive-- one of them was bound to be able to break away and save the others, right..? "Let Wayne die knowing he can't save them." She needed to come up with a plan to at least help break them loose before Wayne was sacrificed... 

Theo's eyebrows raised, pondering on Silver's words for a good while before eventually giving a nod. "Take them to the surveillance room-- they can watch from there," He instructed, Wayne struggling against his restraints as Jerome tried to run at Theo, the seventeen year old being held back by a pair of robed men. "I don't want them managing to break out in here and ruining everything-- they need to be as far away from this area as possible." Silver cussed under her breath at that. "And move the dead somewhere else; we can't have our deceased in the same room as the one we're sacrificing-- that would be in poor taste." 

"Jerome!" Wayne shouted, the ropes too tight as he desperately tried to squirm out of them. 

"Get off of me-" Jerome practically growled, attempting to yank out of the men's holds to no avail. 

"Actually..." Theo began, an idea coming into place. "... keep Jerome here for a while." 

Wayne didn't like the sound of that. "What-" His heart sank, eyes widening as Theo took off his necktie, squirming around more so when seeing him wrap said necktie around his knuckles. "No! Leave him alone!" Theo gestured for the men to shove Jerome on his knees, neck cracking from side to side as the usually smirking boy scowled up at him. "Theo, please, stop- just-" Wayne pleaded, Silver feeling like she was going to be sick. 

"You don't mind, do you?" Theo mused, kneeling in front of the glowering Jerome. "I mean, you've gotten beaten up for the kiddo before, haven't you?" Jerome ran his tongue over the cut on his lip before spitting red at the mocking adult, causing Theo's eyes to close and his jaw to clench. "You and Wayne both need to learn some proper manners." 

Theo's fist collided with Jerome's jaw, and oh hells-- that hurt, that really, really hurt... Theo was a lot stronger than he looked. 

Jerome's ears rang, vision blurring somewhat, a grunt leaving his throat as Theo swung at the other side of his jaw, the teen's jawline throbbing. 

"Don't-" Wayne persisted, Silver having to look away as Theo swung at Jerome again. "I'll sign the papers! I'll do anything, okay? Please just-" Wayne visibly winced as Theo gave Jerome a punch to the cheek. "Stop it!" 

Theo couldn't help but feel accomplished as Wayne's voice was already hoarse and successfully desperate. "I'm assuming you're wishing you'd just left your toy here?" Theo guessed, clearly pleased with himself as he ruffled up Jerome's hair. 

Jerome swallowed thickly, glancing up at the glossy eyed Wayne and realizing he wasn't going to be able to do it-- he couldn't save him... not on his own. 

So Jerome did the next best thing: he stared up at Theo, looked him in the eye, gave a bitter smirk to show he hadn't broken him down in the least, and gave a satisfying, "Fuck you." 

Theo's smug little smile fell, lips thinning out into a line as he gestured for his men to release Jerome, waiting for them to step away before kneeing Jerome in the torso, eyes narrowing at the pained laugh the other gave-- why was Jerome laughing? He should be pleading for his life. 

"Jerome, run!" Wayne shouted, water brimming in his eyes as Theo grabbed Jerome by his hair and shoved him onto the floor, having to look away as the older man placed his shoe against the teenager's jaw menacingly. 

"Why are you laughing?" Theo questioned as Jerome only snickered, moving his foot from his cheek to his chest, kicking the wind out of him. 

"You call this a beat down?" Jerome chuckled sourly, cracking a grin as he stared up at the furious man. "Your ancestors would be disappointed." 

What a little- "You're one to talk," Theo scoffed, kicking Jerome again. "You can't even stand up." A second kick. "Can't do anything other than smile." Another kick. "Can't fight." And another one. "Can't even save Wayne!" He leaned over, grabbing Jerome by his shirt and lifting the smirking boy off the floor somewhat. "You've lost, Valeska." 

"That's enough." A feminine voice warned, Theo blinking at that and letting Jerome drop to the floor, turning to face his sister taken aback. 

"Tabitha-" Theo started, his eyebrows arching. 

"That's enough." Tabitha repeated sternly-- beating up on a kid? Theo was getting low... too low. 

Theo's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?" 

Tabitha stepped forward, meeting his threatening glower daringly. "I said that's enough." 

Theo glared down at her, looking about ready to take a swing at her as well- "She's right." The leader of the cloaked men spoke up. "We should begin the ceremony." 

Theo blinked, straightening up at that. "Yes, of course." He paused, nose scrunching as he stared down at Wayne in disapproval."Throw Valeska in with the others." 

Jerome felt himself get heaved up by a pair of the robed men, growing rather dizzy as he limped towards the door, glancing over at the watery eyed Wayne and giving an assuring smile. "Everything will be fine." He promised, because supposedly lying was the least he could do for the frightened boy for the time being. 

Jerome had promised to look out for Wayne, and now he couldn't even do that. 

~*~*~*~ 

Gordon and them had, thankfully, gotten there only minutes after Jerome had been thrown into the surveillance room with the others, managing to fire down the remaining men in cloaks with ease. 

Wayne eventually pulled away from Alfred's hug after being untied, staring up at his guardian and swallowing dryly. "We have to go get the others." 

Alfred's eyebrows raised. "Others?" 

"Jerome and- and Ivy and- and a few others had come to save me a few minutes before you had-" Wayne explained shakily, still regaining himself. 

"Jerome?" Alfred questioned with a scoff. "I am not about to let you just waltz off and go looking for that bloody looney-" 

"He tried to save me." Wayne interjected in disbelief, stepping back and staring up at his butler with a frown. 

"Are you sure?" Alfred questioned, clearly figuring Wayne had probably gone and somehow actually misread Jerome's intentions. 

"Yeah, pretty sure." Wayne scoffed sarcastically, too frustrated that Alfred was really asking such a thing when Jerome had gone and gotten himself beat up for him, and again at that, to mind his sour tone. 

Alfred stared at Wayne broodingly, a sigh leaving his lips. "Then detective Gordon can go find him, but we're getting you out of here right now-" 

"I'm not leaving without Jerome." Wayne objected, stepping back determinedly. 

"Like hell you're not." Alfred snapped, still on edge from the fact that Wayne would've been killed if they were had arrived even minutes later. "I am your guardian, and when I say we're leaving, then we're leaving." He insisted sternly, grabbing Wayne's upper arm. 

"You're my butler, and when I say I'm going to stay and help Jerome, then I'm going to stay and help Jerome." Wayne protested stubbornly. "Let go of me-" 

"I've had just about enough of your sass, Master Wayne-" Alfred started, blinking as Selina rammed against his arm with her body, forcing him to release the boy. "Hey!" 

"Come on!" Selina beckoned, grabbing Wayne's hand and sprinting towards the door, kicking it open before looking from left to right. "Where's the surveillance room?" 

"I- I don't-" Wayne started, Selina giving an irritated sigh and running right, pulling Wayne with her as Alfred and Bullock jogged after them. 

The pair of minors turned the corner, one of Theo's guards halting and backing up unsurely, reaching for his belt and giving a grunt as Selina let go of Wayne's hand and leapt at the guard, using her body weight to force him down. 

"Where's the surveillance room?!" Selina interrogated, leg menacingly around his throat. 

Wayne stared at the curly haired girl, almost not finding this sort of thing surprising anymore-- almost. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Master B!" Alfred shouted in annoyance, he and Bullock finally nearly catching up to the pair of trouble makers, only a few yards away from them. 

Selina pulled a pair of bobby-pins out of her hair, sticking them into the lock and starting to pick it, glancing over at the two panting adults as they looked down at the sheepish Wayne unamused. 

"I don't like your kid." Bullock breathed, leaning over and placing his hands on his knees. 

Alfred gave a shrug, still catching his breath. "Fair enough I suppose-- all things considered." 

Wayne rubbed his upper arm meekly, perking up at the sound of a click, looking over at Selina hopefully. "Did you-" 

"No-" Selina began, standing up and backing away, gulping as a towering robed man exited through the door, holding a cussing Jerome by his upper arm. "-he did." 

The cloaked individual pointed at Wayne, gesturing him forward and earning a glare from Alfred as the butler said, "Now you wait just a minute here-" 

"Let him go!" Wayne demanded, sprinting forward and kicking the man right in the shin, expression falling as he didn't even flinch. 

"Wayne, go-" Jerome started, wincing as the cloaked male shoved him to the side, body slamming against the wall, grabbing the backing up Wayne by his shirt and heaving him over his shoulder. 

"Fire at me and you fire at the boy." The man in robes warned as Alfred, Bullock, and Selina held up their weapons in warning, ignoring the feeling of Wayne's fists hitting his back as he kicked at his torso. "Put those down-" He warned, resorting to holding the struggling Wayne in front of him by his shoulders like a shield. "-now." 

Bullock was the first to eventually lay his firearm down, Alfred reluctantly following after a long stretch of time, Selina hesitating before begrudgingly doing the same. 

"Don't-" Wayne started, wincing as the other gripped his shoulders harder. 

"All of your weapons." The robed man warned, Selina, Alfred, and Bullock reluctantly reaching into their belts and tossing their spare firearms on the ground. "Throw them out the window." 

"Oh come on-" Bullock protested irritatedly. 

"Out the window." The tall man insisted, watching as each person reluctantly did as told before throwing the squirming Wayne back over his shoulder and beginning to walk off. 

"Hey!" Jerome shouted, running at the muscular man and getting effortlessly shoved to the side, shoulder hitting the wall again and legs temporarily giving out from the blow, the gash on his upper arm throbbing as he stood back up, contemplating on what to do as Selina ran at the man and got backhanded to the floor, the robed man kicking Alfred away before punching Bullock unconscious with ease. 

Selina tried to sit up as the room seemed to spin, too dizzy to stand, Alfred having to clutch the stab wound on his stomach as he felt it reopen, unable to move much at all without risking critical damage, causing Jerome to sigh and force himself to stand, running into the surveillance room with the eight tied up group members, grabbing his bazooka that had been carelessly placed to the side and deciding he didn't exactly have time to release them at the time considering the robed man was already almost to the roof from the looks of it on the camera screens-- fine, Jerome could do this on his own. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Hey!" Jerome called out, jogging out onto the roof right as the cloaked man got halfway to the edge, causing him to pause and glance at the seventeen year old. "You and me, right here right now." Jerome challenged, earning a quizzical stare. "You want to throw Wayne off the roof? Fine, but how about we take a few swings at each other first?" He had to get Wayne away from the other-- had to convince him to let Wayne go, just for a minute. "Unless you're too chickenshit and scared a teenager would be able to kick your ass?" Jerome taunted, giving a smirk. "I doubt your ancestors would be very proud." 

The man in robes paused broodingly, sizing Jerome and his challenge up quizzically, eventually tossing the fourteen year old onto the ground like a doll, cracking his knuckles while saying, "Lay your weapon to the side." 

Jerome grinned-- easy as pie. "Wayne, over here, now." He instructed, gripping the bazooka's strap and lifting it off of him, giving a half assed apologetic smirk while holding his weapon up as the fourteen year old scrambled off the floor, ignoring the pain in his hips from being thrown into the ground and doing as directed, hurriedly sprinting towards Jerome, dodging the cloaked man's grabbed at him as the older man realized what Jerome was doing, Wayne running behind the taller teen and flinching as a boom went off, Jerome letting out a string of cuss words as his shoulder got jerked back from the blast and nearly dislocated, and yeah-- he probably should've realized firing a freaking bazooka tended to pack quite a bit of power. 

Wayne gripped onto Jerome's shirt, feeling the other wrap his arms around him to shield the smaller boy from the pieces of concrete flying everywhere, the pair hesitantly pulling away from one another and looking towards where the robed male had been running at them from, only a large charred hole left in his place. 

Jerome felt a wide smile spread onto his lips-- that was awesome! He was totally keeping his bazooka- oh-- oh Wayne was crying-- shit. 

"Hey-" Jerome started, giving an assuring grin, blinking as Wayne's legs more or less gave out, feeling the boy cling onto him to stay upright, a choked out sob leaving Wayne's lips as Jerome hesitantly wrapped his arms back around the crying kiddo. "Are you hurt?" 

"No-" Wayne managed to get out, burying his face against Jerome's chest. "I-" He swallowed thickly, breathing shakily as more salty water brimmed out of his eyes. "Theo said Alfred was dead and Selina- Selina had disappeared and that- that Gordon had gone rogue and-" He was too overwhelmed to care he was practically sobbing. "He- he said you weren't coming so I just- I didn't-" Wayne felt Jerome instinctively tighten his grasp. "Just- thank you-" He resorted choked up before repeating, "Thank you-" 

Jerome ignored the way his bruises burned as Wayne clung onto him, simply pulling the younger closer, not knowing what to say in the least as he felt his smile fall, brow furrowing as he let Wayne nuzzle against him. "It's okay." He muttered unsurely, rubbing soothing circles against the sobbing boy's back. "It's alright." 

A long while went by, Jerome waiting for Wayne to calm down, blinking when realizing Alfred and Selina were standing at the other end of the roof, clearing his throat and stepping away from the raven haired boy at the sight of his butler. 

Harvey stumbled out onto the roof, squinting his eyes as a migraine lingered, still recovering from getting knocked out. "What did I miss?" He paused. "Ya' know what? You guys seem to have this under control-- I've gotta' go meet up with Barnes." 

~*~*~*~ 

"You said that if I helped you I'd be staying at a mansion." Jonathan huffed as he and Jerome walked down the sidewalk, looking for a place to sleep. 

"Yeah, well, I hadn't considered the butler." Jerome snapped, not smiling in the least, hands shoved into his pockets. 

"You owe me a favor-" 

"Yeah yeah, you can test out your fear gas on me or some shit for all I care." Jerome waved off, earning a grumble. "Oh stop throwing such a hissy-" He blinked as a limo pulled up next to them, brow quirking. "-fit." 

Alfred rolled down the window, staring at the pair of villains broodingly before giving a sigh. "Well get in." They stared at him taken aback, glancing at one another uncertainly. "Do you want to catch a cold? By all means, you're more than welcome to stay out here-" 

Jonathan quickly opened the door, hurriedly getting inside to the heated vehicle, Jerome hesitantly following. 

"Welcome to the club." Selina greeted, Ivy giving a wave as Wayne stayed asleep curled up on the seat, Jerome feeling a smile tug back at his lips. 

Alfred sighed-- he'd never reckoned he'd be one to take little criminals in, but the fact of the matter was these little criminals had helped save Wayne, and he couldn't very well just let them go back to the streets after doing so. 

Besides these little villains had... character-- Alfred would give them that much. 

~*~*~*~ 

"We have plenty of bedrooms, Wayne," Alfred sighed as the boy continued to pull several mattresses into his bedroom. "They could just sleep in their own-" 

"My room's big enough." Wayne assured, earning a roll of the eyes. 

"Can I sleep by the window?" Ivy requested, digging into her satchel and taking out seven boxes, opening them up before pulling out seven little plants in tiny pots, setting them up on the windowsill. 

"Sure." Wayne answered, pulling the last mattress into the room. 

"I want the mattress with the green sheets though." Ivy murmured, causing Wayne to sigh and grab her mattress, tugging it over the others and towards the window. "How long do we get to stay here?" 

"As long as you want." Wayne answered assuringly. 

"Well-" Alfred started to object, earning a look from Wayne and letting out a long exhale. "Yes, as long as you'd like." 

"I'm staying here until I'm eighteen." Ivy decided, Alfred letting out a begrudging laugh and wondering what he'd gone and gotten himself into as he ran a hand through his hair at that. "Can I have a glass of water?" 

"Of course-" Alfred started, brow arching as Wayne hopped off of his mattress. 

"I'll get it!" Wayne offered, jogging out of the room to go to the kitchen. 

Alfred crossed his arms, looking over the four young criminals broodingly-- at least it seemed like Wayne was going to learn some responsibility. 

Wayne ran back up to the room, handing Ivy the glass of water, crawling back into his bed with the amused and smirking Jerome as Ivy poured said water over her plants. 

"Right, well, I'd say it's about time to get some shut eye." Alfred finally piped up, turning off the light. "Don't stay up too late now." When Alfred had told Wayne to be normal and have a sleepover like most kids his age he hadn't meant like this, although it was better than nothing. 

Everyone went quiet when Alfred closed the door, silence lingering for a long while before Ivy said, "I can't sleep without a nightlight." 

Wayne let out a tired sigh-- he hadn't gotten any sleep in more than twenty-four hours. "Okay." He murmured, reluctantly starting to sit up. 

"Yes you can." Selina scoffed with a smirk. "Stop trying to get Wayne to do things for you, Ivy." She scolded with a knowing snicker, earning a grumble from the younger girl. 

Wayne laid back down, curling up next to Jerome and shutting his eyes, feeling the other instinctively wrap an arm around him. 

Right when Wayne started to drift off he heard Jonathan murmur, "Why does Jerome get to sleep with Wayne?" 

Silence-- and then, "What, do you wanna' sleep with Wayne?" Selina scoffed teasingly, Jerome snickering at that. 

"That's not what I meant." Jonathan snapped defensively. 

"Oh, do tell-- what exactly did you mean?" Jerome chuckled amused, Wayne nudging him at that and muttering for him to lay off of the poor sixteen year old despite smirking at his jest. 

"I meant why do you get to sleep on the big bed?" Jonathan huffed annoyedly. 

"Because I've known him longer." Jerome answered cockily. 

"I've known him longest." Selina resorted cheekily. 

"Yeah, well, Wayne would be way too shy to sleep with a gal without the risk of freaking out, so-" Jerome teased, earning a scoff from Wayne. 

"Screw you." Wayne grumbled half asleep, earning a laugh from the ginger. 

"I hear talking." Alfred's muffled voice called from outside, causing everyone to go quiet and finally shut their eyes. 

They were safe. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome cracked open a groggy eye, realizing Wayne was sitting upright and breathing shakily, causing the older male to mutter, "You okay?" 

Wayne nodded, arms wrapped around himself unsettled. "Yeah." 

The corners of Jerome's lips tugged downwards as he sat up at that. "You sure?" He questioned in a yawn. 

Wayne gave another nod before explaining, "Bad dream." 

Jerome frowned, looking the other over concerned, noting how Wayne refused to meet his gaze. "Wanna' talk about it?" 

Wayne shook his head. "No, it was just-" He paused, swallowing dryly. "It was just about Theo." 

Jerome nodded, still not exactly knowing how to comfort one. "You need anything? I could go grab you a glass of water." 

"No thanks." Wayne waved off, hugging his knees. "Can I-" He paused uncertainly. "Can I ask you something?" 

"Yeah?" 

Wayne hesitated, forcing himself to meet Jerome's eyes. "Why did you risk saving me?" Jerome's brow raised, his lips parting to answer. "I mean-" Wayne bit down on his lower lip. "I know it's because you care about me, but why-" He sighed, still shaken up from his nightmare. "Why do you care about me?" 

Jerome's lips shut at that, pondering on Wayne's question unsurely. "I, uh-" Why precisely did he care about Wayne? 

"Like-" Wayne was tired, and knew he shouldn't talk when he was tired, because he said senseless things that he'd probably regret. "Like, do you care about me because I'm like a possession to you or something? When- when did you even decide you wanted to look out for me?" 

Jerome's grin faltered at that, not having the slightest clue on what to say for a long while. "Your not a toy," He eventually began to answer. "I don't see you as a plaything-- not anymore." He elaborated, Wayne looking to the side at that. "I mean, yeah, I'm admittedly perhaps kinda'... a tiny bit... possessive of you or whatever when it comes to other people-- ya' know, just a little though-" That was an understatement. "-but that doesn't mean I'm going to act like I own you or something-- you're not an object." Wayne stayed quiet. "I don't-" Jerome sighed. "Listen, I don't keep you around just for shits and giggles-- if I just wanted to spend time with you to have fun, I wouldn't of tried to save you tonight, because dealing with Theo? Yeah, not fun." Jerome continued to explain, unsure as to whether or not Wayne knew what he was saying in the least-- heck, not even Jerome quite knew what he was saying. "I'm not sure when or why you grew on me, alright? It just sorta'... happened, and the next thing I knew I had a soft spot for you." Jerome admitted with a shrug, Wayne unsurely meeting his gaze again. "I'm going to look out for you, okay? I give a shit about you, and I'm not going to let Theo go and pull this schtick again." 

Wayne studied Jerome broodingly, contemplating on his words before finally giving a nod and hesitantly scooting back next to him, laying down with the other again while murmuring, "Sorry for waking you up." 

Jerome nodded, securing arm hooking around Wayne's hip. "You can wake me up if you have another nightmare, alright?" He offered, not earning a reply. "Alright?" Wayne nodded, curling closer to the older teen, tense muscles relaxing. 

Wayne let out a trembling breath, Jerome not realizing the smaller boy's eyes were glossing up-- Theo had messed Wayne up, as kidnapping a fourteen year old before beating him up to teach him a lesson and then convincing him his friends as well as family were dead and didn't care about him as well as attempting to sacrifice him would typically do. 

It was going to take Wayne a long, long time to get over tonight's events...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who sketched up some batjokes and even an awesome Jonathan? This person!  
> http://quellines-stories.tumblr.com/post/134358424121/romanfuckboy-i-really-love-quellines-stories  
> Go check out their tumblr and give them a follow-- their art is super rad and they're uber sweet!


	18. Thanksgiving Bonus

If Alfred was going to hide away four criminals in Master Wayne's mansion then they were going to at least help out around the manor a bit. 

"Jerome, can you stuff the turkey?" Alfred requested, pulling a pair of pies out of the oven. 

The seventeen year old red haired boy, who had been standing to the side with the other three law breakers and Wayne while waiting for a job, nodded. "Sure." He answered with a grin, walking over to help out. 

"Jonathan, would you mind putting some whip cream on the pies and icing the cakes?" Alfred added, grabbing the plates and silver wear. 

Jonathan chewed on his lower lip while tugging at the cuffs of his sleeves somewhat anxiously. "Alright..." He hated social gatherings, and wasn't looking forward to having dinner with several guests that were supposed to be coming by any minute now. 

"Ivy, love, skin the vegetables, will you?" Alfred said while placing a pot of water on the oven to boil; out of all of the illegal kids he was the most fond of Ivy-- she seemed to be the least deadly, and despite being a bit mischievous and feisty seemed to be a relatively sweet girl. 

"... Okay..." Ivy hesitantly muttered after a moment, arms crossing and eyes averting. 

"If you want to help, Master Wayne, then you can look in the cook book on page- oh what was it..? twelve-- page twelve, and grab the ingredients from there." 

Wayne nodded at that, going towards the cookbook next to Jerome and flipping through its pages. "Condensed milk..?" What the hell was condensed milk? 

"It's on the top shelf." Alfred informed, hearing the doorbell ring and sighing. "Bloody bastards, getting here early." He grumbled, brushing off the dough on his palms over the sink. 

"Bloody bastards." Ivy agreed with a nod. 

"Oi, watch the language." Alfred scolded before turning his attention towards Selina. "Set the table." He instructed, tone much more stern with her than it had been with the others-- he disliked her and Jerome the most, although he still preferred her a teeny bit more than the jokester. 

Selina gave a glare to the butler as he walked out of the kitchen to go answer the door, grumbling some rather unkind words under her breath and grabbing the fancy plates, giving a scoff whence examining them. "Are these designs made with gold?" 

"Yes." Wayne answered while trying to reach the top shelf, it more than a foot out of his reach, causing him to huff and climb up onto the counter. 

Jerome stared at the turkey unsurely, lifting its wing slightly with his pointer finger and thumb before letting it go and picking up a piece of stuffing, examining it confused. "How the hell do you stuff a turkey..?" He murmured with a pondering smirk, blinking whence looking beside him and seeing Wayne with his knees on the counter. "Hey, careful-" 

Wayne had started to stand up on said countertop, yet froze in place at the feeling of Jerome's hands gripping his hips to make sure he didn't slip and fall. "What are you-" Wayne started as his cheeks heated up embarrassedly, instinctively jerking away, causing his foot to- well, slip, and his body to, well... fall, despite Jerome's assistance. 

"Making sure you don't-" Jerome began, blinking as Wayne fell back, the seventeen year old letting go while holding his arms out and shuffling back ever so slightly on reaction so he was able to catch Wayne from underneath the smaller boy's arms to make sure he didn't hit the floor, arms wrapping around Wayne's torso from behind as the other fell against him. "You okay?" Jerome chuckled, a pink faced Wayne leaning his back against the other's chest for support. 

Wayne quickly straightened up, yanking out of Jerome's grasp and refusing to look him in the eye as he resorted to stubbornly reaching for the top cabinet once more, blushing in embarrassment as he snapped, "I'm fine." 

Jerome's brow quirked-- Wayne's behavior around him had been a bit... off lately. "You sure?" He mused with a smirk, helpfully reaching towards the cabinet and pulling it open. "What do you need?" 

The red cheeked smaller boy tried to ignore the way he was practically just barely trapped between Jerome and the counter, he really did. "The condensed milk." Wayne answered rather shyly, knowing Jerome wasn't trying to act in a flirtatious manner and knowing he was just over contemplating ever little thing the older teen did, but all of this unintentional touchy-feely stuff was seriously beginning to make him almost have a real crush on Jerome, and Wayne did not need to have to deal with such complicated feelings. 

Jerome grabbed the ingredient, pulling back and holding it out, a flustered Wayne grabbing it as he mumbled a word of thanks while quickly returning his attention to the cookbook, Jerome eying him curiously before shrugging the other's odd behavior off and going back to finding out how the hell to stuff a turkey. 

"You kids want some help?" A familiar voice offered, Wayne and Jerome both going wide eyed while snapping their gazes towards a smiling Lee. 

Jerome and Wayne glanced at one another unsurely before returning their gaze towards the dark haired woman, Jerome giving a nervous laugh. "Is Jimbo here with you, or-" 

"Hey, the food smells-" Yet another familiar voice started, none other than James Gordon walking into the kitchen and stopping in his tracks at the sight of a red haired maniac, curly haired cat burglar, brown haired public terrorizer, and ginger haired illegal plant grower. "-great..." His eyes landed on Wayne somewhat concerned, parting his lips to say something. 

"I'm not gonna' take him hostage if that's what you're freaking out about." Jerome piped up with a smirk, glancing at a kitchen knife on the counter before looking back towards the cop and taking note of the weapon, ready to grab it if needed. 

Jim narrowed his eyes as the butler walked into the kitchen. "Alfred, what-" 

"Ah yes, well, I just reckoned you ought to know we've made the decision to take in a few criminals as a thanks for assisting you with saving Master B, and frankly I don't quite feel like keeping this a secret with how I'd rather not be sent to jail, and I'm sure Wayne would rather not be sent to foster care." Alfred stated bluntly, not beating around the bush-- if he was going to hide out a bunch of public nemesis's then he was at least going to do it without risking Wayne being taken away due to what a jury would most likely see as bad parenting skills, since most guardians wouldn't let their children hang out with murderers and thieves; Alfred was going to at least have one lawful individual on his side if anything, and if Jim decided to not be on their side, then Alfred was not going to take the chance of keeping the law breakers there. 

"Alfred-" Wayne said through clenched teeth, the four criminals looking ready to run. 

Jim stared at the older man in disbelief. "Alfred, I can't just let four criminals go, and I definitely can't look the other way if one of them's a serial-" 

"Oh come on, they're minors, Jim." Lee piped up, the policeman turning his attention towards her somewhat taken aback. "Besides, they helped you save Wayne-" 

"One right doesn't take away every wrong." Jim interjected, obviously not going to argue about this-- was Lee seriously even trying to debate something this serious? 

"Well you let Penguin off the rope, and he's done a lot worst than these little guys have." Lee persisted nonetheless, arms crossing and chin inclining-- she could be a bit of rebel, sure, but this sort of thing was surprising, even for Lee. 

... Then again, Jim knew Lee always had a soft spot for the criminally insane as well as kids, and a combination of the two? That was a recipe for her adoration. 

Jim forced on a smile. "Honey, do you not remember that that's the 'little guy'-" He began, pointing towards Jerome. "-that took you along with Wayne and a whole charity event hostage with Barbara's help, attacked the GCPD while you were there, killed his parents, tried to set a whole school bus of high schoolers on fire, murdered Essen, killed off a janitor in Arkham to escape, and murdered one of his own group members for stealing his line-" 

"Hey, it was a good line." Jerome jokingly defended with a cheeky grin while giving a shrug, Wayne elbowing the snickering taller teen while giving an unamused glare at the jesting male. 

"Stay out of this." Jim warned, stepping forward towards the trickster irritatedly, Lee moving in front of him to block him off from Jerome. "Lee-" 

"His mother was abusive and everything else you named off he did under Theo's command." Lee countered. 

"I don't care, murder is still murder, and it doesn't matter who ordered him to do everything else-- he still did it." Jim continued to argue. 

"Jim-" Lee scolded, earning a scoff from the detective-- was she really scolding him? He was just doing his job and upholding the damn law! 

"Well he still killed that janitor, and from the sounds of it that wasn't self defense, and it sure as hell wasn't under Theo's command." Jim interrupted stubbornly. 

Wayne's brow furrowed, staring up at Jerome. "Wait, what janitor?" 

Shit-- Wayne was going to be pissed if he found out Jerome had killed off a so called 'innocent' janitor to escape Arkham. "Uh-" The older boy started with an anxious laugh. 

"Oh? He didn't tell you?" Jim questioned, Jerome giving him a glare despite the smirk remaining on his lips. "Jerome murdered a janitor the night he got taken to Arkham." 

Alfred's brow arched. "He did what now?" 

"You what?!" Wayne questioned, Jerome giving a sheepish grin. 

"I-" Jerome started to defend, hands going up defensively. 

"The janitor was one of those copycats," Jonathan spoke up, all eyes turning towards the usually quiet boy. "Ya' know, the ones that have been going around Gotham acting like Jerome." He elaborated, rubbing his upper arm in an antsy fashion while looking towards the floor, growing uncomfortable with all the staring. "The janitor said he was going to kill his wife and kid for Jerome, and Jerome killed him off before he could leave to, um... to do so, or whatever..." He was being honest-- awkward, but honest... even if he was leaving out the part where Jerome probably would've killed off the janitor even if he hadn't said that about his wife and kid. 

Lee's arms crossed almost smugly. "See?" 

Jim studied the truthful Jonathan broodingly before letting out a long exhale and looking back towards Lee. "Even if they're minors, and even if they've done some good, the law still-" 

"If you always listened to the law then Oswald wouldn't be free, and if Oswald had been locked up then you would've never been able to save Wayne-- the right way isn't always the lawful way." Lee reminded knowingly. "Besides, I'm not talking about the law here, I'm talking about justice, and I know you're more interested in that than anything; stop sounding like Barnes and give the kids a break-- it's Thanksgiving." She met Jim's contemplating gaze. "If they break the law again, then sure, bring them in, but you should at least be as lenient towards some kids as you've been to a crime lord." Lee added, referring to Penguin once more. 

Jim eyed Lee quizzically, glancing towards the anxious kids staring up at him with damn puppy eyes (other than Jerome of course, who was more or less mentally challenging Jim to try something), before giving a sigh and nodding. "Fine, but if any of you break the law, whether it be trespassing within an inch of private property or stealing a penny, you're going to be in jail quicker than you can say sorry-- got it?" The four law breakers nodded quickly. "And Wayne?" Jim added, the orphan hesitantly meeting his stern gaze. "You need to make some normal friends-- friends who aren't wanted criminals." 

Wayne gave a sheepish laugh that was more forced than anything, realizing Jim wasn't joking and clearing his throat at that, nodding assuringly. 

Lee ushered Jim out of the kitchen before Jerome could make a sarcastic remark and get the brown haired man to change his mind, the thick tension that someone could've cut through with a knife dissolving and the five kids relaxing-- this was going to be a wild thanksgiving. 

Everyone went back to helping around the kitchen, Alfred telling Wayne to knead the dough after the ready-to-help boy finishing with gathering up all the ingredients for a dessert cinnamon-pizza dish, the butler going off to the store to buy a few spices and whatnot that they were running low on and exiting the kitchen door right as Wayne realized he had no idea what kneading dough even meant-- don't judge him, he was young... okay, no, he was just spoiled and this was honestly the first time he'd set foot in the kitchen to help cook. Hell, he tried to make cereal one time and even screwed that up by putting the milk in first and then having it splatter everywhere when pouring the cereal in afterwards. 

"Selina?" Wayne piped up, staring at the dough uncertainly, poking it broodingly. 

"Huh?" Selina questioned through a mouthful of sweet potatoes, earning a look from the fourteen year old boy. "There's, like, three bowls of this stuff, okay? I only took a bite." 

Wayne's eyes rolled. "Cats knead stuff, right?" 

Selina's brow arched. "Yeah..?" 

"What does kneading mean?" Wayne murmured, earning a snort of laughter from the girl and glowering at her. 

"You're such a princess." Selina teased, earning an even stronger glare. 

"Have you ever even cooked before?" Ivy inquired, not meaning to be insulting, genuinely just curious. 

"Oh yes, Wayne's a fantastic cook," Jerome mused with a smirk, Wayne giving him a look. "I remember when he first helped me escape from the GCPD he went home to make a PBJ sandwich and nearly made me choke to death with how much peanut butter-" 

"It wasn't that bad." Wayne interjected haughtily, earning a snicker from the seventeen year old. 

"You basically just massage the dough to knead it, Wayne." Jonathan informed, carefully decorating an amber shaded cake with small candy leaves. 

"Thank you, Jonathan, you're a very good friend." Wayne grumbled bitterly, Selina and Jerome cracking a grin. 

"Aw come on, Wayne, we're just messing around some." Jerome chuckled, Wayne shuffling away from him as he playfully elbowed the other. 

Wayne started to say a very snappy comeback, yet instead paused as an idea came into place. 

The fourteen year old stared down at the dough, at first ready to simply dismiss the little impulsive plan that had popped up in his mind, however instead actually finding himself contemplating on testing it out, chewing on his lower lip unsurely while doing a casual glance around to scan over the working others before hesitantly placing his hands on the dough. 

"Like this?" Wayne asked in the most clueless tone he could muster up, purposefully kneading the dough wrong, just barely patting it down with gentle palms. 

Jerome glanced down at the dough. "Tougher." 

Wayne nodded, wondering if he should really be doing this as he 'accidentally' tore the dough in half, earning a snicker from Jerome, yet instead of getting upset at said snicker looking up at Jerome innocently. "Can you show me?" 

Jerome nodded, bringing his hands away from the turkey stuffing and going to rinse them off before moving back next to Wayne, gesturing him out of the way and molding the dough back together. "You just have to squeeze it like this, yeah?" Jerome explained, hands gently gripping the dough and carefully shifting it around. 

Wayne probably should've backed down, but he'd already started this, and he was stubborn-- Wayne never started something without trying to finish it, and he did that to a fault sometimes. 

"Okay." Wayne said while moving back in front of the dough, hands oh so easily squeezing the dough too firmly, clumping it together. 

Jerome smirked, not realizing Wayne was doing this on purpose and believing the other was naturally just a bad cook. "Like this." He elaborated, stepping behind Wayne and placing his hands over the smaller one's, arms going around the other to do so. 

Wayne felt his cheeks heat up shyly-- well, it had worked. "Oh." Ah yes, brilliant response Wayne! Why didn't he go and act on impulses like that more often so he could go and embarrassedly regret it like he was clearly already doing? "Okay." Another brilliant reply! 

"Got it?" Jerome questioned, moving Wayne's hands under his, earning a stiff nod. 

Wayne visibly relaxed as Jerome's torso pulled away from his back, refusing to look the taller one's way when he moved back beside him due to the shade of red overtaking the raven haired boy's face, instead focusing on kneading the dough, ignoring the way Jonathan was studying him from the side quizzically, hoping the sixteen year old boy hadn't caught onto Wayne's poor attempt at being suave. 

"Are you okay?" Jerome questioned, noticing the way Wayne's hands were shaking somewhat as he fixed the dough. 

Crap. Wayne nodded quickly, giving a slightly high pitched, "Mhm!", voice cracking. "Fever." He lied. 

"Why are you cooking if you have a fever?" Selina scoffed, scooping up another spoonful of sweet potatoes. "You're gonna' get germs over the food and get us all sick." 

"Oh thanks Selina, glad to know you care so much about me being sick." Wayne scoffed defensively, Jonathan smirking at him knowingly. "And stop eating all the sweet potatoes!" 

"Stop being a baby, Ivy and I had to deal with having fevers on the streets." Selina snapped, Jerome snickering at that. "And don't worry, they're not that good." She waved off carelessly, taking another bite of the orange food. 

"You wouldn't be eating all of them if they weren't-" 

"I'm taking one for the team." Selina insisted sarcastically, Jerome chuckling as Wayne glared at her. 

"If Wayne has a fervor you should go draw a cold bath for him, Jerome," Jonathan piped up before anymore childish arguing could be said. "You know-- take off some of the heat and whatnot." 

Wayne went wide eyed, Jonathan giving him a knowing glance as Jerome said, "What? Come on, Wayne's not that bad-- he knows how to turn on a faucet." 

"Wayne, are you feeling nauseous? Getting any cold chills? Having white flashes? Feeling the shakes every few minutes?" Jonathan inquired with an almost impishly serious expression, Wayne narrowing his eyes at that. 

"No." Wayne answered through clenched teeth, not about to let Jonathan get Jerome to do... whatever it was he was trying to get him to do. 

Jonathan paused, putting the icing down and turning to face Wayne with a concerned expression. "No?" Oh great- "You're not experiencing any normal symptoms... I'm afraid this may be serious." 

"What?" Selina questioned worriedly, Wayne attempting to figure out what Jonathan was playing at. 

"No, it's not 'serious'-- I just have a slight temperature." Wayne assured, Jonathan approaching him broodingly. "What-" 

"Your glands aren't swollen... they're tumescent." Jonathan informed while pressing the pads of his fingers under Wayne's jawline, Wayne slapping his hands away from his throat. 

"What's that?" Ivy asked confused. 

"It's just another fancy word for-" Wayne started, glowering at Jonathan as the brunet gripped his wrist to check his pulse. 

"Don't worry, this isn't deadly or anything along the lines of such, although I'm afraid you'll need to keep someone around you at all times-- you have an indisposition." 

Wayne was regretting faking being sick. "Indisposition is just another word for-" 

"Malady? Yes, yes it is." Jonathan confirmed, Wayne glaring daggers at him. 

Wayne felt a migraine begin to come on. "Which is just a fancy word for-" 

"Malady is a condition which makes its host faint at random; it's relatively harmless, although I'm afraid those with it have a chance of blacking out when going up the stairs or are near a surface with a sharp corner, and it's best for someone to be around them to be sure they don't accidentally fall over and hurt themselves." Jonathan interrupted, Wayne pursing his lips. 

"No, it's not, malady just means-" Wayne persisted, arms crossing. 

"When did you become a doctor?" Jerome snickered, nonetheless looking Wayne up and down somewhat concerned. 

"I've had the same thing he's had is all." Jonathan waved off with a shrug. 

"Ya' know what? I feel fine." Wayne assured, Selina staring at him concerned and Jerome eying him quizzically, Jonathan barely giving the slightest smirk as Ivy paid no more mind to the ongoing conversation, the red haired girl gathering up wine class with water in her arms for her plants. "Seriously, I don't need anyone to follow me around much less draw a bath for me." 

"You and Jerome already hang out twenty-four seven anyways." Selina mumbled teasingly while going back to grabbing the rest of the silverware for the table, deciding whatever the other (supposedly) had wasn't too severe, earning a sharp glance from Wayne and a snicker from Jerome as the ginger went to finish stuffing the turkey. 

"Just saying, you shouldn't risk falling down in the tub without someone around to make sure you don't go and break your collarbone." Jonathan resorted with a shrug, returning to decorating the desserts. 

Wayne looked over at Jerome, seeing the other was busy with the turkey and turning his attention back towards Jonathan, staring at the trouble making brunet broodingly before nonchalantly walking beside him, helping frost up a cake while saying in a low voice, "What are you doing?" 

Jonathan didn't look up at the question, not missing a beat whence asking, "Are you referring to me decorating the desserts or me offering to help get you and Jerome into questionable situations?" 

"The latter." Wayne answered annoyedly. 

"You're letting me stay here," Jonathan explained with a shrug. "The least I could do is give you a chance with the guy you're practically swooning over." 

Wayne's cheeks heated up. "I am not-" 

"Oh please," Jonathan scoffed, the corners of his lips turning upwards amused while mimicking in a high pitched yet quiet voice, "Help me Jerome, I don't know how to knead dough, maybe if you just put your arms around me and-" 

Wayne hushed him, elbowing the snickering brunet embarrassedly while hissing in a whisper, "I do not sound like that!" Before defensively denying, "And I don't like-" 

"You don't like the guy you practically cuddle up to every night?" Jonathan mused, earning an irked glance. "I'm just trying to help you out here as a thank you to letting me stay, alright? You want me to stop and I will, but it's frankly a bit obvious that you've gone and gotten yourself twitter-pated with Mr. Big Bad Wolf, and I doubt you'd rather not have a bit of help getting him to take the hint-- just because he's a mildly clever individual doesn't mean he's not clueless when it comes to people crushing on him." Wayne grumbled something under his breath, frosting the cake a bit violently, Jonathan glancing at him amused. "So do you want me to stop helping you with Jerome or not?" 

Wayne parted his lips to reply before shutting them, contemplating on the offer and fixing to answer when he heard a loud clatter ring out, causing him and Jonathan to look over at a sheepish Ivy attempting to carry a stack of bowls twice as tall as she was. 

"What are you doing?" Wayne sighed, walking over to help the girl that looked like she was about to fall over, taking the upper half of the pile of bowls off. 

"I need holders for my plants." Ivy informed meekly, reluctantly letting Wayne put the bowls away. 

"We'll go buy you some flower pots later on, okay?" Wayne assured, Ivy perking up at the offer and nodding excitedly. 

Wayne glanced over at Jonathan, seeing he was talking with Selina as she continued eating all the damn sweet potatoes-- he'd just have to talk to Jonathan about him 'helping' Wayne with Jerome later. 

When Alfred returned everyone was finished cooking, giving a pleasantly surprised smile as they brought the food out-- if there was one good thing about having four little criminals in Master Wayne's manor, it was that they were at least helpful. 

"Where are the vegetables?" Alfred asked, brow raising. 

Ivy gave a shrug, gaze averting as she muttered, "I dunno'..." What was she supposed to do? Just let those poor plants be skinned alive? She had of course done the humane thing and snuck them upstairs to hide under her sheets; it was unfair to pick plants as far as she was concerned considering they're always stuck in one place with little to no defense-- at least animals could run or fight back and have a chance! 

Alfred's brow knitted in confusion. "What-" The doorbell rang, causing him to let out a long exhale-- he could question her later. 

Selina and Jerome sat beside Wayne, Jonathan next to Jerome on the left of the ginger and Ivy next to Selina's right, Gordon sitting opposite of a wary yet smirking Jerome and Lee sitting beside him as well as opposite of Jonathan. 

"So, how's working in the GCPD?" Jerome mused to break the awkward silence, deciding to be polite more so for the antsy Wayne's sake than anything. 

"Why do you want to know?" Jim replied icily. "Planning on attacking it again?" 

"The GCDP is fine." Lee piped up, giving the glowering Jim a look. "How do you like this place, Jerome?" She looked around the interior impressed. "I mean, this is a lovely home." 

Jerome chose to be nice and ignore Jim's little comment. "Eh, it beats Arkham." He chuckled, Lee giving a friendly smile as Jim's teeth gritted at his suspiciously charismatic behavior. 

"Looks like you've really hit the gold mine." Jim agreed, gesturing towards the visibly nervous Wayne with a nod. 

Jerome's eyes narrowed, forcing on a smile. "Come again?" He didn't like what Jim was implying. 

"I mean, if I was a criminal looking for a place to stay then I'd go for befriending the rich kid with a big mansion, too." Jim added, Lee giving him another look as Wayne sunk down in his seat, Jerome's smiling lips pursing irritatedly. "Couldn't of been that hard to charm a vulnerable fourteen year old." 

"Not that hard to charm you either." A voice spoke up, Jerome and Wayne both feeling their eyebrows quirk, the pair of boys glancing over at Selina taken aback. 

Jim hadn't expected that-- then again, Selina was still sore about Bridgit, and Jerome had possibly grown on her a tiny bit... maybe-- just a little if anything. "Excuse me?" Jim scoffed, Lee gently elbowing him. 

"Just saying you're not that hard to trick considering a year ago you were trapped in a sewer and I was running free." Selina answered with a shrug, looking nonchalant despite her words laced with venom, definitely not about to forgive Jim for Bridgit anytime soon. 

Jonathan's eyebrows arched curiously. "Well that sounds like a fun story." 

Selina didn't take her glaring eyes off of the tight lipped Jim. "Yeah, it is-" 

Wayne felt a migraine begin to form. "Selina-" 

"What?" Selina scoffed, arms crossing. "I'm sure Jim wouldn't mind me telling, right?" 

Before the seething Jim- who was beginning to regret his agreement to let these little shits go free- could say anything Alfred along with Harvey Dent entered the room. 

Dent's eyebrows arched at the sight of a good cop daring to sit at the same table as four criminals. "I, uh-" He could feel the tension radiating in the air, awkwardly deciding to attempt to ease said tension. "I hope you don't mind me coming by, Jonathan invited-" 

"We have more than enough food." Wayne assured, recognizing the district attorney as one of the men that had helped save him. 

Alfred nodded in agreement, sitting next to Gordon and across from Wayne. "Anyone else other than Fox coming?" 

"Bullock," Jim answered, Dent sitting next to Alfred and across from Selina. "But he tends to be late, so we don't have to wait up-" 

"I invited Mr. Cobblepot." Wayne blurted out, all eyes landing on him. "And Victor as well as the Zsaszettes." He added meekly. "And Mr. Nygma." The fourteen year old murmured sheepishly. "And Gabe-" 

"Well bloody hell Master B, are there any criminals you didn't invite?" Alfred scoffed, Wayne hesitantly meeting his ticked off gaze. 

"You're the one that invited all the law enforcers." Wayne snapped defensively, glancing at Jim and Dent along with Lee. "No offense-" 

"None taken." Lee assured with a smile, Dent nodding and Jim keeping his stern expression on without reacting. 

"Yes, the law enforcers, as in the people who don't do dangerous illegal things that could go and get someone killed." Alfred countered, gesturing towards Selina and Jerome. 

"Wow Alfred, that was a real 'slap' to the feelings." Selina subtly threatened, Alfred giving her a look. 

"And the people that saved me from getting killed." Wayne brought up stubbornly. 

"Oh, right, and us legal folk just didn't do anything, eh?" Alfred continued nonetheless. 

"I'm not saying you didn't do anything, I'm just saying they helped, too-" Wayne corrected in irritation. 

"This apple cider is delicious!" Lee complimented, trying to change the subject. "Is it homemade?" 

Jim ignored his fiancé's comment. "Wayne, Alfred's just trying to look out for you," Jim made a point of staring at the tight lipped and smiling Jerome. "It's only reasonable for a guardian to be wary about the kid he has to look after when that kid's going and hanging out with-" 

"You sure you wanna' finish that sentence?" Jerome interjected menacingly, finger tapping annoyedly against the table's surface. 

"Is that a threat?" Jim questioned, looking just about ready to reach for his firearm in his belt to teach the pissed off teen a thing or two about table manners amongst other things. 

"You're the detective here-" Jerome mused smoothly, the corners of his lips curling upwards. "-you tell me." 

"Jerome, please just-" Wayne sighed, frankly only wanting everyone to get along. 

"Hey, tell me something, Jimbo," Jerome continued nonetheless. "What happened to Theo anyways? Is he in the GCPD?" 

Jim faltered-- briefly. "That's confidential." The police officer answered evenly. 

"Oh? Why? Trying to protect him from pissed off-" 

"Why do you ask? Planning on finding him?" 

Jerome's smirk went even more bitter at that. "Yeah, maybe I am." 

Jim straightened up. "Well I suggest you stop looking unless you want to be-" 

"So you two are going to have a wedding?" Ivy piped up, Jim and Lee directing their gazes towards her, the detective hesitantly giving a nod, jaw still clenched, Lee offering yet another smile while also nodding. "How'd you two fall in love anyhow?" 

Wayne realized what Ivy was doing as Jim paused before giving a sigh and pondering, turning his attention away from Jerome while answering the little girl's question, Wayne giving Ivy a grateful and somewhat weak smile, earning a cheeky grin from the young female. 

Alfred, nonetheless, was continuing to eye Jerome quizzically, still not happy about letting the boy that had taken Wayne hostage sit oh so close to the younger male- 

"You were in a few wars, right Alfred?" Jonathan inquired knowingly. "Have any good battle stories?" 

Alfred blinked, straightening up at that and giving a modest shrug. "Well, yes, I suppose I have a few." 

Jonathan didn't mind helping keep the peace-- he enjoyed fear, not chaos... okay, maybe he did enjoy a bit of chaos, but not at social events he was forced to attend-- they made him anxious. "Mind telling me some?" 

Alfred seemed to of already forgotten all about the red haired killer and curly haired thief sitting on either side of Wayne. "I reckon I could tell a few." 

A little over five minutes of wonderfully peaceful chitchat went on, Bullock finally entering the room without bothering to knock ten minutes later, sitting beside Gordon and across from Ivy, Fox eventually leaving the bat-cave to join them ten minutes later and sitting beside Bullock, the doorbell ringing soon after, Wayne quickly hopping up to go get it, finding it was Penguin and the criminal's crew. 

Oswald took a seat next to Lee, Nygma sitting to Penguin's right, Gabe across from their boss and next to Jonathan, Victor next to Gabe and across from Nygma, one of the Zsaszettes' sitting next to Victor as the other sat across from her and next to Nygma, the third supposed Zsaszette recruit sitting beside Ivy and across from Fox. 

Everyone was here-- all eleven criminals and seven law enforcers... this was going to be an interesting thanksgiving. 

"Well this silence is rather awkward." Oswald finally spoke up after at least five minutes of tense sealed lips, no one knowing what to say in the least and simply eating their food quietly. 

"The food's just so superb," Lee chuckled, Jerome wondering how this lady managed to stay so perky-- she was clearly just trying to keep the peace. "I can hardly put my fork down much less talk with a full mouth." She gestured towards the desserts. "And those pastries look almost too lovely to eat-- I can't wait to try some." Jonathan couldn't help but to crack a proud smile at that. 

"Right," Alfred agreed, deciding they may as well have a good thanksgiving and help keep things friendly. "You kiddos aren't half bad when it comes to cooking." 

Jim choked on his food at that, nearly spitting it out. "They made this?" He coughed, staring down at his plate quizzically. 

"Relax, we didn't poison it-- we're eating the same thing you are." Jerome snickered, taking a bite of turkey before teasing, "Or are we?" 

"He's joking," Wayne assured, Jim glaring at the smirking Jerome unamused. "I helped them make it-- they didn't tamper anything." 

Jim paused, contemplating broodingly before giving a sigh and nodding, cautiously continuing to eat the meal he hoped wouldn't be his last, more awkward silence coming into place. 

Another sigh finally left the detective's lips, Jim setting down his fork and looking at Wayne concerned. "How about you come to this side of the table?" 

Wayne stopped chewing his roll, hesitantly speaking in an uncertain tone with a full mouth, "What..?" 

Jim exhaled stressfully. "It's just- well you're- you know, you're-" 

Selina caught onto what Jim was saying. "Oh what, he's on the big bad villain side of the table?" Jim gave her a look. "Hate to break it to ya' Jim, but you've got three criminals on your side, too." She added coldly, gesturing towards Oswald, Nygma, and the Zsaszette. 

"Yeah, well, you've got eight, so-" Jim argued haughtily. 

"I'm fine on this side." Wayne grumbled, and honestly that wouldn't of pissed Jim off so much if Jerome hadn't gone and grinned oh so smugly at that. 

"You know what?" Jim stood. "I'm not doing this-- you're all under arrest." 

Lee's eyes slid shut as she let out a long breath. "Jim-" 

"No, Lee, I'm not going to just sit here and let a bunch of criminals lounge around simply because it's thanksgiving." Jim informed sternly. 

Harvey rolled his eyes, reluctantly standing up with Jim. "Alright, fine, sure-- lets just arrest everyone instead of finishing our food," He grumbled quite crankily, nonetheless begrudgingly getting ready to help Jim round the criminals up. "Sounds like a lot better plan; I didn't skip every meal today-- I'm definitely not hungry at all." 

"I'm already having a bad thanksgiving without my mother, Jim," Oswald sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Don't make it even more unpleasant by attempting to arrest me." 

"Lee, Alfred, Dent, Mr. Fox, Wayne-- you all may remain sitting; everyone else stand up." Jim instructed, his fiancé sighing as Oswald's lips went into a thin line. 

"Real nice, Jim-- just arrest all of us on thanksgiving like an asshole." Selina huffed, staying in her seat stubbornly along with the other criminals. 

"If you don't get up-" Jim threatened, blinking as Wayne abruptly stood, eyebrows raising as the small boy raised his chin and puffed out his chest, shoulders going stiff. 

"If you arrest them for their crimes then it's only fair you fess up to your own," Wayne warned, mustering up the sturdiest voice possible. "As I've said before, I've done my own research on you, and I know that, while you're a good man, you've broken the law on several occasions, although while I know each time was only to preserve the peace, it still would not be difficult to hire someone skilled enough to show evidence of such crimes." Wayne swallowed dryly. "I do not mean to threaten you here, Ms. Lee, and you seem like a kind woman, you really do, although I doubt Jim would want to be in jail considering we all know that would take nothing other than a negative toll on you, which neither of us want, I'm sure." 

A long night stretch of silence went by, Jim staring down at Wayne not upset or furious, just... disappointed-- he was disappointed Wayne was defending law breakers. 

Jim moved, Wayne gulping softly as the detective walked around the table towards him, brave stance going meek as Jim came at him, shrinking into himself while the other's hand reached for his upper arm, Jim saying, "We need to talk-" 

Jerome stood, pushing Jim's arm away from Wayne, stepping in between the two while saying with a disapproving smirk, "How about you take a step back?" 

Jim walked forward, staring down at Jerome with irked impatience, only mere centimeters between the pair that resembled animals ready to pounce. "How about you move before I put a cap in your leg?" 

"Oh ho ho, looks like papa bear is getting a bit protective." Jerome chuckled, using the palms of his hands to push Jim back somewhat. 

"Jerome-" Wayne objected, backing up as Jim shoved Jerome back by his torso. "Stop!" 

Jerome grabbed his steak knife laying on the table, holding it up warningly as Jim drew his firearm threateningly. 

"Wayne, move." Alfred directed as Jim irritatedly stared down the cocky Jerome, Wayne freezing in place behind the smirking teen. 

"Jerome, please-" Wayne muttered, gripping Jerome's upper arm and trying to get the other to back down. 

"What's wrong, Jimbo? Worried I'm going to take Brucie here hostage again?" Jerome taunted, shrugging Wayne off of him. 

"Wayne, get away from him-- now." Jim instructed, finger on the trigger. 

"Ah come on, he doesn't have to worry about me-- if I'm going to stab anyone right now it's you." Jerome scoffed, gripping the knife's handle tighter. 

"Jim, let's not do anything too drastic here-" Harvey murmured uneasily, glancing between the cop and the criminal warily. 

"I'm gonna' give you three seconds to put your weapon down." Jim stated sternly. "Three." 

Selina and Ivy met one another's eyes, giving subtle nods. 

"Jim-" Lee protested while standing, Alfred just as on edge as she was. 

"Lee, sit down." Jim ordered firmly, Jerome not backing off. "Two." 

Jim blinked, a small red haired girl more or less jumping onto his arm, forcing his hand holding the firearm to point downwards, his finger accidentally slipping as a bang rang out, Dent jumping while a small hole cracked in the floor from the weapon firing, Selina grabbing Jerome's wrist before the older teen could take a jab at the policeman trying to get his weapon back from Ivy. 

"Don't." Selina warned, Jerome narrowing his eyes with an annoyed smirk as she kept his hand with the knife in a hold by his wrist. "Let it go." 

"How about you let go?" Jerome chuckled menacingly, earning a glare. 

"Don't make me break your wrist." Selina warned, her grip tightening challengingly. 

Jerome contemplated, looking just about ready to take his chances with the gal he was fairly certain he'd be able to at least stab, even if she did go and manage to snap his wrist-- sure, she wasn't half bad, and Jerome didn't mind her that much, but in all honesty the only person Jerome wouldn't try to kill if it came down to it was Wayne. 

Speaking of which... 

Jerome glanced at Wayne, noticing the younger boy's wide eyes, causing the seventeen year old to pause a second longer before giving a sigh, reluctantly opening his palm, allowing the knife to fall, Selina swiftly releasing his wrist and catching it by its handle in a quick motion. 

Jim finally managed to wrap an arm around Ivy's torso, yanking his firearm out of her stubborn clenched fists and gently, yet firmly, pushing her to the side, aiming his weapon towards Jerome, both Selina and Wayne stepping in front of the taller teenager. 

"Wayne-" Jim objected taken aback, faltering at the boy refusing to move. 

"Back off," Selina snapped, holding up Jerome's knife. "Unless you want me to chuck this knife at you-- and believe me, I don't miss." 

"Please don't kill children, Jim." Oswald sighed, taking an irked sip of wine-- this thanksgiving was a real doozy. 

Jim stared at the trio of teenagers broodingly, eventually allowing his arm to hesitantly lower while saying, "I wasn't going to." 

"Could've fooled me." Jerome grumbled with a sour smirk, Nygma growing fidgety and having little to no idea on whether or not they were all about to be arrested, be let go peacefully, or killed in a bloodbath in which neither side could come to terms. 

"Perhaps the adults should have a talk." Fox piped up, figuring that would be the best way to settle things. 

"Yeah, I'm not exactly fond of kids nearly getting killed by a cop." Victor agreed, Jim giving him a look as the Zsaszettes nodded in agreement. 

"How about you kiddos go wait in the kitchen?" Gabe added gruffly, it being more of a command than request, earning nods from the five minors as they did as told. 

Wayne stomped to the side, making his way towards a corner of the large kitchen and leaning against its wall, sliding downwards while briefly covering his face with his palms and letting out a shaky sigh, elbows resting on his knees and fingers running through his hair, eyelids sliding shut-- this was a horrible thanksgiving. 

Jerome approached the stressed out Wayne, sitting beside him and nudging the other gently, flashing a smile despite the smaller boy keeping his eyes shut. "You okay?" Wayne gave a grumble, scooting away from him. "Aw come on-" 

"You shouldn't of provoked Jim." Wayne snapped, earning a scoff. 

"Provoked him? He came at me first-" Jerome defended, Wayne glowering at him. 

"You shouldn't of gotten in the way when he was just coming to usher me out of the room so we could talk-" 

"I 'got in the way' when he approached you because that little talk he wanted to give you was just going to make you have doubts about whether or not any of us actually gave a shit about you, and frankly you don't need that right now considering you've been questioning everyone's motives since Theo managed to get into your mind just a few-" 

"So what, you suddenly know what's best for me?" Wayne said under his breath, earning a ticked off snicker. 

"You can be a little shit sometimes, ya' know that?" Jerome chuckled irritatedly, earning a glare. 

"At least I'm not an asshole risking getting himself arrested." Wayne resorted icily, standing up and storming towards the exit. 

"Yeah, I'm the one at risk of getting arrested here," Jerome countered haughtily, standing up with an irked smirk, approaching Wayne in annoyance. "So maybe you should stop acting like you're the one in trouble here-" He began, gripping Wayne by his upper arm before he could leave the kitchen. "-because you're not the one who might end up being thrown in-" Jerome blinked, Wayne letting out a hurt whimper, the surprised teen taking a quick second to recognize the noise as pain and letting go after the temporary hesitation, smile nearly falling-- had he grabbed Wayne that hard? 

Selina was in front of Wayne quicker than a cheetah could've gotten to her cub, the younger girl's comforting gaze directed Wayne's way turning into a scowl the instant she glanced at Jerome disapprovingly, a silent threat being given before she looked back at Wayne concerned, expression going gentle as she asked, "Are you okay?" 

Wayne nodded, Jerome giving an assuring smile, although it was more reassuring for himself than anything; had he really gone and hurt Wayne that badly? All he'd done was grab his arm! Sure, he grabbed it a bit angrily and firmly, but not hard enough to bruise or anything! ... Right..? He hadn't meant to go and hurt Wayne if he had-- it was just an accident, he would never purposefully harm a single place on Wayne's damn body! 

"Hey-" Jerome started, concerned hand reaching out much more carefully this time, reassuring smile ridden with guilt-- he didn't mean to- 

"Back off." Selina warned, Jerome halting at that, the girl ignoring Wayne as he quietly murmured he was fine and instead wasting no time in ushering them out of the kitchen to see just how badly Jerome had supposedly gone and injured his seemingly fragile arm. 

Jerome gave a laugh that turned into a strained sigh-- great, just great. 

Ivy and Jonathan stared at Jerome cautiously, causing him to grit his teeth and give an irked smirk while snapping, "What?", making them both turn their gazes away warily, resorting to talking with one another in order to not anger the other any more than he already was. 

Maybe Theo had been right about Jerome needing to stay away from Wayne... 

At least five lengthy minutes went by, but it felt more like twenty, Selina finally coming back into the room without Wayne, the small girl looking more unsettled than angry, eying Jerome uneasily while giving a sigh, Jonathan and Ivy's quiet small talk silencing as they glanced over at the curly haired teen unsurely. 

"Go talk to Wayne." Selina sighed, hand running through her hair strained, earning an arched brow. "He's in the bathroom and he's- he's fine, just kinda'-" She paused, giving a huff. "Just go talk to him, alright? I'm not good with-" 

"Sincere words of comfort?" Jonathan offered, not in a teasing way, just bluntly. 

Selina gave a glower to him. "Screw you-" 

"I was only making an observation." Jonathan defended nonchalantly. 

"Well go observe something else-" 

"Are you asking me to not make observations when speaking with you? Because I'm afraid that's not possible considering it's a basic human function to mentally note quirks about things we notice when conversing, or even just looking, at anything and anyone." 

Selina gave a scoff, eyes rolling and arms crossing. "Then don't talk or look at me, asshole." 

"Have you ever been diagnosed with anger issues by any chance?" Jonathan mused in an even tone. 

"I don't have-" 

"The first step to getting better is acceptance." 

"Stop trying to give me a therapy session, jackass-" 

"You have a bit of a sailor's mouth, don't you?" Jonathan noted with a smirk. 

"Bite me!" Selina snapped, looking ready to claw the other's eyes out, Ivy moving in between the pair of bantering teens before Selina could try to lunge at the taunting boy. 

Alright, Jerome trusted a fellow ginger to keep things calm while he decided to leave things between the pair of teens to the younger red haired girl, walking off to go check on Wayne... Who was Jerome kidding? He wouldn't of cared all that much if the two brown haired individuals ended up fighting-- in fact, he probably would've encouraged it in all honesty; a bit of chaos was always fun. 

Jerome knocked on the restroom door, only earning silence at first before a hoarse voice muttered, "Who is it?" 

"It's Jerome." The older teen answered, jiggling the locked handle. "You mind opening up?" 

A pause. "Go away." 

"Listen, I didn't mean to grab your arm that hard, alright?" No reply. "I didn't break it or something, did I?" Jerome couldn't help but ask just to be sure. 

A sniffle. "No." 

"Fracture?" 

Wayne was quiet for a few seconds. "You just grabbed a bruised area, that's all." 

"What?" Jerome's brow furrowed at that, smile almost falling. "How'd you bruise it?" Nothing. "Come on, Wayne, what's-" 

"I still have a few bruises from Theo is all." Wayne's muffled voice from beyond the door answered, Jerome going quiet at that. 

"Can you open the door?" Jerome exhaled, hand running through his hair, giving an exasperated smile despite knowing Wayne couldn't see it. "Please?"

Wayne didn't answer for a long, long time, Jerome about to just give the boy some time to himself with how stubborn Wayne could be, yet pausing as he heard the other hesitantly stand up and make his way over to the door, pulling it open and staring up at Jerome with glossy eyes rimmed with red-- he'd obviously been crying. 

"What?" Wayne grumbled, sniffling slightly and wiping a stray droplet of water away from his cheek, refusing to meet Jerome's gaze. 

Jerome noticed Wayne's suit was buttoned down somewhat, brow raising at that. "What-" 

"Selina wanted to check on my arm," Wayne murmured, shaky fingers trying to button the upper half of his undone suit. "Don't worry-- I told her you didn't do anything and this-" He gestured towards the bruises on his chest with a nod. "-was from Theo." 

Jerome's jaw clenched. "Theo beat you up to?" 

Wayne continued trying to button his shirt to no avail, hands trembling way too much. "Not as badly as he did you, but-" He swallowed, trying to keep his voice even and eyes dry. "-yeah, he did." Wayne's fingers slipped, causing him to let out a frustrated sigh. "Damnit!" 

Jerome watched as the other refused to give up, tremors going throughout his hands as he continued attempting to fix his buttons, causing the seventeen year old to hesitate before shooing Wayne's hands away, earning a frustrated glare that turned into a taken aback stare as he began to button up the raven haired boy's shirt for him. 

Wayne swallowed dryly, gaze averting as Jerome glanced down at him before returning his gaze back to the buttons. "Is there a reason you didn't tell anyone that Theo-" 

"I didn't see a reason to," Wayne interjected before Jerome could even finish, earning another glance. "I didn't want to upset anyone anymore than they already were, okay? I'm fine now-- it's just a few bruises-" 

"You can tell me about shit like this, ya' know." Jerome interrupted, earning a meek slump, Wayne looking down guiltily. "I'm not upset," He assured at that, hesitantly adding, "Why didn't-" 

"I need to learn to look out for myself." 

"You're fourteen." 

"And you're seventeen," Wayne snapped back, shoving Jerome's hands away from his shirt despite their only being a few buttons left. "I may not be an adult yet, but neither are you, so stop acting like you need to look out for me." 

Ouch-- harsh much? "I'm not looking out for you because you're younger than me," Jerome hesitantly countered, watching as Wayne unsuccessfully tried to button up the last few buttons on his shirt with shaking fingers unsuccessfully. "I'm looking out for you because that's what friends do, and the last I checked we were friends-" Wayne's hands paused at the, grayish blue eyed uncertainly meeting emerald irises. "-unless you'd rather go back to having a 'professional relationship' and not giving a shit about what happens to one another?" 

Wayne pursed his lips, hands falling to his sides as he studied Jerome broodingly. "Is that what you want?" 

Jerome smirked, stepping forward again, Wayne not backing away and instead staying in place. "No, but you're kinda' sending mixed signals here about what you want." 

Wayne froze up as Jerome began to button the rest of his shirt up, gulping softly at that-- mixed signals? Crap! Had Jerome caught onto him almost crushing on him or..? "What do you mean?" 

Jerome felt the corners of his lips tug upwards curiously-- there Wayne went again, acting all weird and defensive... what was up with him lately? "I mean I can't exactly tell whether or not you want me to stick around here or leave." 

Oh, good, Jerome didn't realize Wayne had practically been swooning over- wait, leave? He didn't want that. "No-" The fourteen year old quickly objected, earning an amused grin at the hurried reply, causing Wayne to clear his throat. "I mean, you may do what you want, although while I'd enjoy your company you are free to do as you please-- it doesn't matter either way." 

Jerome buttoned the last button, giving a scoff. "Oh? It doesn't matter, does it?" He gave a hum. "I guess I'll just be going then." 

Wayne's eyes rolled, grabbing Jerome's wrist as he started to leave, earning a cheeky smile over the shoulder, Jerome expectantly waiting in a patient manner, causing Wayne to sigh and begrudgingly correct, "Fine, no, I don't want you to leave." 

Jerome chuckled, turning back to face Wayne. "Aw, you want me to stay? That's sweet-" 

"Don't push it." 

Jerome snickered before allowing his smile to soften ever so slightly, looking Wayne up and down almost worriedly, wondering just how badly he'd been injured by asshole AKA Theo. "Are you sure you're okay?" Wayne looked to the side, swallowing while giving a nod before attempting to walk by Jerome while muttering something about needing to regroup with the others, halting as Jerome caught his upper arm, gently this time. "Are you okay?" 

Wayne swallowed again. "I nodded, didn't I?" 

Geez, Wayne hadn't been this snappy since he'd been convinced Jerome had blackmailed Silver... he'd been growing more and more pissed off with everyone since being kidnapped, and when he wasn't pissed off he was timid, and when he wasn't timid he was distant-- it had been a while since Wayne had just acted like... well, Wayne. 

"Alright." Jerome sighed, not wanting to start another argument with the other, letting go of Wayne's arm and deciding to let the other have some alone time, turning to walk away. 

"I didn't want to tell Alfred because he was already too stressed out over Theo kidnapping me," Wayne spoke up shakily, Jerome pausing at the threshold. "And I didn't want to tell Selina because I- I know she cares about me but- but I still don't know how to talk to her about anything personal or whatever, and I just-" Oh this was just fantastic, his eyes were watering up again. "I- I didn't want to tell you because- because I know your mother used to get drunk and- um- well- uh- you know... hit you, and I didn't want to bring up anything that might be a- a touchy subject for you since I- I didn't want you to have to-" Wayne looked towards the ground as Jerome turned to face him again. 

"Wayne-" Jerome spoke up, not smiling in the least at that. 

No, Wayne was not about to just let Jerome brush this off like he always did and say it was fine-- Wayne was going to say what he had to say and he was going to apologize, because this wasn't alright. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm always getting into trouble that you have to come and get me out of, and you always get hurt." It wasn't just Wayne's hands that were trembling now-- his whole body was. "You're always saving me and I never know how to help you-- I couldn't help you when you were thrown back into Arkham, or when you were being blackmailed by Silver, or when Theo and all those other guys were beating you up-" 

"Wayne-" 

"Not to mention I'm always being a handful," Wayne laughed with a cracking voice, arms crossing self consciously. "You've only gotten teary eyed around me once, and I've gone and been a complete sob story around you more than I have anyone, and that's not fair to you because I shouldn't rely on you to listen to me cry my damn eyes all the time, and I know I need to just learn to suck it up, but-" 

"Wayne-" 

"I just-" Wayne let out a shivering breath, a new batch of tears streaming down his cheeks-- he'd almost managed to keep them in. "I'm trying to learn how to fight back, and I'm trying to learn how to become fearless and keep my emotions where they're not all over the place, but I-" A trembling sigh left his lips. "I just don't know how to do any of that and I'm sorry, okay?" 

Wayne continued looking towards the floor, growing frustrated with how the sobs he tried to keep in just choked out of his throat, wondering if he'd ever be able to conquer his damn emotions and- 

Grayish blue eyes blinked, Wayne feeling a hand press against his cheek, a thumb brushing the clear droplets away from his eye. "Like I said, you're fourteen-- it's okay to not be able to hold the world up on your shoulders, ya' know." 

Wayne felt his eyes tear up more, another choked up noise leaving his lips as he nodded at the rather simple yet truthful reply, letting Jerome pull him forward and burying his face against the other's chest, shaky sobs leaving his lips. "I'm sorry-" It wasn't getting easier to hold back his emotions around Jerome-- it was getting harder, and that was the complete opposite of what Wayne wanted, but he honestly just couldn't help it, and it was frustrating even though Jerome didn't mind. 

"Stop apologizing." Jerome muttered, hand running through Wayne's hair. 

"I just don't- I don't want any of you to go to Arkham-- or juvie-" 

"We won't." Jerome reassured, Wayne burying his face against the crook of his neck. 

"This Thanksgiving sucks." Wayne grumbled, earning a snicker. 

"I dunno'... I prefer this one over the lot I had," Jerome hummed, hand continuing to run soothingly through Wayne's hair, calming the other down gradually. "It's a lot more fun hanging out with you than a drunk mom and her asshole boyfriend of the night, plus we always just had chicken for Thanksgiving, so it's kinda' cool to have a turkey." 

Wayne laughed hoarsely, his arms that were hanging limply at his sides raising to go around Jerome's neck, pulling the other closer and earning a calming squeeze, a long while going by until Wayne's crying had stopped along with the tremors going throughout him, breathing evening out. 

Now, Wayne normally would've pulled back after regaining himself, but he had to admit... this felt incredibly nice. 

Wayne suddenly became much more aware of the hand running through his hair and the free arm hooked around his hips, noticing the way Jerome's chest rose and fell steadily against him more so, realizing just how comfortable his cheek nuzzled against Jerome's neck felt, and dear Ra Wayne was enjoying this way too much- 

Jerome pulled back, eyebrows arching at the soft noise of objection Wayne accidentally gave on reaction, nonetheless shrugging it off and figuring it had just been a sound most would make after sobbing. 

"Let's go before Jim realizes we're gone and accuses me of kidnapping you." Jerome teased, earning a blink, Wayne's lips gradually spreading into a smile, Jerome grinning proudly and even a bit pleasantly surprised as Wayne laughed at that-- really laughed. "Oh? Are you beginning to enjoy my jokes?" 

"Shut up," Wayne laughed, brushing the remaining tears out of his eyes. "But um- but yeah-- we need to get out of here before Jim puts up another amber alert for me." 

Jerome gave a mocking gasp, hand going over his chest over dramatically. "Am I getting THE boss of Wayne Enterprises to joke around?" He jested, grin widening as Wayne laughed more. "Wow, I'm not sure I've ever seen you laugh this much-- have I rubbed off on you?" He paused, Wayne's laughter decreasing to a chuckle, mischievously humming, "Actually, I have seen you laugh this much before." 

Wayne's head tilted, another smile pulling at his lips. "Huh?" He blinked, smile falling. "No, don't-" 

Jerome flashed a grin, Wayne letting out a yelp that turned into a laugh as he began tickling at his sides, attempting to push the other away by his chest, laughs leaving his throat as Jerome mercilessly went at his stomach, Wayne backing up against the wall while attempting to get away, more laughs leaving his lips as a smirk formed on Jerome's lips, and no no no-- Wayne was blushing now and this tickled, but in a strangely pleasant way, and if Jerome didn't stop this right now Wayne was totally going to slip up and- 

Wayne let out one more breathless relieved laugh as Jerome brought his hands back, the smaller boy staring up at the cheeky seventeen year old with what was supposed to be a glare, but just turned back into a smile, Wayne realizing just how close they were and biting down on his lower lip, causing Jerome to eye him intrigued. 

Maybe Jerome was bad with social cues. Or maybe he had just gotten friendly enough with Wayne to the point he couldn't see anything that happened between the pair being anything more than friendly. Maybe it was the age gap... but Jerome didn't seem to be catching onto Wayne's little shy quirks. Sure, he knew Wayne had been acting differently lately, but he didn't quite know why. 

So, Wayne needed to show him, and he intended to do so-- and with a kiss, at that. 

Wayne gathered up his courage, decided to once again act on impulse the same way he had when he'd nearly kissed Jerome before being interrupted by Silver, and didn't stop to ponder on whether or not this was a good idea as he reached up to grip Jerome's shirt, acting out in the heat of the moment, or whatever one would like to call it, hoping he wouldn't regret this as he pulled the other lower- 

Jerome wrapped his arms around Wayne's waist, and oh- oh hell yes Jerome wanted to kiss Wayne just as much as Wayne wanted to kiss him, and- wait, no-- Wayne missed Jerome's lips, realizing the other had mistaken his attempt to kiss him as a pull in for a hug. 

Dangit. 

"You okay?" Jerome asked, figuring he'd be having to give a lot of these to Wayne until the orphan was over being kidnapped-- not that Jerome minded. 

Wayne gave a strained laugh, cheek against Jerome's torso-- he wasn't giving up that easily. "I'm fine." He assured, pushing away from Jerome, earning raised eyebrows at how he made it clear a hug wasn't what he'd been going for. "I just-" Okay, here he went-- Wayne was gonna' do it-- he was gonna' actually kiss him this time. "Can you lean down a little?" Jerome was way too tall for this sort of stuff... not that Wayne minded, of course-- he kinda' liked tall guys. 

Jerome eyed him quizzically, pondering over the boy acting peculiarly again. "Okay?" Was Wayne just wanting to tell him something or..? 

Wayne wasn't sure how someone as clever as Jerome could be so dang clueless. "Can I-" Oh hells, Jerome was really close. "Can I, uh..." If Wayne just stood up on the tips of his toes then their lips would brush, and just the idea of kissing Jerome was making him blush more than he'd like to admit. 

Was Wayne blushing..? No-- it had to be the fever... Jerome was going to catch on if Wayne didn't hurry up and act. "Can you..?" If Jerome didn't know better, he'd almost believe Wayne had a bit of a puppy crush on him. 

'I want to kiss you.' That's it. That's what Wayne would say. 

Wayne gathered up his courage once again, looked Jerome in the eyes, and said, "I want to-" 

"Everything okay in here?" A voice piped up, Wayne practically internally screaming as Jerome blinked and pulled away from him to look over at Jonathan. 

Cock-blocking piece of shit jerk going and being a jackass by coming in here and asking if everything was damn well alright like a bitch when it would've been alright if he'd just kept his bitch'n ass out rather than being a hella asshole and coming in here all bitchy and ruining Wayne's chance hahaha like hell everything was fricking 'alright.' 

Jonathan realized what had been going on as Wayne glared daggers at him, and if there was a time he should ever be more afraid of the innocent fourteen year old than the murderous seventeen year old then that time was now. 

"Oh." Jonathan flashed a small apologetic smile. "Uh, sorry-" 

"It's fine, we were just talking." Jerome waved off, Wayne glowering at Jonathan with eyes ablaze. 

Jonathan gave an anxious laugh. "Right, um... oh! The adults are asking for us to come back into the dining room-- they've agreed on something." He paused, Wayne looking just about ready to say some rather un-nice things to him. "Uh... Hey, Wayne, you go on-- I need to talk about something with Jerome." 

Wayne forced on a tight smile. "Sure." Jonathan had better be somehow going and fixing what he'd just gone and accidentally stopped from happening. 

Jonathan waited for Wayne to leave before giving a sigh-- yeah, he needed to fix this. "Okay, so from what I can tell we're going to get to stay free and not have to worry about Jim," He had to at least be subtle about this, not very well able to just up and say 'Hey! Wayne has a crush on you and was just about to make a move on you that I accidentally ruined! Try to make up for my mistake by making one on him!', considering that would probably cause Jerome to go into some level of shock... okay, it wouldn't be that bad, but it would definitely freak Jerome out at least a little. So, Jonathan instead said, "Which means we all win, but I know you don't want this to be a win-win-- YOU want to win," He had Jerome's attention. "And the best way to do that would be by pissing Jim off when he can't do anything to you if he wants to stay a man of his word and let us go." 

Jerome grinned. "Okay, I'll bite-- how exactly do you propose I piss him off?" 

"Well, the reason he came at you in the first place was because he was being protective of Wayne," Jonathan's arms went behind his back, chin raising. "So you show Jim Wayne's yours-- not his." Fool proof plan! Right..? 

"Are you okay?" Ivy asked, noting the way Wayne tapped his fingers against the table irked, the ticked off boy resting his cheek on his fist, elbow propped up on the wooden surface. 

"I'm fine." Wayne grumbled, Selina and Ivy both figuring he was just having one of his mood swings-- he'd been having a lot of those since the encounter with Theo. 

"Where's Jerome and Jonathan?" Victor asked, catching how Oswald was growing impatient. 

"They're coming." Wayne answered haughtily, Alfred eying him vaguely concerned. 

"Are they dating?" Lee asked, just trying to start conversation as they waited, attempting to keep everyone occupied with small talk. 

Wayne's fingers stopped tapping. "What?" 

"Oh, uh, I just-" Lee probably shouldn't of asked that. "Well I know Jerome's gay, and I just-" 

"He's what?" Alfred questioned, eyebrows snapping upwards. 

"How do you know that?" Wayne questioned with a furrowed brow. 

"His Arkham file says- you know what? That's actually confidential-" Lee sighed, mentally face palming herself. 

"Did you know that?" Alfred scoffed, Wayne sinking down in his seat at that. 

Lee frowned concerned. "Are you against-" 

"No, I'm not," Alfred answered before she could finish. "But they've been sharing a bed and-" 

"You've been sharing a bed?" Jim interjected, Wayne wanting to to hide at that. 

"Oh calm down, Jim, they're nearly adults-- let them have fun." Oswald exhaled drunkenly, taking another swig of wine. 

"Wayne's fourteen and Jerome's seventeen, Oswald." Jim snapped, Lee giving Wayne an apologetic look-- she hadn't meant to start this. "And what exactly do you mean by letting them have 'fun'? Because you'd better not mean-" 

"Who wants to hear a riddle?" Nygma offered, trying to diffuse the situation. 

"Me!" Wayne answered desperately, cheeks a bright shade of embarrassed pink. 

"Stop getting your panties in a twist-- it's not like Wayne and I are sleeping together," Selina piped up, Wayne giving a quiet groan and leaning forward, burying his face against his arms pressed into the table. "Besides, him and Jerome are just like brothers if anything." 

Oh sure, because wanting to kiss someone was totally just a brotherly thing. 

"I dunno' Selina, Wayne may secretly be-" Ivy started nonchalantly, clearly trying to stir up trouble. 

"I'm not gay." Wayne huffed, raising back up to glare at her with how she really wasn't helping things, and it wasn't a complete lie because he wasn't gay-- he was bi, so technically he wasn't lying. 

"That was a suspiciously quick denial." Ivy accused as Wayne fumed. 

"Well this is an interesting conversation to walk in on." Jerome mused as he and Jonathan entered the room, stopping in his tracks and quirking a brow at the mix of glares and apologetic stares given his way. "Uh-" 

"You know what?" Lee began before Alfred and Jim could decide to interrogate the poor teen. "That was actually Jonathan's file that said that-- I must've gotten them mixed up since I was talking about them dating." A little white lie couldn't hurt if it meant making Thanksgiving a bit more pleasant... right? 

"Whoa, what?" Jerome scoffed-- what the hell had they missed? 

"But Jonathan told me he wasn't interested in men or women." Ivy countered, Wayne looking just about ready to throw her back out onto the streets again-- sure, he wouldn't actually do it, but that didn't mean he wasn't tempted. 

Jonathan caught onto what was going on. "Oh! Uh-" Wayne and Jerome owed him one-- maybe they'd steal some chemicals for him to make his fear gas with... "No, I said I wasn't interested in romance is all-- I didn't know if you'd understand what it means to be-" 

"So it was a mix up? Good-- problem solved. Now about we all drop it since this subject has clearly been resolved and just get on with Thanksgiving?" Oswald recommended through clenched teeth. "I really would like to be getting back home as soon as possible in all honesty." He certainly wasn't having a good day. 

The only sound for a long while was Dent nervously munching on some food-- he did that when he was anxious. Dear DC he shouldn't be here... he shouldn't be dining with a bunch of criminals. Sure, he liked the kids, he really did, but he could lose his job if anyone found out about this. 

Then again, this was Gotham where even the district attorneys were crooks, so maybe he didn't need to worry... or at least not worry TOO much. 

Jim finally gave a long sigh, arms crossing. "Fine." 

Jerome didn't precisely know what was going on, but chose to just play along and not question it, instead walking back to his place beside Wayne and Ivy before sitting down, staring at the scowling detective across from him with a cheeky smile. 

"Long story short? You kids are fine as long as you don't go breaking any laws, don't go influencing the kid-" Gabe gestured towards Wayne at that. "-and don't go letting anyone recognize you. If ya' get caught, you don't squeal about Gordon 'n bullock or Alfred 'n Dent or Fox-- you don't snitch on anyone, capiche?" Gabe waited for each minor to nod. "Any questions?" Silence. 

The quietness almost got unbearable, causing Nygma to eventually blurt out, "I'm a symbol of a treaty gone wrong, I know how to fly yet not too high nor for too long, and in art I have been known to take the shape of a hand of children who sing festive songs-- what am I?" 

"A turkey." Fox nearly instantly answered, Lee offering a laugh at the, conversation gradually coming back into place, tension decreasing. 

When everyone was done eating they moved to the parlor to chat, even Oswald going along to be a good sport-- even if he did so a bit reluctantly and drunkenly. 

That's when Jerome took Jonathan's advice-- if he needed to show Jim that Wayne was on his side a bit physically, then he would; Jim needed to be brought down a notch, even if that meant him getting a little ticked off and Jerome being a bit more touchy feely than usual. 

Now, what Jerome began to do was something he only saw as a means to say 'stay in your lane or I'll push you out of the road' to the detective when it came to Wayne, as Jonathan wittily assured him it would do, however Jim and Wayne couldn't help but be confused and uncertain about Jerome's suddenly peculiar behavior. 

Jerome saw his gestures as a 'look what I can do-- we're close, are you?' sort of thing, but Jim and Wayne? They saw them as something suspiciously close to flirtations, and in a way they were. 

The first thing Jerome did that caught both Wayne and Jim's attention was gesture Wayne towards him, pressing his lips against the boy's ear as they sat on the sofa and whispering something, challenging emerald irises meeting Jim's narrowed eyes, Jerome smirking at the over protective look that began to instantly form on Jerome's features-- good, it was working. 

"This is kinda' boring, what do you say we bail out in a little bit?" Jerome offered, Jim wondering what the hell the little shit was going off and saying. 

Was it just Wayne, or was Jerome acting a bit odder than usual? 

"Uh-" Wayne eyed Jerome quizzically, noting they were sitting a lot closer than usual. "-sure." He agreed with a nod, not being one for social events in any case. 

Jerome smirked against Wayne's ear, causing the raven haired boy's cheeks to go pink ever so slightly, Jim meeting Jerome's challenging gaze as the red haired male pulled back. 

Jim's jaw set, Wayne too busy trying to not be too obvious about suddenly being very shy with Jerome's new behavior-- what had Jonathan told him? Did he know Wayne had a crush on him? 

"Wayne," Jim spoke up, Wayne jumping slightly, looking like a deer in headlights as he directed his attention towards the officer. "How's school?" 

Maybe Wayne was just looking too much into things... "School?" He swallowed dryly. "Oh, uh, yes- I mean, fine-- school's fine. What about you? I mean-" His eyes shut embarrassedly, taking a quick second to compose himself. "How's work?" 

Jim's eyes narrowed-- why was Wayne acting so flustered..? "Work's okay." He didn't pay any mind to the other ongoing conversations-- this was between him and Jerome for the time being... whatever 'this' was. "You taking any electives this year?" 

Before Wayne could answer Jerome pressed his lips back against Wayne's ear while murmuring, "You okay?", catching the nervousness. 

Wayne cleared his throat, face heating up and eyes averting. "Mhm." Jim blinked, beginning to realize more or less what was going on. "I- yes, I am-- I'm taking art." 

Jim was practically glaring daggers at Jerome, attempting to mentally get the cheeky bastard to back off-- Wayne had a damn crush on Jerome, and as far as Jim was concerned it looked like Jerome was either returning the feelings or encouraging Wayne's, the cop not realizing Jerome's 'flirtations' we're just him telling Jim 'mine' in a way that was surprisingly not intended to be flirtatious per se in any shape or form. 

"How are you liking art?" Jim asked through clenched teeth as Jerome pulled away from Wayne's ear again. 

"I like it," Wayne answered, regaining himself the best he could. "The teacher's nice." Was it just him or was it hot in here? 

"That's good," Jim hated small talk, but this particular moment of small talk was something he was beginning to resent a lot more than usual. "You trying to do anything academic Jerome?" 

Jerome didn't exactly like the tone Jim took on much less the way he emphasized 'trying', clearly talking down to him. "Oh yeah, totally, I'm debating on whether or not I should become a cop down at GCPD." He answered sarcastically, Wayne giving him a look and Jim staring at him with an obviously unamused expression. "Yeesh, calm down Mr. Tough Guy, it's just a joke." Jerome snickered at the tight lipped officer, Wayne about to tell Jerome to be nice, yet practically temporarily forgetting how to talk as an arm wrapped around his hips, pulling him somewhat closer, Wayne's ears going red at that. 

Jim nearly scoffed-- was Jerome even trying to be subtle? Or was he- wait, was he trying to rile him up..? 

"You two sure are friendly with each other." Jim commented observantly as Wayne hesitantly decided to move his legs up on the sofa and scoot slightly closer to get more comfortable rather than pulling away, Jerome cockily keeping his arm around him. 

"Oh? We are? I hadn't noticed." Jerome mused smoothly. 

Wayne realized Jim was staring at him, causing the shy boy to meekly agree, "Mhm." Yeah, okay, sure-- Wayne had to admit he liked this, he really did, and it was nice to feel the other being so... would the word be affectionate? I mean, sure, it was affectionate, but Wayne could also tell it was additionally a bit... possessive? Nothing too dangerous or anything of the sort though, of course. However, while Wayne liked the new attitude, he wasn't sure he liked Jerome being so touchy feely in front of everyone, and particularly not in front of Jim that was giving Wayne a disapproving stare which just made him feel absolutely guilty. 

Plus, Wayne couldn't help but question the motive behind the new behavior, wondering just what Jonathan had gone and told Jerome; was Jerome being sweet on him because he'd found out Wayne liked him and possibly actually returned the feelings, or was he just playing with him? Was Jerome just accidentally being flirtatious as he usually was? Was this just a possession thing? Wayne simply did not know. 

"So how did you two become friends?" Jim inquired, Wayne snapping back into reality and out of all the questions running through his mind. 

"Well Wayne got a case of Stockholm after I kidnapped him the second time-" Jerome jested, earning a light elbow in the ribs, causing him to snicker. "Again, joking." 

"After he took me hostage at the GCPD I ran after him and agreed to help make sure he stayed alive with the wound on his neck if he gave me answers on who he was working for and whatnot." Wayne explained, Jim not sure he particularly liked the way Wayne was resting his cheek on Jerome's chest oh so comfortably. 

"And you ended up growing on each other?" Jim questioned, earning a nod from the smaller boy. "I see." 

"Oh, Bullock's telling the story about the time you guys went after that weather balloon criminal." Lee piped up, noticing the way Jim was more or less interrogating the poor boys, causing him to hesitantly turn his attention away from the smirking Jerome and antsy Wayne. 

Only about two minutes went by before Jim found himself glancing at Jerome and Wayne again to make sure the older teen wasn't trying anything funny, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Jerome whispering something against Wayne's ear again, Wayne blushing and giving a shy laugh every once and a while before biting down on his lower lip in an almost bashful way whenever the taller teen would accidentally brush his lips against his neck instead of his ear, Jerome glancing at Jim and feeling a smirk tug onto his mouth as the other practically seethed, more or less challenging Jim to say something with his cocky eyes and smug little smirk and- 

Dangit, Jim was not going to let that little shit get away with this. 

Jim stood up so abruptly the armchair slid out from underneath him, the screeching noise making all eyes turn towards him as the room quieted, Jerome's smirk widening as he murmured one more thing before pulling away and staring up at the policeman expectantly. 

"Ya' know what? I'm going to clean up some-- you wanna' come help, Jerome?" Jim was making more of a command than request-- they needed to talk, and they needed to talk alone. 

Jerome cracked a smile. "You're the guest, Jimbo, you don't need to be cleaning up anything," He stood, gesturing for Wayne to follow. "We'll clean up-- you guys carry on." 

"I don't mind helping." Jim resorted as Wayne stood and followed Jerome like a damn puppy. 

"No no, really, I insist-- sit down and relax, we can clean up." Jerome waved off, managing to keep in his snicker as Jim glowered at him. 

"It's not proper for guests to clean up," Alfred agreed with a shrug. "But you two don't have to clean up right now-- you can wait until everyone's left." 

"Eh, it's getting kinda' crowded in here," Jerome replied at that, Wayne hesitantly nodding, trying to figure out what Jerome was up to now. "We just need some fresh air is all-- we'll be back in a bit." 

Jim let out a long exhale-- well this was absolutely peachy! Just. peachy. 

"What are you doing?" Wayne questioned as they left the room, earning an innocent look from Jerome when they came to a halt, Wayne staring up at him broodingly. 

"Who? Me?" Jerome asked in the most naïve tone he could muster. "I'm just being a good helper and offering to help with the dishes is all-" 

"Yeah right," Wayne scoffed, arms crossing. "Why were you being so touchy feely?" 

"Was I being touchy feely? Huh. Oops." 

"I'm being serious, why are you acting so-" 

"No reason." Jerome answered with a nonchalant shrug, beginning to simply continue on towards the dining area at that. 

Wayne gave a grumble, walking after Jerome and into the dining room, annoyedly assisting him with picking up the dirty plates. "What did Jonathan say to you in the bathroom?" 

"Nothing." Jerome answered insistently while gathering some silverware, knowing Wayne probably wouldn't take kindly to finding out the reason Jerome was doing this was, for lack of a better word, a territorial thing between him and Jim, not precisely wanting the younger boy to find out Jonathan had given him the idea to 'mark' what was his. "What were you wanting to tell me in the bathroom anyways?" He added, trying to change the subject. 

Wayne gathered up a pile of plates haughtily. "Nothing." He snapped irritatedly, earning a snicker. 

"Aw come on Wayne, don't be like that-" Jerome chuckled, Wayne stomping out of the room and into the kitchen. 

"I'll tell you what I was going to say if you tell me what Jonathan told you." Wayne bargained, placing the dishes in the sink and blocking said sink as Jerome approached, arms crossing stubbornly. 

"I guess I'm not going to know what you were gonna' tell me then." Jerome countered with a smirk, simply stepping closer to Wayne and reaching around him to place the dishes in the sink, earning a cross between a glower and a pout. "Oh come on now, don't sulk-" 

"Move." Wayne grumbled, pushing on Jerome's chest and giving a huff as the other gave a grin and stayed in place, keeping Wayne trapped between him and the sink. "Jerome, I swear to-" 

"Alright, fine, if I do a favor for you will you tell me?" Jerome offered, staying in place stubbornly, hands going on either side of Wayne and pressing against the counter, keeping him trapped almost playfully. 

What could Jerome say? He was intrigued. 

Wayne quirked a brow-- they hadn't exchanged favors for something the other wanted for weeks... maybe even a month or so. "No, I-" Wait... Wayne paused, an idea coming into place-- a kiss. Wayne could ask for a kiss. Jerome would have to take the hint then-- there's no way he'd be able to mistake that for anything other than a crush, and it would get across what Wayne was going to ask for back when they'd been talking in the restroom in any case. "Okay." The fourteen year old instead hesitantly permitted. 

Jerome gave a grin. "Alright, what do you want?" 

Wayne swallowed thickly. "A-" 

"Am I interrupting something?" Jim's voice spoke up, Wayne keeping in his annoyed groan and vaguely wondering if there was a chance the universe was against he and Jerome being anything more than friends as the ginger pulled away to face Jim. 

"Yeah, kinda'." Jerome answered with a smirk, arms crossing. 

Jim really didn't like how Jerome had the audacity to say that when he could go and have him arrested whenever he pleased. "May I ask what you two were just doing?" Because it sure as hell better not of been what it looked like. 

Jerome realized Jim was referring to the slightly compromising position they'd been in, causing him to daringly answer in a clearly sarcastic tone, "Oh yeah, sure, we were just about to, ya' know, make out." 

Wayne's eyes widened-- oh gosh, Jim was going to kill Jerome if he didn't throw him into Arkham first. 

Jim's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?" He'd killed Theo, and to be frank he was contemplating on breaking his moral code one more time. 

"Jerome's joking." Wayne assured, stepping in between the pair of men that were beginning to remind him a lot more of animals than anything, not wanting one of them to end up going and lunging at the other. 

"Yeah, he's been doing a lot of that." Jim said distastefully. 

"At least I know how to make a joke." Jerome challenged coolly. 

"Jim?" Lee's voice piped up before things could escalate any more than they already were. "Everyone's starting to leave, you want to go on home?" She'd figured him saying he needed to have a bathroom break actually meant 'I'm really going to just go bother Wayne and Jerome more because I don't trust a criminal to be around the boy he's taken hostage thrice', and while that was reasonable Lee couldn't help but feel like Jim was being a bit overbearing, as most would be nonetheless in a situation like this, however as far as she was concerned it seemed like Jerome didn't want to bring any harm to the younger boy. 

Jim stared Jerome down for a good, long while, Wayne being the only thing in between the pair of males sizing one another up, suddenly causing the boy to feel incredibly small- 

Lee placed a hand on Jim's shoulder. "Honey?" 

Jim paused, a long breath leaving his lips. "Yeah, sure, let's go." 

Wayne visibly relaxed at that, giving Lee a grateful look and earning a warm smile, waiting for the couple to leave before giving Jerome a glare over his shoulder. 

"What?" Jerome laughed, Wayne's eyes rolling. 

"Next time Jim comes over be nice." Wayne snapped, earning a chuckle. 

"What would I get for being nice?" Jerome teased as Wayne continued cleaning up the kitchen, gathering up some pots and pans. 

"A kiss." Wayne answered, not really even having time to contemplate on his words, the reply honestly just sorta'... falling from his lips, causing Wayne to freeze up, realizing what he'd just gone and said, hesitantly looking over at Jerome to see his reaction. 

Now, Wayne had given a sarcastic tone along with his answer, but he couldn't help but worry Jerome had caught the tad bit of truth in his voice, because Wayne wouldn't very well mind giving Jerome a kiss. 

Jerome's brow arched taken aback, studying Wayne for only a few seconds, although it felt like minutes. "Oh?" 

Shit. "It's called sarcasm." Wayne muttered, turning back towards the sink and scrubbing the dishes somewhat violently, his whole face heating up in embarrassment, hoping Jerome would just drop it- 

"I dunno', you seemed pretty serious about that." Jerome hummed, Wayne swallowing thickly keeping his eyes on his hands as he soaped up the plates. 

"Not my intention." Wayne resorted as calmly as he could, heart pounding against his chest, refusing to meet Jerome's curious gaze. 

"I mean, I guess I could play nice if you gave me a kiss." Jerome mused, Wayne halting at that, debating on whether or not he should dare to look at the other and let Jerome see right through him. 

"Why? Do you want one?" Wayne scoffed, only the sound of water running from the faucet being heard-- he couldn't help but to be a bit... hopeful. Was Jerome just being his usual flirtatious self or was he genuinely flirting back..? Wayne couldn't tell, dangit. 

"Do you want one?" Jerome challenged, Wayne able to hear the smirk in his voice. 

Yes. "I asked you first." Wayne instead replied, turning the sink off and turning to face Jerome bravely, hoping his blush wasn't too obvious, arms crossing self consciously. 

Jerome wasn't used to Wayne teasing back-- it was fun. "Touché." 

Wayne stared Jerome down broodingly, Jerome smirking at him smugly, blinking as Wayne let out a sigh and stomped towards him, pulling Jerome down by the collar of his shirt and pressing a quick kiss against his cheek before pulling away, Wayne's arms crossing once more as he stared up at the other, trying to read Jerome's rather surprised expression. 

"There. Now be nice." Wayne murmured, starting to walk around Jerome and halting as the other grabbed his wrist, feeling a tinge of hope rise in his chest. 

Please please please please please- 

"Hey, I uh-" Jerome cleared his throat. "I was just joking around-" He assured, Wayne feeling his heart sink at that. 

Shit. 

"I was, too." Wayne instantly lied with a nonchalant shrug without missing a beat, forcing his somewhat hurt expression to even out as he pulled out of Jerome's grasp, turning to stare up at the other as carelessly as he could. "It was just a kiss on the cheek is all." 

Jerome blinked, giving a slightly nervous laugh at that. "Oh, uh- yeah, right." Okay, sure, that made sense-- it wasn't like it was a real kiss or anything... it had just caught him off guard. 

Wayne's gaze averted. "I'm going to go say goodbye to everyone." 

Jerome nodded, already back to his old cheeky self, clearly not paying much mind to the kiss that had taken Wayne oh so much courage. "Alright, I'll clean up in here." 

Wayne gave a nod, turning away and walking outside the kitchen before taking a few seconds to compose himself, a soft embarrassed groan leaving his lips as he ran a hand through his hair-- maybe he just wasn't Jerome's type...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm so sorry for not updating in so long! 
> 
> Alright, so I know I had originally decided to either write Jerome and Wayne as adults over Gotham's hiatus or take a break from this one and start on my corrupted!wayne AU, however I apparently may be developing carpel tunnel in my left wrist, which was a factor on why this chapter took so long considering I had to take multiple breaks due to it being sore and had to write some of this with just my right hand-- I know Thanksgiving was a while back, and I apologize for the delay! 
> 
> So, I've decided to take a bit of a break from writing to make sure I don't let this get worse than it already is. 
> 
> Don't worry, I'll still be updating this fic with a Christmas, New Year's Eve, and Valentine's Day bonus as well as a chapter I plan to post on the 28th of February, which will be a bit of a surprise one (my lips are sealed ;) ), and I sill plan on doing the corrupt!wayne one. 
> 
> This just means I won't be updating this one constantly (other than the bonuses and surprise chapters) until the season starts back up so I can correspond this fic with the show again, and I won't start on the corrupted!wayne one until after this one's done. 
> 
> I'm so sorry for the trouble, and I usually wouldn't go back on this sort of thing, but I really don't want my wrist getting too bad, and I'd like to give it a chance to heal even though it's going to frankly suck to not be able to write as much for a while  
> :( 
> 
> Thank you all for the lovely support, and I hope you can understand <3 
> 
> On a happier note, this fantastic person 
> 
> http://adorkablenerdiness.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> made a wonderful Valeyne playlist which you can listen to here! 
> 
> http://8tracks.com/adorkablenerdiness/i-bet-my-life-valeyne
> 
> Seriously, it's such a perfect playlist for Wayne and Jerome-- I listened to it, like, ten times when writing this chapter I- 
> 
> So yeah, we have a rad Valeyne playlist as well as a neat name for this ship, and the awesome person who came up with the name you can go check out here! 
> 
> http://tess-wood.tumblr.com 
> 
> Give them a follow :D 
> 
> Additionally, I made a Gotham!StevenUniverse AU 
> 
> http://quellines-stories.tumblr.com/post/133527095756/gotham-gems-steven-universe-au
> 
> and an amazing person named Diana made a spectacular piece of art for ruby!jerome and sapphire!wayne forming into garnet!valeyne which you can see here :) 
> 
> http://quellines-stories.tumblr.com/post/135103391806/diana-the-peacemaker-sketch-up-a-little 
> 
> A superb playlist, a great ship name, and lovely piece of art? This fandom is growing, and I love it :D


	19. Christmas Bonus

"Jerome?" Wayne piped up, tapping the other's shoulder. "Jerome, get up." 

"No." Jerome groaned, rolling away from Wayne's pokes. "It's not even light out." 

"It's Gotham-- the sun's never out." Wayne scoffed, shaking Jerome by his upper arm. "Wake up." 

"I'm awake, and now trying to go back to sleep, so leave me alone." Jerome pleaded exhausted, earning an irked huff and letting out a relieved sigh, reckoning Wayne was backing down- 

Wayne whacked a pillow downwards, smacking it against Jerome's face. "Get up-" 

"What the hell Wayne?!" Jerome snapped irritatedly, yanking upwards and glowering at the other in annoyance, rubbing his sore cheek. 

"It's Christmas." Wayne explained with a grin. 

"No shit." Jerome grumbled, laying back down and curling up underneath the covers again. 

"Jerome, come on, get up." Wayne urged, pulling the blanket off of Jerome. 

"It's cold." Jerome objected, resorting to shimmying under the sheets, clutching onto them while Wayne attempted to pull them off as well. "Ya' know, I care about you Wayne, I really do, and you're the best pal I've ever had, but if you do not stop trying to get me to freeze my ass off then I am going to chuck you out the window." 

"I'm trying to get you up." Wayne corrected defensively, continuing to pull at the sheets stubbornly. 

"I'll get up at a reasonable time- wait, what time is it-" 

"It's four A.M." 

Jerome groaned at that. "Why can't you just be a normal person and sleep in until at least seven?" 

"Because normal people wake up early on Christmas." Wayne answered in persistence. 

"Not this early." Jerome countered, letting the sheets slip from his grasp, snickering when hearing a thud. 

"Jerk." Wayne huffed, standing up and brushing himself off. "Come on, just get up-- you're already awake!" 

"Make me-" Jerome started, feeling the wind get knocked out of him as a small body jumped onto his, giving a pissed off smirk while glaring up at the glowering Wayne. 

"Get up." Wayne insisted irritatedly, arms crossing, legs on either side of Jerome. "Now." 

"You're a bossy little shit this morning, aren't ya'?" Jerome chuckled in annoyance. 

Wayne parted his lips to snap back a resort, blinking when a pair of hands grabbed his hips, letting out a string of cuss words as Jerome switched positions, pinning Wayne underneath him and wrapping an arm around his waist. 

"Get off of me." Wayne huffed as Jerome fake snored, trying to squirm out of his grasp. 

Jerome grinned. "But this is just so comfortable." 

"Get off, I'm not letting you fall asleep like this-- I'm not going to be stuck underneath you until you wake back up." Wayne stated snappily, struggling to shimmy out of Jerome's hold. 

"You say something? I may... be... falling... aslee-..." 

"Yeah right, let go." Wayne grumbled, ears heating up as Jerome kept him pinned underneath him. 

Jerome snickered, letting Wayne out from his grasp and sitting up, giving a stretch while yawning, "Alright, alright, fine-- I'm up." 

"Good, now help me wake the others up." Wayne instructed while sitting up and straightening himself out, patting down the wrinkles in his shirt while combing a hand through his hair. 

Jerome nodded and flashed a grin at the bossy tone, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes while standing, approaching Jonathan and giving a gentle nudge to his hip with his foot, earning a grumble. "Come on Johnny-boy, get up." Jerome snickered, nudging him again, Jonathan only saying something under his breath at that. "Don't make me kick you." 

"Kick me and I'll break your foot." Jonathan threatened, earning a snicker. "What time is it?" 

"Four." 

"In the A.M.?" Jonathan scoffed, Jerome humming in confirmation. "Why the hell are you waking me up at four in the morning?" He questioned through clenched teeth, sitting upright and glaring up at Jerome. 

"Hey, don't look at me-- it was Wayne's idea to get everyone up." Jerome defended with a shrug. 

"Is there a fire, Wayne?" Jonathan icily m inquired, glancing towards the boy trying to shake Selina awake. 

Wayne looked up at Jonathan confused. "No?" 

"Then why are you waking me up this damn early?" Jonathan snapped, chucking his pillow at the raven haired boy. 

The pillow hit Selina, causing her to jolt awake, instinctively punching at Wayne as he huffed, "Ow!" The fourteen year old glaring at the groggy girl while rubbing his sore upper arm. "Selina!" 

"What?" Selina yawned with a glower, begrudgingly sitting up and giving a stretch. "What time is it?" 

"Four." Wayne answered sourly, upper arm throbbing-- actually... he needed to learn how to punch like that. 

Selina let out what sounded suspiciously close to a whine. "In the morning?" 

"Yes," Wayne confirmed in a grumble while standing up, knowing that was going to leave a bruise. "It's Christmas." 

"Yeah, well, when you're homeless you tend to not really give a shit about Christmas." Selina haughtily said under her breath, flopping back down onto her mattress. 

Wayne frowned at that. "You're not homeless anymore-- you have a home here." 

Selina was quiet for a few long seconds, a sigh eventually leaving her lips as she reluctantly sat back up, arms crossing. "How am I supposed to ignore you and sleep when you say something like that?" She accused heatedly, cheeks somewhat pink. 

Wayne smirked, reaching out his hand and helping her stand. "Can you get Ivy up? I don't want to get-" 

"Punched by a girl again?" Jerome snickered, earning a look from Wayne. 

Selina nodded, walking over to Ivy and kneeling beside her, poking her shoulder gently. "Come on, Ives, time to get up." 

Ivy gave a murmur, not opening her eyes, voice fatigued as she muttered, "What time is it?" 

"Four." Selina answered, earning a huff of disbelief. 

"In the morning?" 

"Uh-huh." 

"Why are we getting up so early?" Ivy questioned with a knitted brow. 

"Because it's Christmas." 

"So what?" 

Selina felt the corners of her lips briefly tug upwards amused at that. "So Wayne wants us to get up." 

"No, I want to go back to sleep." 

"I'll carry you." 

Ivy paused, considering the offer and giving a long exhale. "Fine." She was too sleepy to argue. 

Selina sat down on Ivy's mattress, back facing the ginger as the girl almost as tall as she was climbed on, Ivy's cheek resting on the curly haired girl's shoulder while Selina gave a strained laugh. "You've gotten heavier." 

"That's rude." Ivy scolded, Selina standing up as the twelve year old wrapped her legs around the older girl's waist. 

"I meant bigger." Selina corrected in a half assed fashion, earning a huff. 

"Still rude." 

"No, like-" Selina sighed. "Like taller." She noticed the trio of smirking males. "Shut up." 

"Didn't say anything." Jerome chuckled, hands going up in a surrendering manner. 

"Is Alfred even going to be up this early?" Jonathan sighed grumpily. 

"No, but Oswald and Jim and them are coming over at seven," He reminded while walking out of the room, the other's tiredly following. "I set Alfred's alarm for six thirty instead of five when he was asleep so we could set up and he could sleep in." 

"So you were trying to be nice?" Selina inquired, earning a nod. "Then why couldn't you be nice to us too and let us sleep?" She resorted bitterly. 

"Because he's always doing everything around here and we should help." Wayne countered, Selina muttering something under her breath at that. 

"What do we even have to set up for the party?" Jonathan groaned, Wayne beginning to regret waking his grumpy friends up. 

"We have to cook Christmas snacks, put up decorations, kindle the fire, make hot chocolate, etcetera." Wayne finally answered simply after sneaking by Alfred's room quietly. 

"Ivy and I will cook," Selina yawned, carefully walking down the steps with the girl on her back. "Jonathan and you can do the decorations, and Jerome can kindle the fire and make hot chocolate and whatever else." 

The other four nodded in agreement, still too tired to argue and not really seeing a reason to. 

When they got downstairs Selina and Ivy went towards the kitchen, Jerome going over to the fireplace while rubbing his sleeved arms up and down cold, Jonathan following Wayne to the storage closet. 

"Just set up whatever looks good-- balloons with snowflakes on them, red and green stockings, any CDs with Christmas songs..." Wayne murmured, digging through the boxes of decorations. 

Jonathan felt the corners of his lips raise amused. "Mistletoe?" He offered, holding up a newly sealed bag of the plant, Wayne's eyes widening at that. 

"No-" Wayne protested, grabbing for the bag and giving a glare as Jonathan stood and held it out of his reach. 

"Say, I bet you'd sure be happy under some of this with Jerome." Jonathan mused in a hum, dangling the mistletoe away from the boy as he stood. 

"Shut up and give it back." Wayne grumbled, reaching for the bag. 

"I could've sworn you wanted me to help you with your little crush on carrot top." Jonathan teased amusedly. 

"I never actually agreed to that." Wayne reminded, jumping for the bag and giving a huff as the taller boy blocked him with his arm. "Jonathan-" 

"Never objected to it either." Jonathan added, earning a look of warning. "Okay, okay-- fine, I'll put it back." He gave in, dropping it into the box. 

Wayne nodded satisfied, going back to looking for decorations. "Thank you." 

Everyone managed to finish setting up by five other than Selina and Ivy, Wayne, Jerome, and Wayne deciding to go help them with cooking and finishing up a few minutes before six, causing the five minors to go get changed from their pajamas into suitable attire, the doorbell ringing at six fifteen, Wayne going to answer it and seeing it was Lee and Jim. 

"Merry Christmas!" Lee greeted with a smile, tucking an armful of presents under her right arm and using her left to pull Wayne into a hug. 

Wayne blinked taken aback at the friendly gesture, more used to handshakes than anything nowadays, nonetheless hesitantly returning the hug politely. "Merry Christmas." He greeted with a small smile and nod, stepping back and gesturing for them to enter. 

Jim gave a grumble, following Lee inside while trying to balance several stacked up presents in his arms-- he wasn't trying to be a grump, but he'd had a long and hard night at the GCPD, and he was still bitter about having to agree to buy presents for a bunch of damn criminals due to Lee's insistence... and now he was going to a Christmas party with a bunch of criminals. How lovely. 

They could've just of bought Wayne, Alfred, Dent, and Fox something, but no-- they had to get something for the maniac murderer, cat burglar, illegal plant grower, and public terrorizer, too... and to top it all off she'd insisted they get additional Christmas treats for a mob boss, his pair of lackeys, three of one of his lackeys lackeys, and the GCPD employee who had possibly turned against them considering he'd gone and sheltered said mob boss. 

Alfred came downstairs soon after hearing the doorbell ring, buttoning up his vest as he hurried down the steps and muttering under his breath how he needed a new alarm, stopping in his tracks whence seeing everything was already in set up, and quite nicely at that. 

Well that was a pleasant surprise to wake up to. 

"Wayne made us wake up early to set things up so you could sleep in." Ivy grumbled while laying her head down on Selina's lap, a hand subconsciously running through her hair. 

Alfred's brow quirked. "I see." He put his hands behind his back, giving a slight grateful nod. "Thank you, Master Wayne." 

Wayne leaned on Jerome's shoulder, earning a gentle nudge as he gave a yawn. "Mhm." Those little four or so hours of sleep was beginning to catch up with Wayne. 

"You all did a rather nice job." Alfred complimented, walking over to the armchair across from Wayne along with the other minors and next to the love sofa Lee and Jim sat on. 

"Thanks." Jonathan replied half awake, looking just about ready to doze off and fall forward. 

"So how have things been?" Jim spoke up-- he hadn't seen these kids since Thanksgiving... mostly because Thanksgiving hadn't gone all that well... particularly because of him and Jerome. 

"Totally legal." Jerome answered in assurance, earning an unamused glance from Jim. "What? Too early for jokes?" 

Lee needed to be the peace maker- again- and turn Jim's attention away from Jerome... again. "I bet you're excited Santa came." She piped up, directing her attention towards Ivy. 

"You promised to be nice." Wayne evoked in a whisper before Jerome could provoke Jim anymore. 

"I know Santa isn't real." Ivy answered bluntly. 

"I did?" Jerome chuckled with a smirk, not tearing his gaze away from Jim's challenging stare. 

Lee blinked, brow arching. "Oh." 

"Yes-- I gave you a kiss, remember?" Wayne answered quietly, nonchalantly observing the way Jerome tensed vaguely at that. "I gave you a kiss as exchange for you acting nice around Jim." He elaborated, earning a cleared throat. 

"Oh." Jerome gave a semi-nervous laugh. "Right." Shit, he'd forgotten all about that... probably just because it wasn't a real kiss-- it was just on the cheek, and that was all-- it had only been a silly brief meeting of lips against skin, and nothing more yet nothing less... or at least as far as Jerome knew that's all it had been. "Well I'm not sure I'd really call that a kiss." He quietly teased smoothly after quickly regaining himself, continuing to stare Jim down challengingly without faltering. 

Jim's eyes narrowed-- did he read Jerome's lips correctly? It looked like he'd just said the word 'kiss'... what the hell were they talking about? 

Wayne felt his cheeks heat up at that, swallowing thickly and pausing-- fine, if Jerome wanted to play like that, then they'd play like that. "What? You want a real one?" 

Jerome snickered-- Wayne was so much more fun when he teased back. "Oh? If I didn't know better I'd say you wanted a real one." Jim looked a lot more piss than usual-- could he hear what they were saying..? Jerome smirked-- good. 

Jim couldn't hear them, but he was beginning to get the idea they were talking about something they shouldn't be, and he was able to catch a questionable word or two every once in a while. 

"I bet you're not even that good of a kisser." Wayne challenged, Jerome chuckling. 

"Want to test that theory?" Jerome offered, not expecting Wayne to actually take him up on said offer. 

"I'm willing to bet you do." Wayne answered without missing a beat. 

"Yeah? And what if I said yes?" 

Wayne was braver than usual... maybe it was because was tired and thus a bit irrational and more honest than normal. "Then I guess I'd let you plant one on me." He was still anxious as hell, but a bit more risky as well. 

Jerome almost faltered at that-- was Wayne just jesting around or was he being serious now..? Jerome couldn't tell. "Would you now?" 

"What? Too scared to try it?" Wayne teased, chewing on the inside of his cheek both anxiously and hopefully. 

"Not at all, but I'm willing to bet you are." Jerome joked, trying to figure out whether or not Wayne was just playing along or actually... 

Wayne felt slightly insulted at that-- scared? Him? No way! He was learning to conquer his fears, dangit. "How much?" Wayne questioned somewhat haughtily. 

Jerome continued meeting Jim's glare with a smirk. "How much what?" 

"How much are you willing to bet?" Wayne clarified more intrigued than anything. 

"Shit, I don't know," Jerome laughed with a shrug. "Hundred bucks?" Go big or go home. 

Wayne sat up, pressing his lips against Jerome's cheek for a few seconds rather than pulling away almost as quickly as he'd leaned forward like he'd done on Thanksgiving, that managing to get Jerome to blink and lose the little challenging staring contest between him and Jim, looking at Wayne with a raised brow after the younger boy pulled back. 

"You owe me a hundred bucks." Wayne informed nonchalantly, Jim wondering if Wayne had really just gone and and done that, glancing at Lee and Alfred to see if they'd seen the kiss and realizing they were too wrapped up in their own conversation with the other kids to notice. 

Jerome uneasily glanced at Jim, and oh great-- the detective was glaring daggers at him. 

Now, Jerome almost told Wayne Jim had just seen that, knowing the younger boy didn't realize the detective was keeping an eye on them, but then he got a devious little idea. 

Jerome was going to see just how much Wayne was willing to play this little game of dares. 

Wayne tensed, Jerome pressing his lips against his ear while whispering, "That still wasn't a real kiss." 

Jim didn't know what Jerome was saying, but it didn't look appropriate. 

Wayne couldn't help but feel a cross between relief and hope rise-- he hoped this was going where it sounded like it was going. "If I gave you a real kiss would you promise to be nice?" 

Jerome smirked, glancing the seething Jim's way challengingly. "Sure-- but why exactly are you so set on giving me a kiss?" He hooked an arm around Wayne's hips, pulling him closer as Jim glowered. "Does little Wayne have a crush on me?" It was a joke, but Jerome didn't realize how on point he had just been. 

Wayne swallowed dryly, catching onto the fact Jerome was just being his normal flirtatious self rather than actually intentionally, well... flirting. 

Dang it. 

"No, but I'd be willing to bet you have one on me with how you're wanting me to give you a kiss just so you'll be nice." Wayne replied just as smoothly, and to be honest Jerome needed to learn how to take a damn hint because not everyone was just as naturally flirtatious as he was-- it was rare for Wayne to be a tease... in fact, other than one or two brief times with Selina, Wayne had never really been a tease, and he was beginning to doubt Jerome would ever catch onto that little fact. 

"I'm just joking around." Jerome chuckled assuringly, not wanting to make Wayne too uncomfortable-- although he was... but in a strangely good way. 

Wayne had half a mind to snap back he personally wasn't joking around, yet instead kept his cool and knowingly said, "I am, too, but I can tell you're trying to make Jim pissed off," as Jerome 'accidentally' brushed his lips briefly against Wayne's neck instead of his ear for the seventh time since he'd began whispering to him. "So if you want to get being a trouble maker out of your system then you can give me one kiss to 'win' this little game between you two, but then you have to be nice." There-- now it didn't sound like Wayne actually wanted a kiss... he wasn't ready to fess up to that much yet; it just sounded like he was willing to go to drastic measures for Jerome to play nice. 

Jerome's eyebrows quirked. "You're certainly observant," He chuckled, and for the love of all that was good did his chuckle have to sound so damn attractive too? "How about I just keep doing this and you act real shy or something instead?" He had to admit, he was a bit surprised at Wayne's little brave offer, but he wasn't going to take it-- he didn't exactly want to make Wayne go and do something he didn't want to... something he obviously didn't realize Wayne did indeed want to do. 

Wayne didn't want to act like Jerome was being a tease to him, he wanted Jerome to actually be a damn tease to him, dangit. "What? You want me to act like you're dirty talking me or something?" Wayne scoffed, arms crossing-- one real kiss on the lips was all he wanted... was that too much to ask for? Hell, just some genuine flirting with joking aside would be fine. 

Dirty talking? Jerome couldn't help but let out a laugh at that. "I meant more along the lines of just flirting, but sure-- that works, too." 

"Well what are you going to actually say while I act like you're 'flirting'?" 

"I dunno'-- I could just give directions on how to make a salad or something." Jerome offered, earning a roll of the eyes. "What? It's not like he has to actually hear what I'm saying-- he just has to see." 

"I'm not going to 'act real shy' while you tell me how to make a salad." Wayne scoffed, Jerome smirking against his ear-- did he have to do that? It was an incredibly unfair gesture and making Wayne feel rather flustered. 

"Why not? You were just offering to kiss me-- this isn't half as bad." Jerome glanced at the narrow eyed Jim amused before returning his attention to Wayne and pulling back, gripping the smaller one's chin with his free hand and tilting his head back somewhat so their eyes met. "If I didn't know better I'd say you want a kiss." There-- that would make Wayne blush. 

Wayne felt his cheeks heat up, knowing Jerome was still just jesting around and purposefully being more flirty than usual to make Wayne bashful and Jim fume as the younger boy couldn't help but notice just how close they were, and if Jerome just leaned forward a couple of centimeters they'd be- 

Jim cleared his throat quite loudly, Jerome feeling the corner of his lips tug upwards as he let go of Wayne's chin and brought back his arm hooked around the other's hips before anyone could take note of the rather compromising position. 

"Everything okay, dear?" Lee asked, knowing this was probably about- 

"Wouldn't you say you two are sitting a little too close?" Jim interjected, arms crossed. 

Lee sighed-- yep, it was about Jerome. 

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Jerome mused with a shrug. 

Jim's jaw clenched. "Yeah, it is-- move." 

"Why don't you come over here and make me?" Jerome taunted, Wayne nudging him annoyed. 

"Jerome." Alfred scolded before Jim could take the challenge. 

The ginger pursed his lips at the scolding, smile temporarily falling before he flashed another grin. "Sorry, Alfred," He looked at Jim. "I'll be mature-- how about we stop fighting and just enjoy Christmas, Jim?" 

Jim gritted his teeth, catching the way Jerome subtly smirked at him and met his eyes provokingly, mentally daring Jim to try something, and the cop almost did before feeling Lee gently squeeze his hand. Fine. "Sure, Jerome, so how about we agree that you should move?" 

"Jim-" Lee exhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

"Whatever makes you feel better, buddy," Jerome all too easily agreed with a grin plastered on his smug little face, and Jim was this damn close to putting the cocky bastard back in Arkham if he didn't stop being such a little shit. "But we do share a mattress, so I don't see why you're getting so worked up on us just sitting next to each other." He hummed while moving over and putting a foot of space in between himself and Wayne. 

Jim turned his attention. "Oh-- so they're still sharing a bed?" He scoffed in disbelief, Wayne sinking down in his seat. 

"Well, yes-- it's not like he's Selina." Alfred answered, not seeing any harm in the pair doing so. 

Before Jim could reply a knock was heard at the door, Alfred standing to answer it. 

A tired and grumpy Oswald along with a much too awake and hyper Nygma walked inside, Gabe, Victor, and Zsaszettes following. 

"Good morning," Lee greeted, earning yawns of greetings back. "How are you all?" 

Jerome cracked a cheeky smile and Jim scowled ever so slightly as the attention turned away from the fact Jerome probably needed to be lectured on personal space and turned to a new conversation. 

Fox eventually came out from the room Alfred and Wayne allowed him to sleep in whenever he stayed over late to work on the bat-cave's computer, Dent coming over right at seven and Bullock getting there fashionably late. 

"Well I'd say it's time for presents." Alfred spoke up after letting a half awake Bullock inside. "You kids mind helping hand them out?" 

Wayne, who had nearly fallen asleep while leaning on a dozing in and out Jerome, nodded, Selina forcing her eyes to open as she and Ivy, who's eyelids were drooped, reluctantly stood while Jonathan yawned and stretched before following suit. 

Ivy blinked, eyebrows arching as she examined the presents while feeling her lips spread into a smile, grabbing a wrapped up box and holding it out to Selina, earning an exhausted and cranky look as the curly haired girl tiredly grumbled, "You have to help with presents, too, Ives." 

Ivy rolled her eyes. "I know that." She huffed, shoving the present into Selina's arm with a grin. 

"Well then why are you-" Selina paused, looking down at the present's tag taken aback, seeing: 'To: Selina From: Wayne' written on it, causing her to glance at the raven haired boy gathering up presents in his arms. "You bought us stuff?" 

Wayne nodded. "Yeah, of course-- I've got Jim and Lee's presents." 

Selina felt her cheeks heat up at how nonchalant Wayne was, certainly not used to someone buying her- well, anything. "Oh." She cleared her throat, quickly composing herself and just as nonchalantly saying, "Okay, I've got Fox's.", cheeks stills somewhat pink. 

After the minors finished passing out presents they finally got to go grab their own, the majority of them being from Wayne despite each getting one from Lee and Jim as well as one from Alfred. 

They opened Lee and Jim's presents first, Ivy beaming at the sight of emerald shaded ice-skates and Jonathan examining his own amber colored pair musingly as Jerome smirked at the sight of his purple ones, Wayne saying his thanks to the couple while holding his black skates before Selina mused, "Nice-- feet weapons.", while looking over the blades on her amusedly cheetah-printed ones. 

Jim's expression fell. "No, not feet weapons-- if you use those for anything other than ice skating then we're taking them back." 

"No givsies-backsies." Selina resorted, earning a stern look from the detective. "Relax-- it was a joke." She assured with a shrug. "Thanks though... this is pretty cool." She admitted, Lee smiling kindly at that. 

Yep-- Lee was going to be an awesome parent. 

Next the minors opened the presents from Alfred, there being three presents total-- one to Wayne and Jerome, one to Selina and Ivy, and one to Jonathan. 

Wayne and Jerome's present was a sleek dark gray and emerald colored sleigh, Selina and Ivy's being a black sleigh with cutesy pinkish red vines as designs, Jonathan's being a fancy orange one seater sleigh with his name etched in gold underneath. 

Ivy felt an excited smile tug at her lips and stood, walking over to hug a taken aback Alfred as he patted her back, and okay, yeah... the little buggar had grown on him. 

The fact of the matter was none of these kids, other than Wayne of course, were used to getting much, if anything, on Christmas. 

Ivy would give Selina a nice bouquet of flowers, and Selina would steal Ivy something cute like a necklace with a rose on it or bracelet with daisy-shaped beads, while Jerome would get a single used accessory of some sort for his circus act from his mother. Sure-- Jonathan used to get an average amount of presents from his guardians, but ever since the car accident he'd more or less given up on the hope any close relatives would even keep up to date whenever Christmas came around. 

Getting such lovely presents was honestly just... a bit overwhelming for the young trouble makers-- but in a good way. 

"Here." Oswald spoke up, walking over to Jerome and Wayne before digging into his trench coat and pulling out two small wrapped up boxes, dropping them into their laps before tossing wads of cash into the other kids laps. "I wasn't sure what to get for the rest of you-- spend it how you wish." He nonchalantly grumbled with a shrug, afterwards making his way towards Jim and Lee, earning a pair of raised eyebrows from the cop as he promptly held out a larger yet slimmer package, Jim hesitantly taking it and giving an unsurely grateful nod as Oswald turned away from him and towards Alfred without another word, taking out one more present for the butler and handing it to him while evenly saying, "Nygma, Dent, Gabe, Bullock, Fox, and Victor and Zsaszettes-- you've all earned a raise. Merry Christmas." 

Dent, Bullock, and Fox all exchanged glances, Dent hesitantly saying, "But we don't work for you." 

Oswald shrugged, sitting back down. "I have friends in high places." 

Jim and Lee, Jerome, Wayne, and Alfred all opened their presents from Oswald, the engaged couple seeing it was a one-of-a-kind exclusive baby journal for them to write down their child's first actions, such as its first word and the date it first walked, the red haired seventeen year old feeling a grin tug at his lips whence finding his was a fragile glass hyena hand crafted and no doubt expensive, the smaller boy seeing his was the same thing yet an owl instead of a canine, Alfred finding his was a fancy free spa coupon-- he could actually use that with how Master Wayne had made his stress levels rise constantly lately. 

"Thanks, boss." Jerome chuckled, Wayne's eyes widening at that. "What-" The older teen began as all eyes turned towards him, realizing his mistake too late. "Oh." 

"Boss?" Jim inquired, Oswald giving Jerome a look. 

Shit. 

"Uh, yeah," Jerome gave a nervous laugh, hoping he hadn't just gone and ruined Christmas. "I helped him at the club a while back." 

"And just how did you help?" Jim interrogated suspiciously, obviously not about to let Jerome's comment slide. 

If they found out Jerome had convinced Wayne to partner up with him and work with Oswald they'd be in big trouble... and they'd be in even bigger trouble if they found out he and Wayne were still working for him. 

"I just helped clean up some." Jerome answered while forcing on a grin, both Alfred and Jim narrowing their eyes at that. 

It wasn't as though Jerome could very well tell them he'd been spilling information about Theo-- if they found out he'd known Wayne was in danger and hadn't told anyone he'd have his ass kicked out... plus he still kind of felt like an asshole for that considering he actually felt a tinge of guilt for putting the one person he considered a friend in harm's way by keeping his mouth shut just to stir up a bit of chaotic fun-- not that he'd do that now, of course. 

"Just why exactly did you want a job with Mr. Cobblepot in the first place?" Alfred inquired, arms crossing. 

"Did you owe him for something?" Jim added before Jerome could answer. 

"It was before Wayne and I got on good terms," Jerome shrugged off, flashing the most legit smile he could. "I wanted some money to lean on just in case he ended up giving me the boot or something." 

"It's too bad you quit so soon-- you were one of our best janitors." Victor added, graciously deciding to help the teen out a little, earning a grateful grin from the ginger as Oswald nodded in agreement without adding a comment. 

"So he never did anything for you other than clean?" Jim questioned unconvinced. 

"He didn't want to get on the kid's bad side," Gabe assured, gesturing towards Wayne with a nod. "Wouldn't take up any illegal jobs." 

Jim eyed Jerome broodingly, parting his lips to interrogate him further when Lee piped up, "Aw, honey, look what Wayne got us!", causing him to force his gaze away from Jerome and towards the nine-thousand dollar camera. "We can take pictures of the baby with this!" 

The detective glanced at Jerome, contemplating before giving a sigh and looking back down at the camera, nodding in agreement. 

Oswald opened up his own present from Wayne, brow quirking at the sight of homemade cannolis, Wayne rubbing his upper arm while saying, "I remember you saying your mother would make those for you at Christmas, so..." He trailed off. 

Oswald cleared his throat, giving a slight nod of thanks before averting his gaze, setting the box carefully to the side and looking to the side while pondering-- that was... nice. 

The rest opened their own presents from Wayne, Alfred receiving a few things like a new suit and some rare trinkets shipped in from other countries he'd visited during the war, Dent getting a coin kit containing coins from all over the world, Bullock receiving three one hundred dollar gift cards-- one to a fancy restaurant, one to an exclusive bar, and one to an upcoming football game, while Victor got a set of knives that could cut through wood like butter, and Gabe got a six thousand dollar designer leather jacket, Nygma receiving a fun game revolving around solving riddles-- most of which he'd surprisingly never heard before, causing Oswald to groan whence realizing he was going to more or less be forced to play such with the riddler, each of the Zsaszettes getting matching matching makeup kits that were actually weapons, such as the lipstick grenade and flammable blush powder... Jim would have to question Wayne about where he got that later on. 

Jerome got a dark red trench coat, a automatic 1600 smith and wesson extractor knife, and a sterling silver pin with a dark purple snake made of marble, while Selina received a pair of black gloves, a set of expensively sturdy fake claws that could be easily applied with superglue, and a pin with a dark gray feline. Ivy, on the other hand, got emerald colored earmuffs, a kit of poisonous plant seeds with instructions on how to safely grow them, and a pin with a pink rose, while Jonathan received dark orange scarf, a chemistry set, and a pin with a detailed yellow scarecrow on a cornfield pole. 

"Not bad." Jerome mused, referring to how Wayne had managed to remember the name of the knife he'd talked about quite a while back, afterwards clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, still soaking in the fact this was, in a way, his first actual Christmas. "Thanks." He added with a chuckle, ruffling up Wayne's hair-- he seriously wasn't used to getting presents like this... 

Wayne practically beamed, relieved Jerome liked his presents, blinking when hearing a sniffle and glancing towards Ivy. "Hey-" 

Ivy rubbed at her eyes with her sleeve. "I have dirt in my eye." She quickly lied, frankly overwhelmed by this tradition she wasn't at all used to-- but it was a good sort of overwhelmingness. 

"Thank you." Selina muttered, cheeks pink as she averted her gaze in a fashion that was suspiciously close to being shy. 

Jonathan murmured a word of gratitude, contemplating quietly afterwards, feeling a tinge of... something along the lines of happiness rise in his chest ever so slightly at the kind gesture, and while it wasn't quite happiness it was still close, which was amazing to feel after being constantly emotionless or irrationally fearful. 

This was actually a really good Christmas for everyone... 

... 

... except for Wayne and Oswald, both missing their family a lot more than usual. 

Sure, it was nice being able to have everyone there and whatnot, but Wayne couldn't help but feel a bit down... 

Although Wayne couldn't dwell on that-- he had to be strong and learn to get through any obstacles, and right now he was finding having to keep a happy attitude on was definitely an obstacle he had to simply overcome, which he managed to do as the opening of exchanged presents continued, just as Oswald did the same. 

Part of Wayne's training was to water down his emotions-- he couldn't give up on that... kid or not. 

"Can we go try out the skates and sleighs?" Ivy piped up when everyone was finished with opening one another's presents, giving even bigger puppy eyes than Wayne usually gave, causing Alfred to ponder before shrugging. 

"I don't see why not." The butler answered with a nod, Ivy practically beaming while she more or less jumped off of the couch, grabbing her skis as she helped Selina pick up the sleigh. 

"Shouldn't an adult go with them?" Jim objected uncertainly. 

"Jerome's almost an adult." Wayne waved off, grabbing his own skis while the taller teen managed to heave their sleigh over his shoulder, Wayne instead helping Jonathan with his. 

"I'm not sure I want Jerome being the one in charge." Jim scoffed, earning an irked smirk from the seventeen year old. 

"They'll be fine, sweetie." Lee assured, placing a palm over Jim's hand reassuringly as the minors more or less sped out of the room before he could voice anymore protests. 

Now, Wayne didn't really contemplate on why Jonathan pushed the sleigh he was helping carry to the side ever so slightly, forcing Wayne to shuffle to his right somewhat and beside Jerome, figuring Jonathan was just haven't trouble following... until Wayne heard the sixteen year old say, "Looks like someone got caught under the mistletoe." 

Jerome and Wayne glanced up at the Christmas plant oh so coincidentally above them, Wayne's expression falling as Jerome arched a brow, a smirk eventually forming on the red haired male's lips while a chuckle left his throat as Wayne glared daggers at Jonathan-- the sneaky little bastard had managed to put some of the festively embarrassing decorations! Wayne had told him not to, damnit. 

"It needs water." Ivy grumbled, staring up at the plant concerned. 

"Let's go." Wayne muttered, trying to move forward and glowering over his shoulder at Jonathan as the brunet didn't budge and instead tightened his grip on the sleigh, forcing Wayne to stay put. 

"Rules are rules." Jonathan informed with a shrug, Wayne's jaw clenching in embarrassed irritation. 

"It's just a plant." Jerome snickered, Wayne feeling both eased and unrelieved at the same time whence realizing that meant he apparently wasn't going to get a kiss from the other. 

"Chickenshit." Selina provoked nonchalantly, earning narrowed eyes. 

"Excuse me?" Jerome scoffed-- just because this girl was beginning to grow on him didn't mean she wasn't a bitch... sure, Jerome was kind of a bitch too, but still. 

"It means you're too much of a scaredy cat." Selina informed with a smirk, Jerome giving a snicker and crossing his arms. 

"Are you trying to get me to kiss your crush?" Jerome chuckled, both Wayne and Selina feeling their cheeks heat up in embarrassment at that. 

"No!" Selina quickly answered, mostly flustered by the accusation than anything, yet also a bit pissed off. "I'm just saying you're not exactly a risk taker-- and I don't like him." Wayne looked somewhat hurt at that. "I mean- I- you know what I- I didn't mean it like- I don't have to tell you about whether or not I like someone, okay?" She huffed, already regretting her banter. 

"My ass you don't." Jerome snickered, earning a glower from the curly haired girl. "And I'm not one to take risks? Sweetie, have you been paying any attention around me?" He often took one too many chances in all honesty. 

"Yeah, I have, and you're too chickenshit to take any risks that don't involve doing something illegal." Selina resorted smoothly. 

Jerome's eyes narrowed despite his smirk. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" 

"It means what I said; you only take risks that involve you being able to stir up some chaos-- you never take risks that might involve any fun that's not chaotic." 

Jerome didn't like being analyzed-- particularly when the one analyzing him was right. 

So, Jerome flashed a smile and took the challenge, because he absolutely adored proving those who believed they'd figured him out wrong. 

Wayne blinked, eyes widening somewhat as Jerome took ahold of his necktie, pulled him up gently but firmly so he had to stand on the tips of his toes, and pressed a brief kiss against his cheek before letting go and stepping away, Selina's jaw nearly dropping as Jerome hummed, "You sure about that, sweet-cheeks?" 

Selina's lips pursed, her brow furrowing as she took little to no time to storm out the front door, Ivy having to jog as she held the back of their sleigh to follow, Wayne not knowing whether to swoon over the small kiss he'd just been given or seethe over the fact his other crush looked absolutely distraught. 

It was difficult having two crushes at once. 

Jonathan felt the corners of his lips tug downwards-- he rarely felt anything, although he did almost feel a bit... bad-- almost. 

The minors walked towards Gotham's bridge in silence, Selina's glossed over eyes sadly not wet from the cold, Jonathan staring at the ground meekly as Ivy struggled to keep up with the quickly walking curly haired girl, Wayne vaguely wondering what it would be like if Jerome was bi so the trio could all just be in a big happy relationship-- he knew there was a word for that, but couldn't quite recall it... polynomial? No... Poly Pocket? Definitely no. Poly... Polyamorous? Yes! That was it-- polyamorous. 

... Oh who was Wayne kidding-- even if Jerome was bi he still probably wouldn't like Wayne the way Wayne did him, and Wayne couldn't tell whether or not Jerome and Selina were even the type to get along, not knowing in the least where his two complicated crushes stood with one another. Besides, he'd probably just ruined his chances with Selina by letting Jerome kiss him, even if it was just on the cheek... Why did he have to have two crushes? It was not at all easy to deal with, and it would've frankly been nice to be able to control his emotions going all over the place lately. 

Jerome noticed Wayne's antsy behavior, causing him to contemplate and let out a long puff of brisk white air before begrudgingly jogging up to Selina, nudging her with his arm not holding the sleigh, earning a glare as he said, "Listen-" 

"What? Are you going to apologize just so Wayne will stop sulking since that will totally make us all buddy buddy again?" Selina snapped sarcastically. 

Yeesh, this girl did know how to read people... "Well, I mean... yeah, but-" Jerome chuckled. 

"Screw off." Selina interjected haughtily, speeding up as Jerome did the same to keep up, her lips thinning into a line. 

"Look-" Jerome started, Selina walking faster. "Can you just-" 

"If you want Wayne you can have him, okay? I don't care." Selina interrupted in annoyance, Ivy stumbling through the snow to keep up with the sled. "Just leave me alone until I've cooled off some, asshole-" She paused, giving Jerome a menacing stare. "-unless you want me to claw your eyes out? Because I really don't feel like talking right now." 

Geez. Jerome put his hands up in surrender, giving a nod-- fair enough. 

When the kids got to the bridge way leading in and out of Gotham they saw it was blocked off by a few snow slopes, causing them to all climb up the first one before each getting into their sleighs, Selina behind Ivy and Jerome behind Wayne. 

"You ever gone sledding before?" Jerome mused, looking over Wayne's shoulder and down the steep mound of snow vaguely unsurely. 

"Yeah, have you?" Wayne answered, trying to ignore Jerome's legs around him as well as the amused looks Jonathan was giving him while Wayne's ears went red in embarrassment. 

"Nope." Jerome paused. "Is this safe?" 

"Relatively." Wayne replied as the others got ready to race down the white hill by leaning forward. 

Jerome gave an anxious chuckle. "Relatively?" 

"Just hang on and you'll be fine," Wayne assured, gripping the edge of the sleigh readily. "It's a lot less dangerous than the stunts you pull-- like going to the boat harbor to meet criminals and trying to fight killer monks." 

"On your mark-" Ivy began. 

"Yeah, but, I mean... what do I do? Just hang on, or-" Jerome asked with a strained laugh. 

"-get set-" Ivy continued. 

"Just hang onto the edge, lean forward, and don't fall off." Wayne explained simply. 

"What do you mean don't fall off?" Jerome scoffed. "How do I not fall-" 

"-go!" 

Shit. 

Wayne leaned forward, Jerome debating on rolling off to the side before they could slide downwards, and letting out a stressed chuckle as the sleigh dipped forward before he could do so, figuring it probably wouldn't be a good idea in any case considering he'd rather not accidentally cause Wayne to go and wreck by abruptly shifting the moving object they both say upon. 

"Oh screw this." Jerome breathed with a forced smile while the sleigh sped down the white snow much too fast for his taste, knuckles white as he clenched onto the sled's edges for dear life. 

Wayne felt Jerome's legs tighten around him, the raven haired boy feeling a smirk tug at his lips amused despite the light blush that tinted his cheeks. "You okay?" He called out, almost to the bottom of the slope. 

"Never better!" Jerome laughed sarcastically, blinking as he felt his knuckles scrape against a shard of ice, instinctively yanking his hand upwards while cussing, eyes widening as the sleigh swiveled at the jerk of movement. "Oh come on-" 

Wayne let out a noise when the sled toppled, feeling Jerome wrap and arm around his waist on reaction as they stumbled to the side and out of the sleigh while sliding a few yards forward, the sled speeding away from them quickly before eventually tumbling to a stop unharmed. 

Jerome let out a shaky chuckle-- that had been rather horrifying. Funny, but horrifying for someone who had never tired to use a sleigh before. 

Wayne sat up with a groan, rubbing the side of his neck sorely and looking down at Jerome. "You okay?" 

Jerome nodded, sitting up somewhat with the help of his elbows. "I'm good, you?" 

Wayne gave a nod, noticing a cut on Jerome's lower lip and frowning, feeling a tinge of guilt as he hesitantly reached out to brush the red away with his sleeve. "Sorry..." He probably should've explained how one rode a sled better... 

Jerome shrugged, wincing slightly as Wayne dabbed at the place on his lower lip. "It's fine-- not your fault-" He glanced down at his scraped up knuckles. "-my hand hit something is all." 

Wayne lowered his hand and chewed on the inside of his cheek broodingly-- they were super close... "Oh, okay." Maybe- maybe if he just leaned forward a little and- 

"So, uh-" Jerome cleared his throat, giving a smirk. "You gonna' just sit on my lap all day like I'm Santa or what?" 

Wayne blinked, feeling his cheeks heat up as he embarrassedly cleared his throat and scrambled off of Jerome, quickly standing up before offering a hand, Jerome eying him amused and pausing, afterwards taking the stretched out palm and standing. 

"You guys ready for round two or are you afraid you're going to lose again?" Selina called out challengingly, earning a grin from Jerome as Wayne ever so shyly rubbed his upper arm. 

When the five finally sledded to the edge of the frozen water way under the bridge leading in and out of Gotham, they set down their sleighs and put on their skates, Jerome once again feeling like the odd one out with how he'd never been ice skating before. 

"This isn't too bad." Selina commented, getting the jest of ice skating relatively easily. 

"It's like roller skating." Ivy agreed with a nod as she began to get the hang of getting around almost instantly, Jonathan and Wayne both already knowing the basics of skating. 

Despite Selina being just as new to skating as Jerome was, she somehow managed to only wobble a bit as she quickly learned how to get around. Jerome though? Jerome hadn't even gotten a few yards away from shore as he grumbled things under his breath about how he wasn't at all fond of skates or sleighs.

Wayne bit down on his lower lip, eying Jerome hesitantly while Selina, Ivy, and Jonathan went on out before finally skating up to the other, holding out his hands and earning a quizzical look. "Come on-- I'll teach you." 

Jerome snickered, looking over his shoulder and seeing he hadn't gotten far at all, causing him to briefly frown before letting out a sigh and nodding, giving an irked smile. "Fine." 

"Okay, try to not lean forward so much," Wayne suggested as Jerome took his hands, causing the other to straighten up slightly, swaying vaguely. "Yeah-- like that. Now try to move forward by shifting your whole body each time you slide a foot towards me-- use your hips." 

"How thin is this ice?" Jerome inquired with a uneasy grin while doing as told, managing to move towards Wayne more smoothly. 

"It's not going to break." Wayne assured, Jerome squeezing his hands while stumbling slightly. "Get into a sturdy position and hold everything other than your legs still-- balance yourself with them." Wayne instructed as Jerome swayed and tried not to fall, the other managing to do as directed. "We'll skate around until you get used to it, okay?" 

Jerome nodded, knuckles dried with red stinging from earlier. "Sure." He replied with a uncertain snicker. 

At least ten minutes of that went on, Jerome gradually getting the basics as Wayne told him what to do less and less, instead allowing him to remember his tips and figure it out by himself. 

"Alright, I'm going to let go now, okay?" 

"What? No-" Jerome objected with a scoff. 

"You'll be fine-" Wayne promised, gradually beginning to pull away. 

"Damnit Wayne don't be an asshole." Jerome huffed as the smaller boy's hands pulled away from his. "Wayne I swear to-" 

"You're fine." Wayne reassured, skating backwards a few feet. "Try to skate towards me." 

Jerome gave a glare at him while continuing to smirk. "Yeah, sure, but when I get over there I'm kicking your ass for making me do this," Jerome informed, earning a grin. "And if I fall through the ice and die then I'm going to haunt your ass for the rest of your life." 

Wayne didn't bother considering what he said next, honestly just sorta'... blurting it out without pondering on whether or not he should say it. "Stop talking about what you're going to do to my ass and focus on practicing skating." 

Jerome's brow raised at the bold comeback, a taken aback grin spreading on his lips. "Someone's feeling feisty today." He hummed, carefully ice skating towards Wayne gradually. 

"Just hurry up." Wayne grumbled, arms crossing and gaze averting-- Ra he couldn't believe he'd really just said that... 

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming." Jerome waved off, taking a few more dozen seconds to reach Wayne. "Now what? Can we go home?" He really wasn't a fan of this sleighing or ice skating stuff. 

"No," Wayne answered with an eye roll, beginning to skate around Jerome in circles, managing to do so in a way that was- as far as Jerome knew- surprisingly graceful. "Now we skate-- we can go home when everyone wants to go." 

Jerome felt an amused smile tug on his lips as Wayne gave a single twirl as he continued skating around the older male. "Show off." 

Wayne straightened up cockily. "Bet you can't catch me." 

Jerome's eyebrows quirked. "Oh yeah? Well what do I get if I catch you?" 

Wayne contemplated on whether or not he should allow the words to spill from his mouth that undeniably did. "A kiss." Sure, he said it jokingly, but he couldn't help but hope Jerome would take the hint and realize Wayne wasn't playing around. 

Jerome gave a chuckle, arms crossing as he eyed Wayne quizzically. "Am I teasing too much around you? I feel like I'm rubbing off on ya' some." 

Wayne shrugged, disappointed Jerome hadn't caught the tinge of seriousness. "Maybe." He gave a small jump in the air, gently landing on his feet. "So are you going to try catch me or not?" Maybe if Wayne flirted back enough Jerome would learn how to take a hint eventually... hopefully soon. 

Jerome smirked, looking Wayne up and down broodingly, sizing his chances up before jesting, "Well, I mean, if it means I'm going to get a kiss then I can't very well just say no." 

Wayne cracked a smile. "Lean forward and move your legs faster to speed up-- if you get comfortable enough you can push off of the ground some and lift your feet off the ice to get a boost." 

Jerome flashed a grin. "Good to know." This couldn't be that difficult, right? 

Over ten minutes of playing around went on, Wayne teasingly coming to a stop every once and a while and letting Jerome get just a few feet away before gracefully skating to the side and circling around the other, afterwards skating off once again, until finally gradually coming to a halt as Jerome leaned over and placed his hands on his knees while giving a breathless laugh. 

"Give up?" Wayne mused with a proud grin, skating up towards Jerome amused. 

"I guess I probably should-" Jerome began, Wayne blinking as the other abruptly skated forward, managing to grab Wayne's upper arm as the younger boy tried to skate back. "-try one more time." He added with a wink. 

Dangit. 

Wayne gave a laugh, starting to pull away from Jerome's grasp and cussing under his breath as his feet stumbled, Jerome's eyebrows arching when Wayne fell back, the taller one instinctively trying to catch him, yet just going down with the other. 

"Ow..." Wayne groaned from underneath Jerome, the taller teenager at least managing to not land on him, instead using his hands and knees to stay above the younger one. 

"You okay?" Jerome chuckled apologetically, trying to get off of Wayne and giving a grumble as he slid around, deciding to stay in place until figuring out how to get up so he didn't accidentally fall on the poor boy. 

Wayne nodded, biting down on his lower lip and staring up at Jerome, cheeks going pink. "Um..." 

"How-" Jerome gave an embarrassed chuckle. "How do you get up on ice?" 

"You just-" Wow Jerome was close. "Um-" Did Jerome have to look so damn attractive in such a compromising position? "I don't know." What was the question again? 

"Oh." Well that was just bloody perfect. "Okay." Jerome tried to get up again, almost just resorting to shifting to the side and off of Wayne to fall, yet instead blinking and staying in place as Wayne gripped his shirt to steady him. 

"You just-" Wayne's mind was racing-- he couldn't remember how to stand up on ice. 

Jerome eyed the fourteen year old curiously, staring down at Wayne quizzically as something seemed to go off-- like a puzzle piece had just been placed or was fixing to be, eyebrows raising while he studied the boy underneath him, clearing his throat and averting his gaze briefly. "Yeah?" 

Oh hells-- had Jerome figured Wayne out? "You just- um-" He swallowed thickly, Jerome looking him over broodingly. "Here-- if you move off of me I can show you." 

Jerome nodded, doing as requested and watching as Wayne composed himself before showing him how to stand, Jerome looking to the side and murmuring a word of thanks while doing as shown. 

"Is everything okay?" Wayne asked ever so slightly concerned... was Jerome onto him? Did he want Jerome to be onto him? Was it good or bad Jerome could be seeing right through him? Could- 

Jerome gave another nod, rubbing the back of his neck before giving an embarrassed laugh. "It was just sort of a compromising position is all." He explained with a shrug. 

Wayne's heart sunk a little-- Really? So that's all it was? Nothing else? Jerome wasn't returning the feelings or at least acknowledging Wayne's? Seriously, was it too much to ask for the other to just lose the cluelessness for a minute and maybe let Wayne know if there was even a chance this aggravating little feeling was mutual? 

Wayne could see it now-- him pressing his lips against Jerome's at a romantic candlelit dinner with a love song playing in the background, lights dimmed low... and Jerome asking him why he's such a kidder and still not taking the damn hint even after Wayne admits his genuine feelings. 

... Okay, maybe Jerome wasn't that bad, but still. 

"You guys wanna' play tag?" Ivy piped up while skating up to the pair, both teens clearing their throats and rubbing their necks while giving hesitant nod and offering semi-awkward semi-embarrassed smiles. 

When it comes down to it, most would believe a few kids skating around on ice would be fun and harmless, however this particular group of misfortunate children with unfortunate luck were beginning to find they weren't like most kids with how very little ever went right for the poor things. 

At first, everything had started out relatively normally; Ivy was it the first time, and she ended up tagging Selina, Selina tagging Jerome violently- and by tagging I mean punching him in the arm hard enough to bruise- and Jerome deciding to be an adult and maturely go after Wayne rather than giving her a piece of his mind, Wayne afterwards tagging Jonathan, who went back to tag the easy target AKA Jerome- who was getting a lot more tired than the other kids with how he was still getting the hang of things- and so he tagged Selina, who punched him in the other arm before he could skate away, and this chick was beginning to really piss him off-- sure, he understood why she was upset at him, but she was really beginning to get on his nerves. 

So, Jerome kicked his leg out in front of Selina more out of spite than anything, and instantly regretted doing something he hadn't considered the consequences of as Selina tripped and more or less went flying forward, wincing as she hit the ground. 

Oops. 

"You asshole!" Selina huffed, standing up and brushing herself off, Jerome relieved she looked more angry than hurt-- in fact she, thankfully, looked fine. 

Jerome began to skate back, finding he didn't quite know how to do that successfully and wobbling in place as he instead put his hands up defensively, deciding to just stand still as Selina skated towards him with a scowl. "My bad-" He chuckled, giving an apologetic grin that was more amused than sorry. 

"What the hell is your problem?" Selina snapped, crossing her arms and glaring up at him. 

"My problem?" Jerome gave a scoff. "I'm not the one going around and throwing a hissy fit-" 

"Guys-" Wayne protested, trying to get in between them, Selina shoving him away gently yet firmly-- this was between her and carrot top as far as she was concerned. 

"Yeah, and I'm not the one going and kissing people for fun like a jackass!" Selina countered, Jerome narrowing his eyes at that. 

"Well what's the point of kissing anyone if it's not fun?" Jerome resorted with a shrug, smirking rather menacingly. 

"You know what I mean-" 

"Oh? Do I now? Please-- enlighten me since you apparently know what the hell I'm talking about a hell of a lot better than I do." 

Selina's lips pursed. "I'm going home." She stated, pushing by Jerome and skating towards the shore before coming to a stop almost as quickly as she'd started going, patting her shirt with a knitted brow. "Where's my pin?" She questioned, spinning around and glancing along the ice with a frown. 

"Your what?" Jonathan murmured as the curly haired girl frantically skated around. 

"The pin Wayne got me-- where is it?" Selina huffed stressed, gut sinking-- no no no, she couldn't of lost it... not that. 

"I can just buy you another one-" Wayne assured-- the pin had only cost twenty-thousand dollars. 

"No, it's fine, I can find it." Selina objected-- hells she felt bad... even if twenty-thousand to Wayne was only like two thousand to most... which was, like, twenty bucks to her. 

Ivy felt the corners of her lips tug downwards, looking around for the pin and perking up whence seeing something black and shimmering dozens of yards away-- it must of gone flying off of Selina when Jerome tripped her... it had gotten knocked rather far away. "I got it!" She spoke up, skating out to the small object with a grin. 

Selina and Jerome both crossed their arms, the pair of trouble makers glancing at one another in irritation, jaws setting as the girl haughtily growled, "What?!" 

"Nothing." Jerome scoffed, eyes rolling. 

"If you've got something to say-" 

"Look sweetheart, how about we just-" 

"Fine-- if you shut your trap then I'll shut mine." Selina agreed before he could even finish his sentence, Wayne glancing in between his two crushes somewhat wide eyed. 

Jerome let out a long exhale. "Good." 

"Good!" Selina huffed back. 

Jerome's teeth grit, aggravated smirk meeting his lips, murmuring under his breath, "Drama queen." 

Selina had half a mind to kick him with the razor blade part of her skates. "Prick." 

"Bitch." 

"Bastard." 

"Touché." Jerome admitted with a shrug. 

"Guys, please stop." Wayne more or less begged, Jerome and Selina blinking at the surprisingly incredibly upset tone, Wayne looking down at the ground with a crinkled brow-- he was beginning to wish they hadn't even come out here with how badly this was beginning to go. 

Before Jerome and Selina could reply, however, another girl's voice called out, "Selina?..!" 

Selina's eyebrows raised as she turned to face Ivy, expression falling at the sight of the tense small girl being surrounded by cracks in the ice. "Ivy!" 

"Wait!" Wayne protested as Selina instantly skated out towards her friend dozens of yards away without a second glance, Selina glaring at Wayne as he hurriedly skated in front of her. "Selina-" 

"Move." Selina warned, trying to skate around Wayne and gritting her teeth as he skated in front of her once more. "Wayne-" 

"You can't go out there too fast-- we don't know where the ice may thin out, okay? You could fall in-" Wayne explained as Selina glowered at him. 

"If we don't hurry up and get out there then Ivy will fall in!" Selina countered, Wayne refusing to move. "If you don't get out of my way-" 

"Look, we'll get her, okay? But we need to come up with a plan so you don't get stranded out there with her." 

"We don't have time for a plan! The ice could cave in any second, and you know it!" Selina wasn't going to waste her breath on this-- she had to get out there. 

"We could call the cops or firemen or something to come help-- they know how to deal with this sort of stuff." Wayne persisted, dodging Selina's shove at him, continuing to stay in her pathway. 

"If the cops see him-" Selina began to remind, pointing toward Jerome. "-they won't give a shit about Ivy and will be more concerned about capturing Ron Weasley over there." 

Jerome was the only one who snickered at the nickname, clearing his throat whence realizing it wasn't exactly the time for laughing, Wayne pausing before giving a sigh and saying, "Okay, fine-" He would've liked to be able to ponder on this a bit more, although most don't have the luxury of being able to contemplate when a quick saving of a person in immediate danger was drastically needed. "-I'll go out," Selina stared at him taken aback, lips parting to object. "I'm the smallest one and the most experienced with skating-- the ice has a better chance of not cracking, and I can get her out of there fastest." He was going to regret this... he'd been regretting a lot of things lately. 

"Wayne-" Selina protested nonetheless, head shaking. 

"You said we needed to do something quick, and you're right-- we don't have time to argue." Wayne evoked, Jonathan glancing at the scoffing Jerome in an antsy fashion. 

"You're not going out there-" Jerome stated, skating towards Wayne in attempt to pull him aside before he could do anything foolishly brave. 

Jerome was only a few feet away from Wayne when the younger teen gave a sigh-- yeah, he was already regretting this, and he hadn't even done it yet. "I'll be fine-- just stay here and away from the thin ice." 

"Hey-" Jerome objected, grabbing at Wayne as the other sped off and missing. "Wayne!" 

Wayne stared at the ground, examining the ice underneath him and letting out a sigh, not completely sure on how to tell the difference between sturdy and thin ice, causing him to quickly come to a halt before making his way towards the trembling Ivy more gradually. 

"Don't move, okay?" Wayne called out, offering an anxious smile that was meant to be assuring, the other teens not daring to risk coming after him from the fear doing so would result in making the ice crumble due to the weight, and then everyone would be in trouble. "Just stay right there-- I'm coming to get you." 

Wayne was several yards away. "I'm scared." Ivy spoke up in a soft shaky tone, whimpering as the ice cracked more so underneath her, clenching Selina's pin tightly in her hand-- she could give less of a shit about her dignity for the time being. 

"I know, I know, just hang on, alright?" Where was the damn thin ice at? "I'm going to get you back to Selina and them, yeah? You're going to be fine." Wayne soothed despite the tremors in his own voice. 

"No you're not," Ivy sniffled, tears freezing on her cheeks as she didn't dare to brush them away. "I'm going to fall in before you can- before you can-" She couldn't control the terrified shudder that went throughout her, more ice around her feet cracking. 

"Yes I am-- I promise I am, okay? I promise you'll be fine-- we'll both be fine." It was unclear as to whether Wayne was trying to convince Ivy or himself of such, only less than a dozen yards away. 

"You can't promise that!" Selina sobbed out knowingly, water beginning to trickle ever so slightly through the cracks and surrounding her trembling feet, blades somewhat sunken down in the ice. 

"Trust me, alright? Please? Just trust-" Wayne halted, hearing ice crack under his feet-- there was where the thin ice was... if he could just manage to grab Ivy and skate by this point, then maybe they'd be able to... shit, this was terrifying. "Just trust me so we can get out of here easier, yeah?" More ice cracked under his feet as he timidly glided forward as gently and carefully as possible. 

Ivy sank her nails into her palms balled up in fists, trying to stay still. "You should go," She choked out. "I'm- the ice is too- you should just-" She fought the urge to fall on her knees due to their uncontrollable shaking. "I don't- you shouldn't have to- have to get stuck out here, t-too." She managed to say through a mouthful of sobs. 

"Im not going to do that-- I'm almost there," Wayne reassured, only a yard or so in between them. "See? We can both get out of here just-" Ice broke under his foot, causing his eyes to widen as he barely managed to slide away from the hole, large menacing cracks following underneath his shoe, ice shifting under his weight. "-just fine." 

Ivy felt dizzy and sick-- all she wanted to do was lay down and curl up in a ball... "N-now what?" 

Wayne swallowed thickly, hesitantly holding out his hand, a deep crack under his feet meeting a huge on under Ivy's. "When I say go you skate towards me as fast as you can-- don't walk, or jump... just skate, and you avoid as many cracks as possible, okay?" Ivy nodded quickly, sniffling again. "I'm going to grab your hand and swing you towards the sturdy ice, and you're not going to let go, okay? The momentum should be able to give both of us some leeway if you pull me with you." Another nod, Ivy observing their surroundings to make sure she knew what Wayne was talking about, visualizing his plan in her mind just to be safe. "You can't fall until we're on sturdy ice, alright? Make sure you stay upright." 

Ivy nodded once again, softly whimpering, "Okay..." 

Wayne hoped this bullshit plan he more or less made up as he went would at least work somewhat. "Alright... go!" 

Ivy did as told, skating forward as quickly as she could while going over the thinnest cracks possible, grabbing Wayne's hand just as the ice broke underneath her, the raven haired boy managing to sling her forward before she could fall in, Ivy tightening her grip as she kept her balance and hurriedly skated forward with the boost of speed, taking Wayne with her right before he had the chance of falling into the ice that additionally broke underneath him. 

Wayne sped in front of Ivy as her burst of speed decreased, hanging onto her hand tightly while cracks formed and bursted under their blades, the pair nearly falling down several times at the jerks caused by their skates hitting roughening ice no longer smooth, neither stopping even as they finally got onto seemingly sturdy ice, only skidding to a halt whence reaching the worried other three, Ivy sliding into Selina's arms as Wayne stumbled into Jerome's. 

Jerome blinked and paused, staring down at the trembling boy clenching onto his shirt and letting out soft panicked pants while trying to compose himself, before hesitantly wrapping his arms around the smaller one. "You okay?" Jerome spoke up, finding he asked that quite a bit with the other, Wayne nodding and shuffling closer. "You wanna' go home?" 

"Yes." Ivy answered before Wayne could, the boy nonetheless nodding in agreement. 

Jerome let out a relieved sigh, still soaking in what had just gone down and what could've very possibly instead happened... 

So, they all went home and decided they'd had quite enough excitement and arguing for the day. 

You probably believe this means the five children went home all safe and sound, and all was good, don't you? Well, you're not wrong... Additionally, you probably believe this means the five children all got to go home and have normal lives, like every other child, right? You probably believe this was just a misfortunate accident, too. You may not-- but you probably do, and either way both are fine reasonings. 

However, they didn't get to all go home and have normal lives-- they didn't get to live happily ever after like those in many Christmas stories do. But is this really a Christmas story? No-- it's a Christmas chapter-- so of course it's not going to just up and have a happy ending just like that and just like every other Christmas story-- this is Gotham for crying out loud! Gotham is not at all known for its happiness. Heck, whether or not this should even be considered a Christmas chapter is questionable considering it's midnight on Christmas as this little part here is typed, which means technically it could be a December the twenty-sixth chapter rather than Christmas chapter-- but who's asking about technicalities? It's more or less Christmas's midnight! Not that many of you care about such silly things, of course. 

In fact a lot more of you would probably care a whole bunch more about the fact this little ice accident was actually no accident... 

A man with a peculiar weapon which could only be described as a- for lack of a better word- freeze ray watched from the shore, turning around and going to report to the doctor about what had just occurred... next time he'd have to add some more thin ice. 

Mr. Freeze would just have to find another way to kill his target... even if it meant killing all of the five of the little trouble makers; normally, he'd just freeze them, but he wasn't sure he wanted to go and do that in broad daylight, much less go up against a maniac serial killer along with his little friends to do so. 

Wayne sighed... maybe next New Year's would be better... 

And with that, those five children and one criminal found they had, sadly, not had a very merry Christmas at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know that Gotham Steven Universe AU I talked about in the last chapter? Well guess what-- we have two new artsy additions to that AU and they're both wonderful! 
> 
> You can check them out below :) Be sure to give the artists and whatnot a look-- they're lovely people! 
> 
> sapphire!wayne and ruby!jerome   
> http://quellines-stories.tumblr.com/post/135543368876/diana-the-peacemaker-i-had-to-do-it
> 
> garnet!valeyne   
> http://quellines-stories.tumblr.com/post/135795714026/tess-wood-my-friend-has-drawn-a-garnet-fusion


	20. New Year's Eve Bonus

Everyone had waken up at fairly reasonable times, Wayne being the first to wake at seven while Selina and Ivy both woke up around nine, Jerome not waking up until eleven. 

The kids had gotten dressed and eaten breakfast, it seeming to be a fairly normal day as they all helped Alfred set up for the annual New Year's party Wayne's parents had hosted every year in which their whole company amongst other important and close individuals came to celebrate, and afterwards they all had lunch before Wayne took note Jonathan wasn't up and blinked at that, deciding to go check up on the sixteen year old that was still asleep past one. 

"Jonathan?" Wayne spoke up, hesitantly approaching the teen laying down with his back facing him. "You awake?" No reply. "It's almost two-- do you wanna' get up?" Wayne frowned when he was only met with silence, hesitantly approaching the other and kneeling down next to his mattress, gently tapping his shoulder. "Jonathan?" 

Jonathan curled up into a ball, scooting away from Wayne. "Go away." 

Wayne blinked at that, brow furrowing. "What's wrong?" 

Jonathan let out a long and irked sigh. "Nothing-- just leave me alone." 

What the hell? "Are you sick?" Wayne hesitantly inquired, not at all used to the unusual boy's suddenly new behavior. 

"No, I just want to be left alone." Jonathan replied through clenched teeth, still not facing Wayne. 

Wayne eyed him over concerned. "What-" 

"Go away!" Jonathan snapped, Wayne jumping somewhat at the ticked off tone. 

Wayne felt the corners of his lips tug downwards, staring at Jonathan confused. "... Okay," He eventually murmured after a few silent seconds. "Do you need anything before I go? Like food or something?" 

Jonathan swallowed dryly, gripping the sheets in annoyance. "No." 

Wayne shrunk into himself at the sour tone. "Alright," He paused. "If you need anything just-" Jonathan grabbed his pillow, yanking it over his head to muffle out Wayne's voice, causing the younger boy to sigh before standing up and quietly leaving the room with a worried gaze. 

It looked like this was going to be another bad holiday. 

"You manage to get Johnny-boy up?" Jerome hummed while holding a ziplock bag of ornaments in between his teeth, balancing himself on the top of a ladder while hanging the festive New Year's Eve objects up on the wall. 

Wayne shook his head, his mind clearly elsewhere as he rubbed his upper arm and answered, "He's not feeling well..." 

Jerome quirked a brow, noticing the upset frown Wayne was broodingly giving. "Everything okay?" 

Wayne blinked and nodded, glancing up at Jerome before averting his gaze and biting down on his lower lip. "Mhm." 

Well that wasn't very convincing. "So what's he sick with?" Jerome inquired, deciding to question Wayne about his fretting behavior later when he didn't have to concentrate on- well... not falling. "Stomachache? Sore throat? Migraine?" 

"I dunno'." Wayne replied with a shrug, Jerome studying him quizzically. "I um- I'm going to go help with setting up the rest of the stuff for the party." 

Jerome looked Wayne over curiously before giving a shrug and returning to decorating. "Alright." 

Wayne left the room to go help out Ivy with cooking, Jerome contemplating on what could be going on with the upset younger boy and getting lost in possible causes to the point he didn't realize his ladder was beginning to lean with him as he shifted towards the side, causing Jerome to part his lips and cuss, the bag of ornaments falling out from his teeth and onto the floor as he grabbed the ladder and attempted to balance it. 

Selina, who had been walking by with an armful of party favors for the guests, quickly dropped them as carefully as she could on the floor before rushing over, Jerome more or less getting it straightened up successfully as she still gripped the shaking tall object just in case, the girl waiting for it to steady in order to be extra safe and afterwards hesitantly backing up. 

"Thanks." Jerome laughed, letting out a relieved breath. 

Selina pursed her lips, arms crossing as she sped back over towards the party favors she'd set down. "Whatever." 

Jerome scoffed as he climbed down the ladder, deciding they had enough decorations considering he'd rather not risk taking another chance with falling. "Still sore about me kissing Wayne?" It had only been a kiss on the cheek-- he didn't know what she was so huffy and puffy about. 

"No." Selina denied, gathering up the gifts for the guests in her arms. 

"I wouldn't of given one to him if the mistletoe wasn't there, ya' know-- it's not like I'm trying to steal your little boy crush or anything," Jerome assured with a smirk. "Besides-- he likes you, not me," He helped pick up some of the gifts she couldn't grab with her full arms, stacking them on the rest. "It's not like you have to worry about him swooning over me or some shit, sweet-cheeks." 

Selina stared at Jerome before giving a laugh of disbelief, her eyes rolling. "Wow are you clueless." She commented, walking around Jerome and making her way towards the ballroom. 

Jerome arched a brow-- clueless? He was clueless? What was that supposed to mean? "Excuse me?" The red haired teen chuckled somewhat irritatedly, walking in front of Selina and crossing his arms, head cocking. "What-" 

"You don't know how to take a hint, do you?" Selina elaborated, that obviously only confusing Jerome more so, causing her to let out a long exhale and shake hear head while trying to step around Jerome, not having the time or patience for this. 

Jerome stepped in Selina's pathway as she attempted to go around him. "Am I missing something?" He chuckled, eying Selina uncertainly. 

Selina glared, coming to a stop once again while bargaining, "If I tell you will you move?", earning a nod-- fine, then she didn't see a reason to beat the bush. "Wayne likes you." Jerome tilted his head at that. "As in he like likes you." 

Jerome blinked, brows raising as he gave a laugh, as though Selina had just told the greatest joke ever heard. "As in a crush?" The curly haired girl nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, right, sure-- not sure if you noticed, but you're the one he follows around like a puppy." 

"So are you." Selina reminded with a shrug. "Have you not been paying attention to the way he acts around you? You're practically making him swoon, ya' know." 

Jerome's eyes narrowed. "Look, sweetheart, have a little faith in yourself, alright? He has a crush on you-- not me. I mean, honestly it's kinda' obvious-" 

"You know it's possible to have more than one crush at a time, right?" Selina interjected as her eyebrows quirked-- had Jerome really not caught onto Wayne's rather obvious attitude towards him? He'd clearly been doting on the seventeen year old for a while now... 

"Wayne doesn't- look, we're just friends, okay? If that kiddo had a crush on me we wouldn't be sharing the same bed-" Jerome countered unconvinced. 

"Oh right, right... because cuddling up to someone when it's time to sleep is just guy stuff-- totally no homo there." Selina agreed sarcastically. 

Jerome forced on an irked grin. "We're just close-" 

"You've been leading him on." Selina informed bluntly. 

Jerome blinked taken aback. "What?" 

"You've been leading him on." Selina repeated knowingly. "You aren't meaning to, but you are-- the way you talk to him when Jim's there just to piss detective asshole off? That's leading Wayne on." 

"How the hell am I-" 

"You may just reckon you're being possessive or something when you hook an arm around Wayne's waist and press your lips against his ear while 'accidentally' brushing against his neck with your mouth every once in a while, but you're being suggestive, too." Selina walked around the narrow eyed Jerome. "Sure, you're managing to tick Jim off by 'marking' what's yours or whatever, but you're leading Wayne on at the same time, so you sure as hell better be careful with him-" She paused, glancing over her shoulder menacingly. "-because if you hurt Wayne by letting him get in too deep with you, then I'll kick your ass." 

Jerome's eyebrows arched, smirk quirking at his lips as he gave an amused chuckle. "You're over contemplating things, sweet-cheeks-- Wayne doesn't like me, he likes you, so how about you cool down and stop acting like an ass around me just because you're convinced-" 

"No, you're just under-contemplating things," Selina interjected, continuing towards the threshold. "I'll stop acting like an ass around you when you start taking what you're doing to Wayne a little more seriously." 

Before Jerome could snap out a comeback Selina left the room without another glance towards him, causing him to sigh and rub the back of his neck-- Selina didn't know what she was talking about... she just had an overactive imagination. 

Everyone continued setting up for the party, managing to get done a few minutes before the first guests were supposed to arrive, causing Wayne to hurry back up to his room after checking the time-- six fifty five... he had five or so minutes to make sure Jonathan was okay. 

"Hey," Wayne greeted quietly while opening the door, observing Jonathan had closed the curtains and feeling his expression fall at how dark the room was... gloomy much? "Um... the party's starting soon, so you wanna' come down?" Jonathan didn't reply. "It's fine if you don't want to... are you hungry though? I could grab you some food." Nothing-- maybe Jonathan was asleep..? "Is everything alright? If you're not feeling well I could call a doctor-" 

"Get out of here, Wayne." Jonathan sighed, Wayne furrowing his brow concerned. "I don't want to talk to you right now, okay? Just leave or be quiet." 

Ouch... that was kinda' harsh. "Jonathan-" 

"Do you not speak English?" Jonathan snapped, sitting up and glowering at Wayne irritatedly. "Screw off!" 

Wayne winced at the tone, causing Jonathan's hardened expression to soften just barely. "Okay." 

Jonathan let out a long exhale, something along the lines of faint regret rising. "Wayne-" 

"It's fine," Wayne assured, swallowing dryly. "Sorry for disturbing you-- have a nice rest." He added before shutting the door, feeling his eyes water up vaguely-- every single holiday he'd had this year seemed to all go terribly. 

Wayne took in a deep and shaky breath, closing his glossy eyes as he managed to compose himself-- he didn't have time to be sad... he had a party to host. 

Considering Wayne would rather not have anyone go and recognize Jerome or any of his other friends, he'd decided to make the theme of this little party a masquerade one, which proved to seemingly be a success as no one took any notice to any of the three law breakers present. 

Wayne was wearing a sleek dark gray mask with what looked like carved owl feathers on the edges, Jerome having a red and purple royal court jester's mask, Selina showing off her black cat mask which had two pointed ears at the top and was littered with genuine jewels, Ivy wearing an emerald shaded mask with etched vines as designs, each mask going above the bridge of the minors noses and matching their outfits as well; Wayne wore a black suit with a white long sleeved button-up shirt underneath, Jerome having a crimson red suit with a dark purple shirt underneath, Selina showing off her one sleeved black dress that went down to her ankles while Ivy wore an emerald colored sleeveless dress that went down to her knees and long emerald shaded gloves which reached her elbows, hand crafted emerald colored shoes that stretched up her legs like vines being worn as well. 

"Where's Jonathan?" Ivy asked while grabbing a whole plate of brownies off of the long table of food- which they stood somewhat awkwardly beside- rather than just one. 

Wayne continued looking at the mingling people rather than meeting her gaze. "He's not feeling well." 

Ivy's brow knitted in concern. "I'll bring him some brownies." She decided, starting to walk off with the plate of treats. 

"No!" Wayne objected perhaps a bit too quickly, his friends eyebrows raising. "He's sleeping right now-- you can give some to him later." He didn't want Ivy to get snapped at by Jonathan... at least not until he could find out what was wrong with the teenager. 

Ivy pondered before giving a nod, walking back to her place by Selina and leaning against the wall once again, tossing another bite sized brownie into her mouth as Wayne relaxed relieved. 

"Wayne?" A familiar voice hesitantly questioned, causing the boy to perk up and look towards the male in a blue mask with black and golden stars speckled on it, a female with a white and black ink blotted mask beside him. 

"Detective Gordon." Wayne greeted with a smile while holding out his hand, the officer letting out a sigh of relief. 

"I had to say that to seven other people-- glad I finally found you." Jim chuckled, shaking Wayne's hand, smile falling at the sight of the other three criminals. "Where's Jonathan?" 

Wayne's own smile fell as well. "He's not feeling well." 

The corners of Lee's lips dipped downwards concerned. "He's not?" 

Before Wayne could reply a red haired man with a two dollar plastic mask with designs glued together in a half assed fashion came up, Bullock saying in a strained voice, "Come on Jim, you can't just leave like that-- I've been looking for you for ten minutes now." 

"I'm not the one who wouldn't quit stopping at every table of food." Jim evoked, earning a grumble before he turned his attention back towards Wayne. "How have things been?" He inquired, glancing at the smirking Jerome, glaring Selina, and unsettled Ivy. "They behaving?" 

Wayne nodded, parting his lips to answer, yet shutting them in aggravation as Jerome said, "Behaving? What are we, dogs?" He flashed a grin. "If he says yes do we get a treat?" 

"No, but if he says no I'm taking you back to the pound." Jim threatened, both Wayne and Lee letting out a long stressed breath. 

Jerome snickered-- he'd managed to get Jim to joke back! Sure, Jim threatened him while doing it, but he had still joked back... even if it wasn't in a friendly way. "Ooh, snappy are we? Can't say I blame you-- the last time you and I met at a party we weren't exactly on good terms-" 

"We're still not on good terms, and if you try anything on Wayne like you did the last 'party' then I'll make sure you get more than a stab to the neck." Jim warned, earning a cheeky smile. 

"Come one honey-- let's go to the dancing section." Lee piped up, locking her arm in Jim's. "We need to get at least one waltz in before the new year starts." 

Jerome smiled, and oh no-- Wayne knew that smile... Jerome had an idea. 

"Yeah, come on, Wayne-" Jerome began, locking his arm with the smaller boy's, Jim narrowing his eyes. "-let's go dance." 

Selina and Jim both gave scoffs while saying, "No-", jaws setting as a mischievous Jerome walked off and quickly disappeared in the crowd with a reluctant Wayne. 

"Jerome-" Wayne objected, trying to pull his arm away as they weaved through the crowd of mingling people. 

"It'll be fun." Jerome assured, Wayne rolling his eyes and yanking away, causing Jerome to halt and turn towards him with a grin. "Aw come on-" 

Wayne was having none of this-- not tonight. 

"Stop using me to get to Jim!" Wayne snapped, Jerome blinking at that, smile falling. "You're being a shitty friend and I'm not a trophy you can just show off and act like it's yours!" Sure, Wayne hadn't minded Jerome being extra touchy feely around him to get Jim ticked off at first, but lately it was just beginning to remind him the only reason Jerome flirted with him was to be an asshole to a man Wayne considered his friend, and it was frankly frustrating to know Jerome probably wouldn't ever actually have any real feelings for him from what Wayne had gathered with the insincere flirting. 

Jerome didn't smile in the least at that. "Hey-" He spoke in a much more serious and even concerned tone, walking towards the boy a few feet away. 

"Screw you!" Wayne huffed, managing to swallow back the thickness in his throat while forcing his eyes to stay dry, turning his back towards Jerome and storming away through the crowd, the taller boy trying to follow and sighing whence losing the younger male in the sea of people. 

Now Jerome felt like a jackass. 

Peachy. Just peachy. 

Jerome continued walking through the crowd, attempting to find Wayne for several minutes and perking up when feeling a tap on his shoulder, turning around with a relieved grin which fell as he saw a blonde girl with a mask made of silver that had etched in soft clouds as its designs rather than a raven haired boy with a sleek gray mask. 

"Who-" Jerome started before going quiet, eyes narrowing as realization struck. "You?" He laughed in a growl, smile forming into a dangerous smirk. 

Silver St. Cloud straightened up, chin inclining. "Want to dance?" 

What was this blackmailing minx doing here? 

Selina, meanwhile, was trying her best to comfort an upset Wayne, however she wasn't exactly the best comforter in the world... much less Gotham... much less this room... much less out of the other three kids. 

"I could kick his ass for you." Selina offered somewhat seriously, Wayne giving a hoarse and quiet laugh at that-- good, that meant this was working... right? 

"It's fine," Wayne waved off, hand running through his hair. "He um- he'll probably stop... he looked like he felt kinda' bad." Wayne gave a sigh. "I probably shouldn't of stormed off like that..." 

"Don't blame yourself-- he was the one being a jerk." Selina scolded, gently nudging Wayne friendlily. 

Wayne rubbed his upper arm. "I should probably go look for him..." 

Before Selina could reply, a man with a mask which resembled a red and white fox face approached the three minors. "Wayne." Fox greeted with a polite nod, Wayne quickly straightening his posture and clearing his throat. 

"Mr. Fox." Wayne greeted back, Selina glancing back and forth between the pair as they began to talk about a boring ol' computer or something, feeling a bit offended at how Wayne seemed to completely forget about her just like that and instead became much more interested in some crummy gadget. 

Yeah, they were definitely going to be conversing for a while... Selina let out a begrudging exhale, reluctantly deciding to go look for Jerome before Wayne could fret anymore over the ginger-- it was the least she could do with how she and pretty much everyone else had been ruining the poor fourteen year old's holidays lately... 

As Selina searched for Jerome, Jerome danced with little miss Saint. 

"So how have you and Wayne been?" Silver asked nonchalantly, Jerome's right hand on her hip and left hand holding her right hand up lightly. 

"We've been better than when you were blackmailing me and tricking him." Jerome answered smoothly, Silver not faltering. "What about you and that bitchy aunt of yours?" 

"We've been doing well." Silver replied without missing a beat. "Are you enjoying the party?" 

"I was until you got here-- what about you? Having fun ruining people's night?" 

"I'm having fun dancing." Silver mused with a shrug. "How's the holidays been for you?" It had been a few months since they'd seen one another. 

"Great considering you weren't there during any of them, and you?" 

"Mine were more stressful than anything." Silver and Jerome both kept a steady pace. "So-" 

"How about we stop beating around the bush and get to the point?" Jerome interjected while flashing a not so nice smile. "Assuming you have a point? Because if you don't then you've made a big mistake wasting my time-" 

"You're in trouble." Silver warned without arguing, Jerome's brow arching at that. 

"Excuse me?" Jerome questioned with a snicker. "Is that a threat?" 

"No-- it's a tip." Silver corrected, doing a casual glance around to make sure no one was listening. "There are men after one of you, and you need to be careful." 

Jerome's eyes narrowed. "Men after one of who?" 

"You, Wayne, Alfred, Selina, that red haired girl, or the brunet boy." Silver elaborated, continuing to dance gracefully with the other. "I'm not sure which one, and I'm not sure why, but they're out to kill either you or one of them." 

Okay..? Fine-- he could play along. "And these men are..?" Jerome interrogated skeptically, trying to figure out what Silver was playing at. 

"They work for a doctor-- a doctor that... experiments on people." Silver tensed as a dancing couple accidentally gently bumped into her from behind, clearly on edge. 

"On the off chance that you're telling the truth here or delusional, why exactly are you bothering to warn me about this?" Jerome hummed, picking Silver up by her hips and lifting her in the air with ease as the song pitched and signaled the graceful gesture before carefully setting her back down. 

"Because I care about Wayne, even if you don't believe I do," She instantly admitted quite truthfully before pausing. "And I care about you, too, Jerome-- you ended up being the only people that looked out for me other than my aunt." 

Jerome gave a chuckle, holding up his hand and allowing her to do a twirl. "Wayne may of been doting on you but I didn't give a shit about you, sweetheart." He reminded coldly with a smile that didn't match his words. "So how did you supposedly find out these mysterious men were after us?" 

"My aunt and I were looking for my uncle, and we found out the doctor had him," Silver explained softly, keeping her voice low. "We snuck into his lab to find out what he was up to and overheard him talking about putting a hit on a 'target' in the Wayne manor." 

Jerome perked up intrigued. "Uncle? So you're still working under him?" He hummed accusingly. 

"No, I'm not." Silver informed, her nose crinkling despite her previous facade of nonchalance. "My aunt and I are both only looking out for each other now-- I could care less that he's dead." 

Jerome raised a brow. "Dead?" 

Silver nodded, letting Jerome know he's heard right. "His file said he'd gotten beat to a pulp and fired at-- whoever killed him even stuffed an umbrella down his throat." 

An umbrella? Penguin instantly came to mind. "You know, I want to believe you only have good intentions here, I really do-" Jerome leaned forward, pressing his lips against Silver's ear and lowering his voice. "-but if you don't tell me how you knew Selina, Jonathan, and Ivy were here then I won't hesitate to get rid of you to make sure you stay the hell away from us, so I recommend you be sure you're telling me the truth here unless you want to be joining your uncle soon." 

Silver swallowed dryly. "I snuck over during Thanksgiving to apologize to Wayne about... everything-- but I chickened out after looking through the window and seeing all of you in the kitchen." 

Jerome pulled back, looking down at Silver and studying her with a bitter smirk. "How'd you know what Jonathan and Ivy's names were?" 

"Jonathan and you have both been all over the news for breaking out of Arkham, and after living on the streets I've had enough people tell me about the plant loving ginger that sticks to Selina like glue-- she was a lucky guess." 

Jerome gave a pondering hum. "Ya' know, I'm just not sure if I should trust you with how you've, oh, you know-- blackmailed me, helped nearly get Wayne murdered, and lied to our faces constantly." 

"I'm not asking you to do anything that would benefit me-- I'm just asking you to look out for yourselves and stay close," Silver reminded. "And you're right-- I didn't care about Wayne at all when we first met, and I wasn't good to Wayne for a long time-- but the same goes for you." Jerome gritted his teeth yet kept smiling at that. "We both did things to Wayne we shouldn't of, and we both treated him badly-- you've already made up for that, and now I'm trying to by telling you to watch out for him and the others, okay? How could me just telling you to be careful be a trick?" 

Jerome hesitated-- she had him there... "Alright, fine, but how the hell did you find me so easily? Do you have people here tracking us or something?" 

"The mask doesn't cover up your read hair-- there's not a lot of gingers in here." 

"Fair enough-- so how'd you get on the guest list then?" What could Jerome say? He was suspicious-- and rightfully so at that. 

"My aunt snuck us in." 

"Oh great, so your aunt's here with you?" Jerome groaned-- just one Galavan relative was enough for him to have to up and handle. "Lemme' guess, she's watching us right now and if I try anything she's going to kill me off?" 

Before Silver could answer a familiar voice said, "Mind if I cut in?" Selina didn't wait for a reply, simply pushing Silver out of the way, Jerome smirking as the curly haired girl took her place. 

"Ooh, you want to dance with moi? I'm absolutely flattered." Jerome teased while taking her hand and placing his palm on her hip, Selina rolling her eyes. 

"Real classy Jerome-- hitting on girls while Wayne's upset." Selina scolded, earning a scoff. 

"I wasn't hitting on girls, I was just-" He looked around, smile falling whence realizing Silver was nowhere to be seen. "-meeting up with an old acquaintance..." 

"You knew that chick?" Selina inquired slightly surprised, not realizing who she'd just encountered. 

"Yeah..." Jerome turned his attention back towards Selina. "Wayne's still upset?" 

"I told you to stop leading him on." Selina confirmed sourly. 

"Oh so what, you put the idea I was 'leading him on' in his-" 

"He figured out what you were doing on his own, Jerome-- you're not innocent here, ya' know," Selina interjected disapprovingly. "What? You never considered making literally your only friend look like one of your possessions just to piss off the guy that looks out for him was a shitty plan?" 

Jerome still wasn't smiling, instead clenching his jaw and glancing towards the side while continuing to dance. "You don't like Jim either-" 

"Yeah, but I don't use Wayne to get to him." Selina countered, Jerome giving her a glare. 

"Oh right, right-- you just suddenly leave at random times right when Wayne gets used to having you around and then come back as soon as he's started to get over you to make him go through a whole shit-storm of missing you and blaming himself for you leaving again, yeah?" 

Selina's scowl turned into a rather hurt look, Jerome realizing he probably shouldn't of said that as she shoved away from him. "Don't take what I do to look out for Wayne and make it sound-" 

"You call that shit looking out for him?" Jerome gave a venomous laugh. "Ya' know what? Maybe I should make Wayne dote on me and forget about you so he doesn't have to deal with your B.S. anymore-" 

A slap rang out, and if it wasn't for the music playing all eyes would've been on them. 

Jerome stared at Selina more surprised than angry as she glared up at him through her mask with watery eyes while she exclaimed, "He already is, asshole!", before storming off and yanking away her mask, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand. 

Jerome's jaw set-- fine, if she wanted to be a bitch then she could be a bitch, but she wasn't ruining his New Year's Eve damnit. 

Meanwhile Wayne was talking to both Dent- who had a mask that was bright white on the left and pitch black on the right with small white dots surrounding the eye part on the darker side and black dots surrounding the eye part on the lighter side- and Fox. 

Ivy let out a bored exhale, not knowing what the three males were talking about and not really caring with how it all sounded like grown up stuff despite Wayne still being a kid like her, causing the girl to decide to go check up on Jonathan to see how he was doing and hope Selina, or at least someone relatively fun, would be back by then. 

The small ginger made her way towards their bedroom and knocked on the door, creaking it open quietly when not hearing anything, softly muttering, "Jonathan?" No reply. "Are you awake?" Nothing. "Can I come in?" Silence. 

Ivy hesitated, carefully walking into the room as softly as possible, kneeling by Jonathan's mattress and gently poking him worriedly. 

"Please just go away, Ivy." Jonathan sighed exasperated. 

"Do you not feel well?" Ivy asked concerned. 

"I don't feel like getting up, okay?" 

Ivy perked up. "So you're not sick?" 

Jonathan let out an impatient breath. "Get out." 

"If you're not sick you can come to the party," Ivy persisted, grabbing the sheets and yanking them off of Jonathan, causing him to clench his jaw and sit up, glowering at her angrily. "Come on, you'll feel better if you come have some fun!" She assured, running off with the sheets. 

"Ivy!" Jonathan shouted quite upset, standing up and sprinting after her-- sure, he could've just stolen someone else's covers to bundle up in, but he wanted HIS covers and Ivy was being a little shit. "Give those back!" 

Ivy didn't realize he was being dangerously serious and not just playing around, simply giving a grin over her shoulder before looking forward and continuing all the way to the ballroom, Jonathan reluctantly following as all eyes turned towards the frustrated boy boy in long sleeved pajamas. 

"I got Jonathan." Ivy stated proudly to the alone Wayne as the other finally caught up to her, Jonathan grabbing his sheets and tugging them somewhat violently away, obviously unamused. 

"Don't lay a single finger on any of my possessions-" Jonathan warned, Wayne instinctively stepping in front of the smaller girl protectively as her smile fell, realizing Jonathan was not at all entertained. "Did you set that little thorn in my side up to this?" Jonathan questioned, glaring down at Wayne menacingly. 

Wayne put up his hands defensively, a handful of guests eying the ongoing scene unsurely as he said, "No, she was just tying to-" 

"Trying to what, Wayne? Have at a poor attempt of being humorous?" Jonathan scoffed, Ivy shuffling back and sinking into herself at that. "You do anything even along the lines of something this again and I'll use my fear gas on you as a consequence." He threatened, both Wayne and Ivy's eyes widening. 

"Hey," Jerome spoke up, walking out of the staring crowd and towards the three kids. "Everything okay here?" 

"Oh stop trying to put up a tough act and sod off, Jerome." Jonathan waved off, Wayne feeling his gut sink with dread. 

Jerome's brow arched. "Come again?" He'd better of misheard that... 

"Do I need to spell it out for you?" Jonathan insulted icily, handing the sheets to Wayne as though he was really about to try to take a swing at Jerome. "Do you have wax in your ears? Stop trying to act 'edgy'-- is that vocabulary you understand, or do I need to annunciate better?" 

Shit. Shit shit shit. Wayne handed Ivy the sheets and quickly grabbed Jonathan's upper arm as Jerome's eyes narrowed, the raven haired boy murmuring, "Let's get out of here.", as several crowd member stared at them uncertainly. 

The four kids went out into the hallway, Selina still nowhere to be found, before Jonathan said, "it would be in your best interests to give me back my sheets-- now." 

Wayne held out his hand towards Ivy, the wary girl cautiously handing the sheets to him, Jerome crossing his eyes and eying Jonathan as the brown haired boy snatched the covers away. 

"Jonathan-" Wayne started concerned. 

"You're not very good at knowing when the proper time to speak and be silent is, are you?" Jonathan grumbled, Jerome's chin inclining. 

"How about you take a step back and just march back on back to bed?" Jerome warned, moving in between Wayne and Jonathan quite protectively. 

Jonathan gave a glower. "How about you try to make me? I'd love to see you actually try to carry out one of your less than impressive threats." 

"You're walking on thin ice here, Johnny-boy-- have you forgotten who you're dealing with?" Jerome practically growled, stepping forward challengingly and glaring down at Jonathan. "Because if you want me to 'make you' I can do that." 

Jonathan tilted his head, dropping the sheets on the ground and shoving Jerome back by his chest. "I'm not scared of the likes of some petty wash-up who's grown soft." 

Soft? Jerome gave a smirk, neck cracking from side to side. "Just because I'm not out killing people every day anymore doesn't mean I haven't had the itch to for a while." 

"Guys-" Wayne protested, starting to walk towards the pair to separate them, yet pausing as a nervous Ivy grabbed his wrist and shook her head. 

"Oh you won't kill me-- not when rich ol' Mr. Wayne is keeping a dog like you on a tight leash." Jonathan shrugged off. 

"Want a bet?" Jerome spoke, taking a swing at Jonathan before the sixteen year old could answer, fist colliding with the other's jaw. 

"Stop!" Wayne shouted as Jonathan tackled Jerome, pulling away from Ivy's grasp and running towards the wrestling teens, trying to pull Jonathan off of Jerome, earning an elbow in the stomach, causing him to back up and let out a pained noise as the breath got knocked out of him. 

Jerome kicked Jonathan off of him, sitting up and kicking the male back one more time as the brunet tried to lunge towards him before standing up and grabbing Jonathan by his shirt with one hand, the other pulling back to ready a punch, teeth gritting as Wayne grabbed his upper arm, shoving the boy off of him with ease while swinging his fist at Jonathan, giving a satisfying blow and letting out a wince and ticked off laugh as Jonathan kicked him away, both falling to the floor and quickly stumbling upright again. 

"Jerome-" Wayne pleaded, holding his sore ribcage due to the area Jonathan had accidentally bumped him. 

"You call that a punch? I'm embarrassed to brawl with the likes of you." Jonathan spat, Jerome giving an irritated smirk. 

"You're not exactly winning, princess." Jerome countered, Jonathan taking another punch at him while Jerome blocked the hit, elbowing the brunet in the ribcage as Jonathan slammed his foot onto one of the taller teen's feet. 

"Jonathan, quit it!" Wayne huffed, persistently trying to break up the two and just getting knocked to the side again. 

"Stay out of this, Wayne!" Jonathan practically snarled while getting shoved into a table, kicking Jerome where it counts as the other gritted his teeth and grabbed his shirt, slamming him up against the wall. 

"How about you keep your eyes on me and leave Brucie the hell alone?" Jerome said while giving an irked smirk, letting out a breathless pained laugh and string of cuss words as Jonathan bit his hand, letting the other go and waving his hand around in attempts to ease the sting. "You little shit-" 

"Piss off!" Jonathan spat, hand balling up into a fist. 

"That's enough!" Wayne insisted, trying to insert himself in between the pair of fighters and letting out a yelp as Jonathan accidentally punched him instead of Jerome, Jonathan's expression falling as Wayne took off his mask and covered his eye that was no doubt going to be black and blue. 

"Are you- Jonathan started concerned, demeanor going from furious to worried real quick, Jerome giving him a glare and slugging the other in the shoulder one more time before the ginger tried to examine Wayne's bruise, blinking as Wayne shoved away from him. 

"Is it really that difficult to get along?" Wayne shouted frustratedly, Jerome and Jonathan unable to tell whether his eyes were glossy from the impact of the punch or glossy from stress. "You're starting trouble with everyone-" Wayne accused, gesturing towards the taken aback Jerome with a nod. "-while you're threatening to use fear gas on people that are just trying to make sure you're okay-" He stated, pointing at the guilt ridden Jonathan. "-and Selina's gone and run off like she always does without bothering to tell anyone why!" Wayne just wanted some peace without having to anxiously worry about someone ruining it every second. "The only mature one out of all of you is Ivy, and she's the youngest!" He spun around, stomping back towards the party while yanking his mask back on. "If you're going to be childish then go be childish somewhere else and stop ruining everyone's holiday for entertainment-- it's not funny, and we can't all just do or say whatever we want every time we get an impulse, ya' know-- that's what gets people thrown in jail." He paused at the door, glancing over his shoulder at the sheepish males. "I don't want you guys to be caught and sent back to Arkham, but with how you're acting lately and drawing attention to yourselves I'm beginning to wonder if you want to go back!" 

"Wayne-" Jerome sighed, trying to walk after the smaller boy and cussing under his breath as Wayne disappeared into the crowd. 

Dang it... 

Wayne had walked out onto the balcony, seeing there was a trio of ladies out there as well and swallowing thickly, walking towards the opposite side of the surface stretching out above the ground several stories below and taking in a shaky breath, trying to regain himself and relaxing in relief as the three women respectfully went back inside and kindly left him alone. 

It was well after nine P.M., and only getting closer to midnight, and the new year was already showing signs of very possibly sucking in all honesty. 

Five or so minutes went by, Wayne taking off his mask and rubbing away the water brimming in his eyes, sniffling quietly while pondering on how he could at least try to make this holiday somewhat better before the clock could strike twelve, visibly tensing as he heard the door behind him slide open, giving another sniffle and clearing his throat while pulling his mask back on, continuing to lean on the balcony's gate as he kept his gaze away from whoever had decided to get a breath of fresh air. 

A man with an icy blue mask and white dots of what looked like snow littering said mask casually approached Wayne, standing only a few feet away from him with his arms behind his back despite the balcony being several yards long, causing the fourteen year old to hesitantly glance up at the individual standing straight with his chin inclined and chest puffed out. 

"Doesn't the city look wonderful coated in fresh snow?" The man mused, Wayne trying to figure out whether or not he knew this guy. 

Wayne paused before giving a nod. "Uh, yeah..?" He tilted his head uncertainly, studying the other closely. 

The masked male glanced down at him. "I'm Dr. Fries-- it's Wayne, isn't it?" Wayne warily nodded-- something didn't feel right for some reason... why the hell was his gut twisting so much? Wayne had good instincts, but right now? Right now his instincts weren't just saying 'be careful'-- they were saying 'run.' 

"Have we met?" Wayne inquired, swallowing dryly-- maybe he was just being paranoid... nonetheless, he couldn't help but wonder just how fast he could get to the door if needed. 

"I heard about you on the news," Fries informed nonchalantly, not answering Wayne's question and instead looking forward. "With that Valeska boy-- I heard he has a few fans." 

Wayne's brow furrowed-- did this guy know Jerome was staying with him or something..? "Oh?" The raven haired boy replied as calmly as his unsettled voice would allow. 

Fries nodded, turning his attention away from the city caked in white fluff and back towards Wayne. "If I ever encountered one of his fans I would praise their humor, wouldn't you agree?" 

Wayne's pulse raced-- was this one of the copycats..?! 

Wayne wasn't the only one running into strange people he didn't know. 

Oswald, Nygma, Gabe, Victor, and the Zsaszettes were all trying to make their way through the crowd of people, Oswald grumbling things about how he hated coming to parties he didn't host as Nygma gave polite apologies every time he bumped into someone-- which he was doing constantly in the crowded ballroom. 

Nygma was wearing an emerald shaded mask with yellow questions marks scattered around it, Oswald having a long nosed mask that was black with red and orange on its edges, the nose part being yellow, while Gabe wore a classy smooth black one with small white buttons surrounding its outline and a white bandage wrapped around a cracked part of the antique mask, Victor wearing a blue, red, and purple mask with the white letter 'Z' in the middle, one of the Zsaszettes' wearing a blue one while another wore a red one and a different one wore a purple one, their masks having a black 'Z' in the middle. 

Oswald let out an exasperated huff-- it was hard enough having to find someone in a crowd, but trying to find them in a crowd that was all wearing masks? It felt nearly impossible! 

"Alright, we're splitting up," Oswald decided, Gabe grabbing his upper arm as he tripped, managing to keep him upright. "If you find Wayne call me." 

"Why are we looking for the Wayne kid again?" Victor piped up curiously, head tilting. 

"Because I want to give him a proper thank you for the cannolis." Oswald haughtily answered, not at all feeling comfortable with these many strangers much less a place that was not his home. 

Gabe's brow raised, not exactly knowing why Oswald was so keen on thanking a kid for a few homemade treats, but deciding to not argue, instead nodding and setting off as Victor and the Zsaszettes did the same. 

"I'm assuming I shouldn't-" Nygma started with a friendly smile. 

"Don't kill anyone." Oswald answered knowingly, earning a nod, Nygma also walking off. 

Okay, this couldn't be too hard... all Oswald had to look for was red hair-- Wayne was bound to be with Jerome considering the two were hardly ever separate from one another. 

After only five minutes went by Oswald decided this was way too damn hard, and was beginning to consider just coming by tomorrow when there wasn't a fricking ball going on, before running into none other than Harvey Dent. 

"Dent?" Oswald questioned unsurely, causing the other's eyebrows to quirk as he squinted, a friendly smile breaking out on the attorney's lips whence realizing who the freckled man was. 

"Oswald!" Dent greeted politely, giving a firm shake to the other's hand-- sure, he hated gangsters, but compared to Theo? Compared to that asshole, Oswald had grown on him-- besides, anyone that was a friend of Jim's was a friend of his. "How are you?" 

"I'm fine-- have you seen Wayne?" Oswald answered, not taking any time to hold small talk; he just wanted to thank Wayne properly and then get out as soon as possible-- he had things to do! 

Dent blinked, head shaking. "No, I haven't, but I was just speaking with Alfred a second ago-- he's somewhere over there if you want to ask him." Dent offered, pointing towards the right. "Is everything alright?" 

"Everything's fine, I just have something I need to discuss with him." Oswald waved off nonchalantly, giving a nod of thanks and quickly being on his way without bothering to talk anymore than needed, managing to find Alfred rather easily much to his relief. 

The butler, who was wearing a metal mask that almost looked strangely steampunk in a way, straightened up up at the sight of Oswald, nearly instantly recognizing the mob boss with his cane. "Mr. Cobblepot." 

"Pennyworth." Oswald greeted. "Have you seen Wayne?" 

Alfred's eyebrows arched. "I'm afraid not, but I assume he's with Jerome and Selina along with the others," His arms went behind his back. "May I ask why you're looking for him?" 

"I wanted to express my gratitude for the Christmas gift he'd given me." Oswald exhaled while running a hand through his hair-- he was beginning to regret this... 

"I see," Alfred found that a bit... surprising-- did Mr. Cobblepot have a tad soft spot? "Well, he's not really fond of crowds-- he may be taking a break out in the hall or out on the balcony, or up in his room perhaps," The butler gave a shrug. "You're more than welcome to try there-- his room's the fourth door on the second floor on your left." 

Okay, fine-- if Oswald couldn't find him in any of those places he was just going to give up and go home. "Very well-- I'll check there." Penguin breathed strained. "Thank you." 

Alfred nodded as Oswald set off for the hallway, finding no one was there and irritatedly going to the balcony instead. 

The balcony door opened, a man in a blue and white mask bumping into Oswald quite rudely as he walked by him, earning a glower from the law breaker-- ooh if Oswald didn't have his mask on and that man had seen who he was he'd surely be sorry... Oswald deserved some respect, damnit! 

Oswald turned his attention away from the man walking off and towards the balcony, perking up at the sight of a raven haired boy looking out towards the city and hopefully calling out, "Wayne?" Please please please-- he just wanted to say his thanks and go home where it was nice and remote and warm. 

Wayne blinked, turning to look over his shoulder at Oswald and earning a relieved sigh, the criminal limping his way over towards him with his cane-- finally. 

"Mr. Cobblepot," Wayne greeted after realizing who the other was, turning to face the older male. "What-" 

"I wanted express my gratitude for the Christmas gift you stirred up," Oswald interjected with an apathetic quirk of the shoulders while crossing his arms, chin inclining as he strode to the place beside Wayne, looking forward indifferently. "It was kind of you to make something I'd apparently mentioned my mother had made for the holidays in attempt to show condolences and, while it may of not seemed like it, I am-" A pause. "I am grateful." There-- he'd said it. 

Wayne's eyebrows raised taken aback, soaking in the grateful comment before hesitantly replying, "Uh-" He rubbed his upper arm, offering a small smile. "Yeah-- no problem." 

Now Oswald could go home-- he was done here. 

... 

Although Oswald couldn't help but notice Wayne was rather alone. 

"Where's Jerome and Selina and..." Oswald trailed off, not recalling the others names. 

Wayne leaned forward, elbow on the balcony and chin on his fist as he let out a heavy sigh. "We all sorta' got into a-" He hesitated. "-a fight... kinda'." Wayne answered with a shrug, staring out into the city with a rather down expression. 

Oswald tilted his head in a way that suspiciously expressed something that was nearly... concern. "Oh?" 

Wayne nodded, flicking at a piece of ice on the railing broodingly with his free hand. "It's a long story or whatever." He grumbled, scraping at the frozen metal subconsciously. 

Oswald checked his pocket watch-- nine forty five... he could go home and relax by the warm fire place rather than stay in this twenty degree weather... he could have a much needed glass of wine while having a peaceful New Year's Eve... 

... but instead he closed his watch, stuffed it nearly in his pocket, and mused, "It's a long while until midnight." 

Wayne quirked a brow, looking up at the patient Oswald taken aback, making sure there wasn't a chance he was misunderstanding his offer to listen before feeling a grateful yet fatigued smile meet his lips, letting out a long breath of white air and trying to figure out where to begin. 

Jerome, meanwhile, was meeting Selina's sour glare with a bitter smirk. 

"What do you want?" Selina questioned irritatedly while digging through the fridge for food-- she'd planned to hide out in one of the mansion's rooms for the rest of the night to cool down, but had gotten hungry. "And what happened to your face? Did you and detective jackass get into a fight?" 

"Wayne's upset," Jerome informed while pressing a thumb to the cut on the bridge of his nose, wincing slightly while the one on his jawline continued stinging, a bruise on top of his cheek. "And Jonathan and I had a bit of a brawl." 

Selina pulled back from the fridge with an arched brow. "Jonathan?" She scoffed, shutting it and deciding to forget about her growling stomach for the time being, hand going on her hip. "What did you do to the poor guy?" 

"He's not as innocent as he's been acting." Jerome defended, smile forced. "We need to talk." 

"Ooh, we need to talk?" Selina gave overly frightened jazz hands before dramatically rubbing her arms up and down. "Scary!" Jerome was beginning to get real tired of her attitude. "How about you just piss of and leave me alone instead?" She grumbled, yanking open the freezer and grabbing a tub of ice cream. 

Jerome's jaw set, smile falling-- fine, if he had to act serious to get her to stop messing around, then he'd act serious. 

The seventeen year old red haired teen approached Selina as she continued skimming the fridge, grabbing the appliance's door before slamming it shut, causing her to jump and drop the ice cream, instinctively backing up while she grabbed a knife on the counter and holding it up defensively, Jerome's brow arching as she swallowed thickly and stared at him with uneasy eyes. 

Jerome glanced down at the knife pointed at him before meeting the girl's frightened gaze, taking note she was more freaked out than hostile-- he knew he could overpower her and snatch up that knife with ease... in fact, it wouldn't be that difficult to just get rid of the gal then and there. 

Selina was shaking. 

Instead, Jerome raised his hands in a non-threatening manner, taking a step back. "I just want to talk." 

Selina swallowed again, looking Jerome over broodingly, taking a few lengthy seconds to calm her trembles the best she could before lowering the knife and hesitantly nodding. 

Yeesh-- what all had this curly haired kiddo seen on the streets..? 

Jonathan, at that time, was sitting alone on the steps leading to the hallway of the ball, his elbows on his knees and face in his hands-- he had a migraine. 

The brown haired male rarely genuinely felt anything, but he was feeling extremely awful for what he'd just gone and done-- he hadn't meant to hurt Wayne, he shouldn't of threatened to use fear gas on Ivy, and he had gone and ruined everyone's New Year's Eve by being a stick in the mud. 

Jonathan heard footsteps approach him, hoping whoever was coming his way would just walk by and not bother him, that hope diminishing as a timid finger tapped his shoulder, causing a long exhale to leave his throat. 

"What?" Jonathan growled menacingly. 

"Do you want to go back to bed?" A familiar voice meekly asked. "I put your sheets back on." 

Jonathan looked up at Ivy, swallowing dryly and crossing his arms, staying seated on the steps. "No thank you, although I'm grateful for your kind offer." 

Ivy scrunched her nose-- Jonathan was talking funny. "Can I sit by you?" At least he was being nicer... well, sort of. 

It was the least Jonathan could do he supposed... "Be my guest." Jonathan waved off, scooting over to allow room despite having the whole staircase to themselves. 

Ivy nodded and sat down, staying quiet for a few long seconds as Jonathan kept his eyes averted to the side before hesitantly piping up, "Why are you not acting like-" No, she should phrase her words better. "Why are you not feeling well?" 

Jonathan gave a weak smirk-- she wanted to know why he wasn't acting like himself. "You wouldn't have the capability to comprehend my reasons as to why I feel 'ill' even if I gave them to you." 

Ivy looked absolutely insulted at that. "Selina and I grew up on the streets, ya' know-- we're able to understand a lot of stuff most people our age aren't." 

Jonathan raised a brow, contemplating on her words before deciding it couldn't hurt to try to explain complicated things to a child-- the worst that could happen would be her just not understanding it, after all. 

It was around the time Jonathan began explaining Wayne had finished. 

"So you were hoping everyone would get along on this holiday unlike the others since it's the start of a new year?" Oswald questioned just to be sure, earning a nod. "Yet Selina and Jerome have been bickering, and Jonathan got disturbingly upset at Ivy before he brawled with Jerome and got you hurt in the process?" Another nod. "And you're worried they're all going to hate one another and get whisked away to Arkham if their behavior continues like this?" 

Wayne nodded again. "Yeah, pretty much." He admitted, pulling away from the railing and rubbing his upper arm. 

Oswald hesitated. "May I ask you something that may be a bit along the lines of prying?" 

Wayne's eyebrows quirked. "Sure..?" 

"Are you, by any chance, attracted to both Jerome and Selina?" 

Shit-- was Wayne really THAT obvious? 

Wayne's widened eyes said enough. "Um-" Confirm or deny? Confirm or deny?! 

"I see," Oswald hummed knowingly. "Perhaps you should recommend a threesome." Wayne stared at him quite shocked. "No, I mean- not like- I mean as in a threesome relationship-- a purely romantic one, not sexual- don't- don't do anything a fourteen year old shouldn't do- I only meant as in dating, nothing else-" Hells this was why Oswald didn't talk to kids... 

"I got it." Wayne assured, actually giving a bit of a laugh at that-- Oswald was... a lot easier to talk to than Wayne would've ever figured he'd be with being an intimidating mob boss and whatnot. "But it wouldn't work-- Jerome isn't interested in women, and even if he was I doubt that would resolve things for the three of us considering she and he both hate each other," Wayne's smile fell. "Besides, even if we did end up doing something like that it wouldn't fix things with whatever's going on with Jonathan." 

"Well in that case the only advice I can offer is what not to do," Oswald spoke after composing himself from that rather embarrassing misunderstanding. "Do not continue flirting with Selina or Jerome until you figure out which one you prefer," Wayne blinked, Oswald leaning on his cane. "You need to decide which one you would rather be with, and take your chances with them while being sure to make clear you want only friendship with the other, because the last thing you want is to make one or the other feel like a second choice-- don't let jealousy be a factor in them not getting along." 

Wayne bit down on his lower lip-- he hadn't taken that into account... "Are you used to giving romance advice or..?" The orphan inquired intrigued, still getting used to his boss talking to him so... would the word be fondly? Helpfully? Generously? He wasn't quite sure how to put it. 

"No, so I must insist you not recommend anyone to me for any encouraging words-- I don't normally have time for this." Oswald answered stiffly. "As for Jonathan... perhaps you should just figure out what's going on with him when he's in a better mood and try to fix whatever it is then rather than risking getting a lungful of fear gas." He brushed off his coat poshly, getting ready to be on his way. "It sounds like Ivy more or less gets along with everyone normally-- just make sure she's doing well... emotionally or mentally or however you care to put it." He gave a polite nod. "I'm afraid I must be on my way now, will you be alright?" 

Wayne nodded, offering a tired yet grateful smile. "Yeah, thanks." He pondered for only a quick second. "And, uh, if you ever need to- ya' know- talk about, um... your mother or really anything, then I wouldn't mind-" 

Oswald actually felt a bit... touched at that. "Of course-- thank you, and I suppose the same goes to you," A pause. "I truly am sorry for the tragedy you had to see happen in that alleyway, Wayne-- no child deserves to see such horrific things unfold." 

Wayne nodded, swallowing dryly. "I'm sorry you had to see Theo..." He trailed off. 

Oswald gave a nod of thanks, hesitating before starting to turn to leave, halting while tensing as he felt arms wrap around him, taking a few seconds to register he was being hugged before uncertainly patting Wayne on his back, afterwards clearing his throat awkwardly, causing Wayne to clear his own throat while stepping away. 

"Have a good New Year's Eve, Wayne." Oswald farewelled with an ever so slight respectful bow. 

Wayne held out his hand just as respectfully, Oswald shaking it. "You too." 

The two returned to the party, both letting out a sigh-- now all Oswald had to do was find his six henchmen and all Wayne had to do was find his four friends... easy enough. 

Jerome, meanwhile, was sitting next to Selina on the kitchen floor with an untouched bowl of ice cream in his lap that the girl had fixed for him. 

"I got this one from this old perv that tried to hit on Ivy," Selina stated, pointing towards a scar on her hip before lowering her shirt. "And this one from an asshole that was beating on a kid for stealing some of his food." She added, gesturing towards a scar on her lower arm after pulling her sleeve up. 

Jerome gave a scoff. "Geez, you're a bit of a tough cookie, aren't ya'?" So this chick had gotten jumped at least a dozen times... that was rough... 

Selina shrugged, scooping up some of her ice cream. "Like I said-- I've met monsters on the streets, and you're not one of them. You're... a jerk sometimes, but you're not that bad compared to..." She trailed off and stared down at the frozen treat in her bowl. "I've had a lot worse than just getting a few scars, but I don't really feel like talking about any of that..." 

Jerome wasn't sure he wanted to know what could've been worse... "That's fine." He assured, scratching the side of his neck with a frown-- he almost felt bad for this gal. 

Almost. 

Selina set the bowl down, no longer feeling all that hungry. "I'm glad you care about Wayne," She hesitantly admitted, Jerome's eyebrows arching-- he wasn't sure when would've been a good time to bring up the subject at hand, and was relieved she did. "And I'm glad you look out for him-- I'm glad you protect him." She swallowed thickly. "But you need to realize he looks up to you, and if you're not careful he's going to get hurt by the things you've been doing lately," The curly haired girl continued staring down at the melting dessert in the bowl beside her, not meeting Jerome's gaze. "Our actions have consequences, and your actions have been insincere-- you've been doting on him just to piss Jim off, and if you don't want to hurt Wayne then you'll start acting around him in a genuine manner that won't confuse him, okay?" Selina forced her eyes to meet Jerome's. "If you care about Wayne more than you care about ticking off Jim, then you'll stop using Wayne to get to Jim, because Jim cares about Wayne and Jim cares about him." She looked back towards the ground. "Believe me, I hate Jim just as much as you do-- he broke a promise, and let a friend of mine face the consequences, but if I get to Jim I'm going to do it on my own-- I'm not going to use Wayne, and I hope you'll do the same." 

If Jerome didn't believe her when she explicitly said Wayne was crushing on him then maybe he'd believe her when she subtly implied it. 

Jerome was quiet for a long, long while, Selina waiting for him to break the silence- 

"I have been kind of an asshole, haven't I?" Jerome snickered, Selina giving a smirk at that. 

"I have, too." Selina admitted, giving a shaky laugh. "I um-" Oh great, now her eyes were going and glossing up. "I'm sorry." She laughed quietly, eyes brimming with water. "I just-" Dang it, she'd made it this far through the night without crying-- why'd she have to go and start getting teary eyed now? "I know Wayne likes you, okay?" She tried to brush away the droplets before they could fall. "He really, really likes you, and I just-" Shit shit shit-- water was beginning to drop down her cheeks. "I already got pushed aside once with Silver and I don't want to- I just don't want to be-" 

Jerome didn't realize 'Wayne likes you' meant 'Wayne has a crush on you', figuring Selina was just worrying he was replacing her as a friend. 

"Are you comparing me to Silver?" Jerome gasped over dramatically, hoping a few laughs could perhaps get the poor girl to stop crying-- he wasn't annoyed, or really even... concerned, in all honesty. Sure, he was a bit concerned, but when it came down to it his first reaction to seeing someone sob was to make them laugh... unless he'd caused the sobbing, of course, in which he'd just sit back and enjoy the chaos sadness could provoke. "How scandalous! I'm not at all like that prissy blonde!" 

Selina let out a choked up sob before actually giving a weak laugh, easing down ever so slightly. "No, I just meant-" 

Jerome cockily beamed proudly at the laugh. "If it's of any consolidation, I prefer Wayne hanging out with you instead of little miss Saint," He hummed, picking up his bowl of ice cream and taking a bite. "At least you don't try to blackmail me-- even if you can be a bit of a bitch." Selina scoffed, drying away her tears with the side of her hand. "Not that I can't be a bit of one, too, every now and then." Jerome added with a shrug. "Speaking of Silver-" He paused-- they were almost having a moment here... he didn't exactly feel like ruining the possibly only temporary peace in between them, deciding to bring up his little meeting with the blonde gal later. "Never mind." 

Selina's eyebrows raised, although she decided to not question it-- the last thing she wanted to talk about was Silver. 

Instead, the curly haired girl let out a fatigued exhale and leaned over, Jerome blinking somewhat surprised as she pressed her cheek against his upper arm, her eyes closing. "Ya' know, for a killer you're not half bad." 

Jerome snickered, straightening up smugly, nudging Selina in a nearly friendly fashion. "For a thief you're not all that bad either." 

Selina smirked at the compliment returned. "We should probably go find Wayne." 

"Probably." Jerome agreed, setting down the bowl on the floor and standing as Selina moved off of him, offering his hand to the small girl and helping her up. "Listen-" He rubbed the side of his neck uncertainly, clearing his throat, smile briefly going serious. "-for what it's worth, Wayne's not going to choose one of us over the other, ya' know," The least he could do was try to get along with this chick... "You're not a-" What had she called herself? "-'second choice' or whatever." 

Selina averted her eyes, arms crossing self consciously. "Cut the sap-- you don't have to play nice." She contemplated. "But... thanks for the words of encouragement, I guess." 

Jerome gave a wide grin. "Thank goodness-- I was worried you'd grown a soft spot for me." 

"Likewise." Selina shrugged off, Jerome giving a chuckle and following the girl out of the kitchen. 

Jerome and Selina weren't the only ones going off to look for Wayne. 

"So you can feel anything?" Ivy inquired while following Jonathan- who had put his mask with designs of maroon shaded and orange colored leaves on along with a pale red long sleeved button up shirt and beige pants- through the crowd of people, curiously pinching his upper arm. 

"Ouch!" Jonathan huffed, shooing the sheepish Ivy's hand away annoyedly. "I was referring to how I am often unable to emotionally, not physically." 

"Oh." Ivy frowned. "So you don't have emotions?" 

"It's not that I do not possess emotions, it's simply that I lack emotions-- I occasionally feel a strong feeling towards something, however more often than not I feel very little towards many things and many people." Jonathan elaborated, wondering where the hell Wayne was. 

"Really? Because you were acting super upset earlier." Ivy questioned, Jonathan letting out a long breath and stopping in the middle of the ballroom, palms clasping together and raising towards his lips as he reminded himself Ivy was only an intrigued child and did not mean to be irking. 

Jonathan turned to face Ivy. "I've been here, oh... two or so months, give or take, and I have been constantly- and I do mean constantly- putting on a facade of being much more upbeat than I actually, as a introvert, am. I have been wearing myself thin by trying to show my gratitude to Wayne by helping him with a little fixation he has on Jerome, and I was frankly just absolutely worn out today thanks to pushing myself to force a portrayal of insincere emotions, and that caused a genuine emotion of irritation to arise out of my fatigued health, okay?" 

Ivy's brow crinkled. "So you don't actually like any of us then?" 

"What? No, that's not what I-" Jonathan didn't know how to explain himself anymore thoroughly to the younger girl. "I have felt tinges of... fondness towards you, and Wayne, and Selina, and even Jerome as well as Alfred every once in a while, although admittedly not as many as I've made it seem." 

This was beginning to gradually make more sense. "You're going to tell Wayne that so you can stop acting-" 

"So cringingly joyful all the time?" Jonathan finished before she could. "Yes-- I'm afraid it's tired me out, which is not fair to me, and the consequences of my exhaustion are not fair to you all." Jonathan swallowed, gaze averting. "I truly do regret the way I behaved today-- I admit that much," He wet his dry lips before clearing his throat. "You and Wayne only held good intentions, and Jerome was being reasonably protective-- I was at fault, and I can only hope my-" He hesitated. "-my 'friends' can forgive me for my immature behavior and childish actions-- I was cruel, dangerous, and not at all in my right mind." 

Jonathan waited for his punishment-- waited for Ivy to, rationally, scold him despite being four years younger than he was. 

Instead, Ivy shrugged. 

"It's fine-- Selina and I fight all the time." The ginger waved off, grabbing Jonathan's wrist as his brow quirked. "Let's go find Wayne so you can tell him what you told me, alright?" She weaved through the crowd, pulling him behind her. "Then we can finally all have a good holiday for once." 

Jonathan stared down at Ivy in shock, a cross between a smirk and smile meeting his lips. 

If there was one thing Jonathan knew when it came to his lack of emotions it was that he had felt a lot more with Ivy and Wayne and the others than he had in Arkham... and for the first time in a while he was gradually feeling a less spurts of terror each day. 

Perhaps things were going to finally work out for the five minors... maybe they'd actually have a good holiday for once. 

Jerome and Selina, who were just as ready to apologize to Wayne as Jonathan and Ivy, all eventually bumped into one another after several minutes of searching for the raven haired boy. 

"Have you seen Wayne?" Jerome and Jonathan both asked at the same time? 

"No, have you?" Selina and Ivy replied in sync. 

"We checked the balcony." Jonathan informed. 

"We checked our room." Selina added at that. 

"Well he has to be around here somewhere." Jerome scoffed. 

"Shouldn't we just keep searching?" Ivy suggested with a shrug. 

"Midnight's in two hours-- if we don't find him soon he's going to be spending New Year's alone." Selina brought up concerned. 

"Two hours is plenty of time." Jonathan assured. "Besides-" 

Bang. 

Jonathan jumped, a loud continuous crackle ringing out as screams filled the room, holes beginning to litter the ceiling and bright flashes hitting the air as the noise of weapons going off went off. 

What the..?! 

"Goooooood evening ladies and gentlemen!" A practically giddy voice greeted throughout the ballroom's speaker system as the lights dimmed, the four minors warily shuffling closer to one another. "How are all of you doing tonight?" Soft whimpers were the only reply. Bang! "I said how are all of you doing tonight?" Shaken up 'good's were spoken throughout sobs. "Well that's just fantastic! I'm not doing too bad myself!" The four criminals tried to find the source of the voice, spotting a brown haired man with stubble on the stage a few dozen or so yards away. "I'll be your entertainer for tonight, and my name's Jester! Who's ready for our first act?" 

Jonathan's eyes widened, quietly muttering, "Jerome-- it's one of your copycats." 

Jerome bit down on his lower lip-- not good. 

Bang! 

"I said who's ready for our first act?" Jester threatened as a few scattered choked up whimpers were heard throughout the crowd, the people reluctantly answering, 'Me.', in trembling voices. "Glad to hear it! Now where are the black haired men out there? Give me a show of hands!" No one dared move. Bang! "I said-" Hands begrudgingly raised. "Ooh, there's a lot of you out there, eh?" Jester pondered, head cocking. "Hm... okay, how many gingers are out there?" His smile briefly fell. "And don't make me ask twice this time." He warned, a few hands cautiously going up as his smile returned, Selina frowning when Jerome's hand hesitantly raised. "Five? That's a whole lot less... Eh, figured as much-- how about you five come up here and you guys-" He gestured towards a handful of his helpers. "-go find the five youngest dark haired boys." 

Jerome had a feeling he knew where this was going, and he didn't like it. 

"Don't." Selina protested as Jerome begrudgingly began to walk forward, grabbing his upper arm. "If that freak and these people find out who you are-" 

"I'll be fine." Jerome assured while pulling away from her grasp and continuing to walk off-- he couldn't very well just leave Wayne up there if they managed to get ahold of him... 

Jerome walked up the stage and ignored the smirk Jester gave his way, noting he was the second ginger up there, the other three following, a tinge of hope rising whence not seeing any sight of Wayne as the raven haired males began to be ushered up as well, that hope sinking as he recognized the fourth one as the fourteen year old boy. 

When the ten guests were up there Jester brought the mic back up to his lips, "We're going to play a little game, and you're going to have team names," He pointed towards Jerome's group. "You're the snakes-" He gestured at Wayne's. "-and you're the owls-- got it?" The ten men warily nodded. "Now, if we managed to get the right one, there's an owl that's a very, and I do mean very, important person, so I'm going to give you snakes a chance to decide which owl is the right one-- all you have to do is find the right guy, and if you do you both get to go onto round two." He gave a devious grin. "If you don't, though... well, let's just say this stage could use some more red." Jerome met Wayne's eyes, giving a reassuring nod. "Who's ready to get this show on the road?" The audience reluctantly gave scattered, 'me's. "See? Was that so hard? Now you're catching on!" Jester snickered, gesturing towards the first ginger with his firearm. "You first." 

"Shit..." The red haired male that was at least a few years older than Jerome breathed, nervous hand running through his curly hair that was clearly not Jerome's, hesitantly walking forward and looking at the raven haired males ranging from fourteen year's old to twenty-four year's old, unsurely pointing towards the one in the middle. 

Jester gave a chuckle. "Final answer?" He mused, earning a nod from the visibly trembling nod, causing Jester to approach the man in the middle, yanking off his mask and clicking his tongue disappointedly. "Sorry buddies-- today's just not your lucky days." Wayne whimpered as a pair of loud noises crackled, the man beside him and the male standing near him falling to the floor, red liquid hitting his mask. "Your turn." Jester instructed, waving Jerome over. 

Jerome swallowed dryly, hesitating only a brief second before quickly walking over to Wayne, eying over the frightened boy concerned. "Are you okay?" Jerome asked, Wayne shaking his head and shrinking into himself as Jester stepped towards them. 

"Well that was a pretty quick decision." Jester hummed knowingly. "Ya' know what?" He grinned. "I like you-- you've got pizazz!" The man gave a chuckle, Jerome glaring at him unsurely. "I'm going to give you an option here-- you can either take your chances with the kid and hope he's the guy I want him to be, or-" He held out his weapon. "-you can kill him and walk away without having to worry about losing your own life." Jester smirked as Jerome eyed the firearm. "If you try to kill me though I'm afraid both of you will get blown to pieces by my men, so I recommend not trying anything funny." 

Jerome's jaw clenched, Wayne looking up at him uncertainly as a long stretch of time went by. "I'll take my chances." Jerome finally informed, Wayne's brow furrowing at that. 

"Jerome, no-" Wayne quietly objected-- he'd rather one of them have the guarantee to live instead of taking the risk of both being killed. 

"Ooh, well aren't you just a knight in shining armor?" Jester chuckled amusedly. "Alright-- let's see if the snake's managed to catch the right owl." He mused, yanking the mask off of Wayne and giving a wide smile. "Ding ding ding! We have a winner!" He glanced over at his men. "Kill the others." 

"Don't-" Wayne protested, cowering as bangs rang out and screaming began, Jerome instinctively wrapping his arms around Wayne to shield him from any stray rubble. 

The firing had almost stopped as quickly as it had started, frightened sobs being heard ever so often as an eery silence took place, Jerome keeping his arms around the trembling Wayne and glowering at the smirking Jester. 

"I'm afraid my good friend Mr. Freeze will be taking over things from here-- I have some things to discuss with our two lucky winners!" Jester informed, Wayne unable to stop a frightened whimper from leaving his throat and gripping Jerome's shirt, causing the taller one to pull him closer on reaction. "Grab 'em, boys." 

"No-" Wayne objected as Jester's men pried him away from Jerome, trying to squirm out of their grasps to no avail while Jerome elbowed and kicked at the men, neither able to get out of their grasps as sacks were put over their heads to block off their eyesight. 

Selina cussed under her breath, looking around and noting Jester's men were blocking off the exits, unable to find any sight of Jim or Oswald in the sea of masked faces, eyes resorting to the balcony exit-- she couldn't quite tell, but it looked like no one was guarding that area. 

Maybe if she could just... 

"Where are you going?" Jonathan hissed, grabbing Selina's wrist as she began to weave through the crowd of people. "If they see you sneaking around-" 

"I've been stealing shit for years-- I know how to sneak around without being caught." Selina whispered back assuringly. "They need help-- I'm not just leaving them in that freak's hands." 

"Jerome can handle it." Jonathan insisted quietly, grasp tightening. "That guy was a copycat-- they idolize Jerome, alright? Jester will listen to Jerome if he tells him to-" 

"Yeah, well, he just kidnapped his idol!" Selina snapped in a hushed voice. 

"Jerome's not innocent, Selina-- he's killed people before, okay? He can handle this-" 

"Did you not see the eight people that guy just killed? He's not exactly innocent either." Selina glanced at the wide eyed Ivy, gaze softening. "Just- just look out for Ivy, okay?" 

"Selina-" Jonathan pleaded under his breath, cussing as she yanked away and crept out of view. "Damnit!" 

The curly haired girl snuck through the people with ease, doing her best to brush by them as lightly as possible, managing to get over to the balcony door relatively quickly and eying the armed man a few yards away, making sure his sights weren't on her as she took in a brave breath and quickly, but quietly, hurried towards the door only a few feet away, managing to gently open it and sneak through before softly closing it in a swift motion, letting out a relieved sigh whence not being caught and taking only a few seconds to compose herself, afterwards sprinting to the edge of the balcony and looking over the ledge which was only about half a foot wide, causing her to kick off her black high heels and crack her knuckles while a long exhale left her lips-- it was now or never. 

This was all going way to fast... and there was little time to let go to waste. 

Meanwhile, Jerome felt himself get pushed down firmly into a sitting position, the sack on his head being yanked off by one of Jester's men, Jerome glaring at the brown haired fan grinning at him widely, emerald eyes scanning the room for Wayne and finding no sight of him, causing the red haired male's jaw to set as he returned his gaze to Jester's with an even meaner glower as two suited men on either side of him from behind the couch kept a hand on his shoulders to make sure he couldn't move. 

Jerome was still in Wayne's manor... good. 

Jester approached Jerome, gripping his dark purple and red mask before pulling it off, smile widening at the sight of the ticked off Maniax member. 

"So it IS you." Jester chuckled, tossing Jerome's mask beside the seventeen year old. "I mean, I'd heard the famous Jerome Valeska had become Bruce Wayne's big and bad bodyguard, but I wasn't sure I quite believed it all things considered." 

Jerome's eyes narrowed-- who had tipped this guy off about his relationship with Wayne? Jim? Alfred? Bullock? Dent? Nygma? Fox? Lee? One of the Zsaszettes? Victor? Gabe? Oswald? Silver? Tabitha? One of Theo's men? One of Oswald's men? There were way too many possibilities... 

"So what? You faked your death and became buddy buddy with little ol' Wayne?" Jester inquired curiously, Jerome only glaring at him. "Come on! Give me details-- I'm intrigued!" Jerome gritted his teeth at that. "What's wrong? You're not scared or something, are ya'? He flashed a much too friendly smile. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna' hurt ya-- in fact, I'm actually a big, BIG fan to be honest." Jerome averted his gaze, lips pursing, Jester's smile falling. "You are Jerome Valeska, right? I mean, you look like him, but you're kinda' being a stick in the mud." No reply. "Geez, you've gotten a whole lot more boring, haven't ya'? What's wrong, Mr. Serious, no good jokes?" Jerome's mouth thinned unamused-- he had no desire to talk with this asshole. "Okay, fine-" Jester sighed, straightening up and walking over towards the door on the other side of the room. "Bring him in." 

Jerome blinked, relieved expression hitting his features as a struggling Wayne was ushered inside, two suited men holding his upper arms firmly. 

"Jerome!" Wayne called out shakily, trying to yank out of the men's grasps at the sight of his friend. 

"Wayne-" Jerome started while trying to stand, the men on either side of him pushing him back down into the sofa. 

"He speaks!" Jester crackled, smile lighting up giddily. "I guess this kiddo is the golden tool when it comes to getting your attention, eh?" He noted aloud while gesturing for the men to let Wayne go, smirking as they did so and the small boy backed up cautiously. "So what, is this kid like your puppy or something?" He chuckled, gripping Wayne's chin and examining him curiously, wide bluish gray eyes meeting his fearfully. "Means of entertainment? Jester added musingly, cupping the boy's jaw and forcing Wayne to look to the side so he could better examine him. 

Jerome tried to stand again, the men shoving him back down into his seat as he growled, "Don't touch him!" 

Jester's brow arched, letting go of Wayne's chin but grabbing his upper arm to make sure he didn't try anything funny, turning to face Jerome intrigued. "Don't get me wrong-- he's a cute pet," Jester admitted with a shrug, Wayne trying and failing to squirm free of his grasp. "I'm just hoping you haven't gone soft because of this little guy is all." 

"What do you want?" Jerome snapped, Jester letting out a long exhale. 

"Ya' know, I got really dressed up for tonight, and I gave a hell of a performance out there for you-- not to mention I'm being a lot more polite than usual, so I'm not sure I like you being oh so rude to me." Jester warned, Jerome only glaring at that. "The least you could do is smile." Jerome's glower went sterner. "Okay, fine-- I'll be nice and ignore your manners because I'm feeling generous, but I really do suggest you fess up since you really don't want to piss me off, yeah?" Jester informed menacingly while wearing an obviously pissed off smile. "So how about you play nice and tell me why the hell you're about as funny as a rock right now? Because considering I've been patiently waiting for us to meet for a while, it's kinda' ticking me off that you're suddenly such a damn stick in the mud." Jerome's jaw clenched. "Really? You're going for the silent treatment again?" Jester gave a sigh, smile falling in aggravation. "Fine-- if you wanna' be Mr. Tall, Dark, and Serious then I'll give you something to be serious about." 

Talk about having a one sided conversation. 

Wayne let out a yelp as Jester shoved him onto the floor, Jerome's eyes widening when the copycat reached for a weapon in his belt, the red haired teen quickly saying, "Wait!", as Jester yanked the firearm out. "Okay!" Jester clicked it into place. "You- you win!" Jerome insisted as Jester started to hold his weapon up, causing the brown haired male to pause. "I'll be polite." Jerome assured, Wayne trembling on the floor terrified. "I'm sorry, alright? I'll do whatever you want, okay?" Alright, yeah... he needed to be careful, or both himself and Wayne would end up done away with. 

Jester pondered before giving a pleased smirk, gesturing for the shaken up Wayne to stand, the scared boy hesitantly doing so. "Go sit on the couch." He directed, giving a nod towards the couch across from Jerome, Wayne timidly doing so. "See? Was that all that hard? All I'm asking for is a little bit of respect." Jester chuckled, Jerome meeting Wayne's eyes concerned, Wayne giving a slight nod to let him know he was fine before the emerald eyed teen returned his gaze to their captor. 

Jerome swallowed thickly, chin raising. "What do you want?" 

Jester grinned, turning on his heel and walking over to a table with a case of alcohol resting on its surface. "When my friend and I saw you on television we couldn't help but find you inspiring," He began to explain, pouring a glass of scotch. "We'd had a long day-- we'd gotten mugged, were trying to find a place to stay after being kicked out by our landlord since we didn't have rent thanks to us both being fired earlier that month, our weed amongst other things had been used up by us a while back so we were having withdrawals, and we hadn't eaten in four days, not to mention all the water we managed to find tasted shittier than tap water." Jester poured two more glasses. "We just wanted to find some entertainment-- ya' know, something funny to distract us from the fact we were miserable as hell-" Jester flashed a smile, picking up two of the glasses and squeezing the third one in between them, turning to face the cautious Jerome. "-and you were hilarious." He gestured for the men to let Jerome go, walking towards the unsettled teenager and holding out one of the glasses, Jerome hesitantly taking it. "We watched you on a T.V. in a glass window display, and just as you got stabbed in the neck by that prestigious asshole a homeless man happened to walk by." Jester walked over to Wayne, Jerome gripping his glass tightly as the older male sat much too close to the young male and handed the tense boy a glass of scotch. "I'm not sure why we found you so funny in all honesty-- I'm pretty sure my friend was just tired as hell and would've laughed at pretty much anything with those withdrawals making him all loopy, but I-" The copycat brought a sincere hand up towards his chest. "I found you genuinely hilarious." Jester took a sip of scotch, Jerome and Wayne not drinking any of the beverage. "I'm going off on a tangent, sorry-- back to the homeless guy," He chuckled apologetically. "So me and my friend decide to honor your memory- ya' know, the memory of the guy that managed to make us laugh for the first time in over a humorless month-- I mean, it may not seem like it, but in the positions we were actually in? Being able to laugh at anything was more than bliss. So, ah, we follow the homeless guy to this nice little secluded place, and we agree the best way to thank you, or whatever you want to call it, is by spreading what you were spreading-" Jester paused, leaning forward on the sofa while meeting Jerome's eyes and more or less smiling from ear to ear. "-chaos." Jester leaned back, swirling his alcohol around. "So we killed the ol' fool no one would miss, and then I realized my buddy was going to come back to his senses eventually and soak in what he'd done and rat on us or some shit-" He gave a shrug. "-so I killed him." 

"Why are you telling us th-" Wayne started, closing his eyes and shutting his mouth as Jester gripped his hair warningly, tugging back on it firmly as Jerome stood up. 

"You don't move." Jester threatened, pointing towards Jerome and causing the other to reluctantly freeze up, not wanting to test his limits with the kidnapper when Wayne was in danger. "And you-" Jester added, pointing towards the frightened Wayne. "-don't talk unless I tell you to, got it?" Wayne swallowed and nodded the best he could with the other's grip on his hair. "Right now me and him are talking, so you keep your mouth shut unless you want me to carve your tongue out, understood?" Wayne gave another nod, tremors going throughout him. "Good." 

Jerome waited for Jester to release Wayne and look back towards him to say in the politest tone he could muster up through his utter rage at how this asshole was daring to touch and treat HIS Wayne in such a manner, "Please don't-" 

"I don't know if you see this kid as a pet, or a possession, or a means of entertainment or some shit, but he's not going to be your friend or your little buddy if you want his ass to live, got it?" Jester interjected icily, arm resting on the area behind Wayne and more or less wrapping around the poor boy despite not touching him. "He can come with us, but if he does he's either a puppy, an object, or something you use for fun, understood?" Jerome eyed Jester's arm around Wayne rather ticked off. "I'm not going to let you go and get all soft and nice and annoyingly boring just because this little shit has grown on you or something, yeah?" Jerome grit his teeth and nodded, holding his tongue despite wanting to spit out some rather vulgar things at the jackass making Wayne sink down against the sofa scared. "If I see you two acting buddy buddy, or if I see you being all nice and warm around him, he dies, alright?" 

Jerome controlled his urge to lunge at Jester and show him just how funny it'd be to make his lungs stop pumping-- oh that would be absolutely hilarious to Jerome. 

Instead, Jerome quietly said, "I understand." He'd rather not go up against this looney and his four menacing men in suits. "You said he could come with us-- where are we going?" Casual. Act casual. 

Jester's lips broke into a pleased smile. "You'll see." He stood, looking Jerome over broodingly. "We definitely have some work to do-- it's gonna' take a while to get ya' back to your ol' fun self again." He circled Jerome and contemplated, Wayne and the seventeen year old both on their guard. "I still can't believe you're alive. I mean, you're boring, but alive, and it shouldn't be too hard to fix the boring part." He waved off with a smirk, coming to a halt and looking Jerome up and down intrigued. "I'm going to get one more glass of scotch and we'll leave afterwards-- don't try anything funny if you want Wayne to see tomorrow morning." Jester warned, turning away from Jerome and approaching the alcohol cabinet again. 

Wayne looked over at Jerome with little to no idea on what to do, brow furrowing as he noticed Jerome's eyes were elsewhere, staring at the taller teen confused and blinking as Jerome glanced at him and subtly nodded towards whatever he'd been looking at, Wayne frowning while unsurely following his gaze, eyes widening at the sight of Selina trying to carefully find a way through the large window that was two stories high, watching as the determined girl gave a huff and instead made her way out of Wayne's sight and towards the next room's window. 

"Who's ready to go?" Jester spoke up, Wayne jumping somewhat and returning his attention back towards the grinning copycat, the fourteen year old's tinge of hope starting to sink. 

No no no! They were so close to getting away if Selina could just manage to get inside... the three kids against the five men would still be risky, but it'd at least be a whole lot better than just two of them going at it alone. 

Wayne had to stall! He had to- 

Wait... 

'If I ever encountered one of his fans I would praise their humor, wouldn't you agree?' 

That Fries man on the balcony had been tipping Wayne off-- he knew this was going to happen! He'd been trying to warn him! 

Wayne didn't know who that guy was, but he was going to take the advice. 

Okay... Jester wanted Wayne to act overly polite to where it was almost humiliating, and that Fries person had told him to more or less act like he enjoyed the copycat's behavior, so Wayne just needed to do this in a way Jerome would be able to catch onto that wasn't too obvious... 

"Before we go, may I please make a request?" Wayne asked as innocently as possible, choosing his words carefully. "It's of course completely okay if you deny my request or decide you don't even want to hear it, and I would fully understand, although I would truly appreciate your agreement if it's not too much to ask for." 

Jerome's brow raised-- what was Wayne..? 

Jester eyed Wayne curiously, a smirk playing at his lips. "Either you've got him trained well or he's a good actor." He chuckled, nonetheless giving a nod. "What exactly are you requesting?" 

This had to work... it had to... "You and Jerome obviously have a similar, if not the same, unique sort of humor, and I find his jokes incredibly funny, so I'm sure I'd find yours just as hilarious," Wayne forced on a smile. "Would you mind telling me a few jokes or comedic stories? I'm honestly extremely intrigued as to what sort of entertaining content you have, and I would love to hear a bit of it now if that's not too much trouble." 

Jerome realized what Wayne was doing, and he got the feeling Jester did, too, as their captor's eyes narrowed, quickly adding, "This is actually the room I would give one on one comedy acts to Wayne in,", earning a glance from both the raven haired boy and Jester. "It would be nice to have one more comedic act in." 

"If we don't have enough time then you could just tell me a few jokes on our way to wherever we're going," Wayne assured, not wanting to seem too suspicious, yet hoping Jester would take the bait and let them stay put. "If you don't mind-- I don't want to be a nuisance." 

Jester was clearly contemplating on the suggestion, causing Jerome to give an anxious grin-- it was working. "We started off on the wrong foot," The ginger admitted apologetically, laying on the charm. "I must say-- you do seem rather... fun," Jester straightened up proudly at that. "I just get a bit protective over my things-" Jerome chuckled while gesturing towards Wayne, the copycat smiling widely at the laugh. "-although if you're really as big a fan as you seem to be..." He trailed off, tongue clicking. "... then I suppose I don't mind sharing." Jerome didn't know whether this guy was obsessed with him, or felt a screwed up sort of attraction towards him him, or wanted to replace him, or if maybe all three of those things applied to him, but the wink Jerome gave seemed to do wonders. 

"I suppose I could tell you one or two funny stories and give a few good jokes before we leave..." Jester hummed while crossing his arms. 

"Boss-" One of the men protested cautiously. 

"Don't be a stick in the mud." Jester snapped, yanking out his firearm and pointing it towards the suited man, Wayne cringing as a bang rang out, the captor noticing his unsettled behavior as the male fell against the floor with a thud. "You can go sit down with Jerome-" He flashed a smile. "-see what happens when you behave? You get rewarded." 

So being polite let Wayne sit next to Jerome? Wow-- what a reward! He would've been able to do that shit in any case if this asshole wasn't acting like he was the boss of both of them. 

Wayne politely nodded nonetheless, giving the best smile he could despite freaking out even more at the dead man a few feet away from him-- at least that meant it was three to four rather than three to five. 

"Thank you." Wayne forced out, hurrying over to Jerome as the older male resisted the urge to push Wayne behind him protectively, the smaller one resisting the urge to hug Jerome and cower, both teens instead sitting down. 

"So do you wanna' hear about the girl afraid of fire that got burned or the drowning lady that couldn't swim despite her name?" Jester asked quite gleefully. 

Oh boy... 

Jester wasn't even two sentences into his little story when he heard a crash in the room next to theirs, Jerome and Wayne exchanging glances. 

"What the hell was that?" Jester growled, wide smile falling. 

"We have owls," Wayne lied with a shrug. "Sometimes they get loose." 

Jester narrowed his eyes before turning his attention towards one of his men. "Go check it out." 

The suited man nodded and left the room, Jerome and Wayne doing their best to act as casual as possible. 

"We could go check." Jerome offered after a couple of minutes went by, Jester giving a scoff. 

"If you two have anything up your sleeves-" Jester started before pausing, an idea coming into place. "Come here." He instructed, pointing at Wayne. 

"What?" Wayne questioned uncertainly. "Why?" 

Jester stood. "Because I need someone to take hostage in case whoever's out there turns out to be worse than my men in here, so we're going to have a little déjà vu where I hold a knife up to your throat and you hope my hand doesn't damn well slip with how utterly unamused I'm going to be if you two are being anything less than honest-" Jester blinked, eyes landing on a curly haired girl entering the room instead of the man he had sent out. "Who the hell are you?" 

"Just a gal who likes cats... well, other than copycats." Selina sarcastically answered with a bored yawn. "I've got the buff bodyguard." 

"I've got the uncreative prick." Jerome replied, standing up and cracking his knuckles. 

Wayne nodded, looking over at the tall bodyguard. "I guess I've got him." 

Jester's scowl turned into a bitter smirk. "Well you've turned out to be a real disappointment." He chuckled, Jerome returning the smirk. 

"Oh believe me-" Jerome began, casually taking out the knife Wayne had gotten him for Christmas. "-with how much you've managed to piss me off tonight I doubt I'm going to be a 'disappointment' when I'm through with you." Jester wanted to see the old Jerome? Fine-- he'd see the old Jerome. 

The fight was over relatively fast, Selina managing to climb her way up onto the buff suited man's shoulders and wrapping her legs around his throat in a chokehold, waiting for him to pass out and leaping off before he hit the floor, afterwards going over to assist Wayne as he did his best to attack the tall bodyguard while also defending himself, more or less just throwing random objects at the suited man and running away whenever he got too close, Selina helpfully knocking the guard out with a well placed roundhouse kick to the face. 

"Thanks." Wayne breathed, Selina smoothing out her dress much more composed than he was. 

"No problem." Selina waved off, patting down her messy hair. "Where's-" She blinked, wide eyes landing on Jerome as he wiped the blood on his knife away nonchalantly. 

Jerome looked different. He was smirking, but he was doing so in a way that was a whole lot more cold than usual-- his icy emerald eyes were bored, as though the rush he'd gotten from possibly just murdering someone left just as soon as it had came, while a peculiar... aura of some sort- that being the only way to describe it- practically flashed with danger signs with the way he casually held himself unaffected by his actions which had clearly been brutal. 

Selina had seen Jerome menacing, but she'd never seen him sinister-- not like this. 

Wayne had only seen Jerome like this when he'd gotten upset at his bully... and Wayne didn't even want to begin to imagine what would've happened to that bully if he hadn't calmed Jerome down. 

"If you ever mess with Wayne-" Jerome began musingly, staring up at his knife as it flashed in the light, making sure there wasn't a trace of blood on it. "-or Selina-" He added evenly much to the younger teens surprise while leaning forward. "-again, then I'll make sure you don't have even a chance at living like I'm letting you have now-- is that understood?" Jester tried to choke out a reply to no avail, a metallic taste overriding his mouth. "Good-- because the only reason I'm letting you have a possibility of getting out of here alive is so you can spread the word to the other copycats to back off." Jerome straightened up, fixing the cuffs on his sleeves poshly. "You wanted to be like me? There-" He carelessly gestured towards the neck stab wound he'd given the injured man. "-you get to be like me." 

Jerome fixed his suit while turning away without another word to the Jester, blinking at the sight of a wary Wayne and Selina, expression falling-- shit. 

Before any of the teens could speak none other than Jim Gordon and Oswald Cobblepot as well as Bullock and Penguin's men (and three women) came running into the room, relief overtaking their features at the sight of the unwounded teenagers. 

"We managed to fight off the people trying to hold us hostage," Jim explained while panting, brushing away a trace of red from the cut on his cheek, the bruise on his jawline throbbing. "The Mr. Freeze guy got away though." 

Wayne's eyebrows quirked. "Mr. Who?" 

"A man Jester sent out to 'entertain' us," Oswald explained out of breath, and by 'entertain' he meant intimidate with what could only be described as a freeze ray. "Where is that freak in any case?" He questioned, referring to Jester. 

"He's over-" Wayne started, looking over towards where the injured copycat was, frowning when seeing only him and no sight of Jerome. "-there..." 

Jim nodded. "You two go on back to the party-- Alfred and your friends are worried sick about you." 

Wayne and Selina both have a nod, the pair of teens walking towards the exit as Jim called up an ambulance for Jester, Wayne halting before he left the room and turning to look at Jim. "Detective Gordon?" The officer blinked, looking over at him as his eyebrows arched. "Jerome helped us." 

Jim's expression actually softened, and much to Wayne's surprise he said, "I know." The detective hesitated. "As far as I'm concerned this was self defense." He assured, gesturing towards Jester. 

Wayne took a few seconds to soak in what Jim had just said before giving a nod and continuing on his way with Selina. 

Jim waited for things to settle down, making sure to file a police report, see Jester get loaded into an ambulance, and help direct those leaving do so in an orderly fashion, before approaching Oswald. 

"If it hadn't been for you and your men helping me and Bullock we would probably still be hostages." Jim hesitantly spoke up as Oswald sat on the staircase leading to Wayne manor's front door. 

Oswald ran a hand through his hair, giving a shaky sigh. "The only reason we hadn't left was because I couldn't find Nygma-- if we'd found him any earlier I'm afraid you would've been possibly..." He trailed off. 

"Killed?" Jim guessed, earning a nod and pausing. "Thank you." 

Oswald blinked, eyebrows arching taken aback, staring up at the detective leaning on the staircase railing quizzically before hesitantly murmuring, "You're welcome." 

Jim shoved his hands into his pockets, noting the cut on the bridge of Oswald's nose and the bruises on his throat. "You really care about Wayne, huh?" 

Oswald visibly tensed, looking towards the side while grumbling, "He's a young child who has encountered things no child should ever encounter, and he is a kind boy with a few aspects I admit remind me of myself when I was younger-- I suppose I..." What was the right word? "... empathize with him." 

Jim nodded, looking forward at that. "I know he and Jerome work for you," Oswald's gaze snapped up to him uncertainly. "I put two and two together when Jerome mentioned working for you at Christmas." Jim explained, returning his gaze to Oswald's knowingly. "Are you making them do anything illegal?" 

Oswald felt a bit insulted at that. "Of course not," He huffed, eyes rolling. "I only agreed to hire them because they had information about Galavan." 

Jim gave the faintest smile that you'd have to look for to see. "So they grew on you and you decided to keep them around?" 

Oswald scoffed. "Wayne? Admittedly, yes. Jerome? No-- he's a thorn in my side." A pause. "Although I supposed I don't despise him as much as I could considering he bothers to look out for Wayne." 

"I see." Jim went quiet for a few awkward seconds before clearing his throat. "Well, it was good seeing you tonight." 

If Oswald didn't know better he'd say it sounded like Jim was being genuine when saying that. "Likewise." He agreed while standing, palm politely extending. 

Jim took Oswald's hand, giving a firm shake before giving the other something that was almost- but just almost- along the lines of a brief hug, which was more of a pat on the back than anything, while quietly saying, "Barnes is onto you-- be careful." 

Oswald blinked as Jim pulled away, the detective nonchalantly walking back into Wayne manor without another word. 

Jim was in a peculiarly generous mood. 

Jerome was drinking a bottle of wine he'd found laying around, pondering on how unbelievable it was how many things of alcohol Wayne manor held which could be accessed with ease, when Jim sat beside him on the rooftop. 

"Wayne's looking for you." Jim informed, Jerome giving a sour smirk. 

"How'd you find me?" Jerome chuckled bitterly, taking another swig of the expensive wine. 

"I figured you'd be in the most risky part of Wayne manor considering you ARE Jerome Valeska." Jim answered with a shrug. 

Jerome snickered, hand running through his hair shakily. "You uh-" He gave a laugh. "You here to scold me or something?" He set the wine down a bit violently, mind fuzzing over. "Take me back to Arkham?" 

"No." Jim assured truthfully, Jerome swallowing thickly. "There's less than an hour until midnight." 

"Cinderella better get her ass home then." Jerome scoffed, reaching for the wine and giving a groan as he accidentally knocked it over, watching as it rolled down the roof. 

"You shouldn't be drinking," Jim said disapprovingly, more concerned than upset. "You're seventeen." 

"Didn't you say you weren't gonna' scold me?" Jerome reminded, laying down on the roof and looking up at the stars. "Besides, I've been drinking since I was sixteen-- I only do it twice a year at most, so don't get your panties in a twist." 

Jim decided to not argue. "Wayne and Selina are both worried about you." 

"They shouldn't be." Jerome grumbled drunkenly, nonetheless frowning at that. "Is there-" He cleared his throat. "Is there a reason you're acting so damn nice? Is this a good-cop-bad-cop thing?" 

Jim looked up at the sky as well. "That was brave of you out on the stage," He began to explain. "Taking the risk to save Wayne and possibly dying when Jester offered to just let you kill him?" He glanced at Jerome. "It was brave." A pause. "I'm... glad to know you actually care about him." 

"No I don't." Jerome lied defensively, Jim smirking ever so slightly at that. 

"Well, I'm gonna' go back inside-- I don't want Lee to spend New Year's alone." Jim sighed after a while of silence that was more like a quiet exchange of understanding than anything between them-- a treaty. "Hope Wayne doesn't feel too lonely." He added while crawling back through the window and into the mansion. 

"He has Selina and the others." Jerome scoffed. "And don't tell them I'm out here." 

"I won't." Jim assured. "Happy New Year's Eve, Jerome." 

Jerome snickered, eyes rolling. "Yeah yeah, whatever... happy New Year's Eve or whatever." 

Jim left, and Jerome continued staring up at the stars, a frown meeting his features after a few long minutes of pondering. 

Jerome sighed, eyes sliding shut-- dang it. 

The teen was extra careful when crawling back inside considering he was a bit tipsy, looking over at a clock as he stumbled his way down to the ballroom and noting it was eleven forty... good, he still had time to find Wayne and the others. 

Jerome found the ballroom was closed off due to the eight people that had gotten injured onstage, causing him to grumble and instead make his way up to Wayne's room, walking inside and seeing the raven haired boy perk up while looking over at him. 

"Hey," Wayne unsurely greeted, standing up and rubbing his upper arm while hesitantly approaching the one who still had a blood stain on his shirt. "I uh-" He bit down on his lower lip, gaze averting. "The others are outside waiting for the fireworks, but I wanted to wait a little while to see if you were going to come back since I- ya' know... since I wasn't sure where you'd gone-" 

"I'm sorry," Jerome sighed, Wayne blinking at that. "I know I freaked you out with what I did to Jester, but-" His brow furrowed, Wayne taking note he was drunk by his scent, the ginger unsure of how to put his words properly. "I wouldn't hurt you, okay? I wouldn't- I'm getting better, alright? But I don't- I'll only go after assholes that try to mess with you, yeah? Unless you don't want me to I guess... I just- I'm trying to-" Jerome was such a mess-- Wayne had to be pissed at him- 

Jerome blinked, feeling Wayne wrap his arms around him, looking down at the smaller boy taken aback. "You saved me tonight, and I'm more glad that you're okay than anything, alright?" They could talk more about this later when Jerome was sober. 

The taller teen stared down at the younger one before giving a hesitant nod, arms hooking around Wayne. "Okay." 

Wayne pulled back, looking down at Jerome's shirt. "Um... I'll get you a clean shirt." Jerome nodded, sitting down on the bed somewhat dizzily as Wayne went to grab him a black long sleeved button up shirt, bringing it back and feeling his cheeks heat up-- did Jerome have to look so good without his shirt? It was making Wayne a bit too flustered. 

The raven haired boy paused, Jerome waiting for him to hand him his shirt patiently, the taller teen feeling his eyebrows raise as Wayne studied him broodingly. 

"Everything alright?" Jerome asked semi concerned, wondering if he was missing something due to being a bit intoxicated. 

Wayne clenched Jerome's shirt tightly. "We had a really close call tonight and, um-" He swallowed dryly, ears going pink. "And there's something I was afraid we'd never get to do with how our lives were on the line and all..." 

Jerome eyed Wayne intrigued. "Yeah..?" Was Wayne not making sense or was he just drunk? Jerome was missing something, right? 

Wayne sighed-- Jerome wasn't going to take the hint... 

... so Wayne gave a bigger hint. 

Jerome blinked as Wayne threw caution to the wind and leaned forward, brow quirking when lips pressed against lips, instinctively yanking back more surprised than anything, causing the poor boy to feel embarrassment hit at the quite instant rejection and quickly pulling back as well. 

Wayne felt his heart sink as Jerome stared at him wide eyed. Oh no. No no no. He shouldn't of done that. Crap! Wayne had done it-- he'd officially ruined everything between them! Their friendship was done for! 

"I'm sorry-" Wayne apologized embarrassed, Jerome watching him unsurely. "I'm so sorry- oh my gosh-" The fourteen year old backed up, covering his face in embarrassment and dropping Jerome's shirt. "I didn't mean to- I shouldn't of- crap- I'm sorry, okay?" 

Jerome hesitantly stood, unsure mind racing due to much more than just the alcohol in his system. "Hey-" 

Oh dear Ra the level of concern in his voice... "No you don't have to-" Wayne sighed shakily, keeping his face covered. "I'm sorry- I'm so, so sorry-" 

Jerome uncertainly gripped Wayne's wrists, lowering his hands, trying to get the boy to look at him. "Listen-" 

No-- Wayne didn't want to look at one of his best friend's AKA the guy that had just freaking rejected him. "I shouldn't of done that, okay? Please just-" Wayne blinked, feeling lips press back against his. 

Oh. 

Oh wow. 

Jerome wasn't quite sure why he'd returned the kiss in all honesty. The majority of it was because he was a bit more drunk than he'd like to admit, and it had simply seemed like a good idea at the time-- sure, the kiss had felt... good, in all honesty, although his mind was a bit too fuzzy to determine whether it felt nice because most kisses tended to feel rather enjoyable, or if it was because he was actually attracted to Wayne considering he was finding it a tad bit difficult to tell what exactly his feelings towards the smaller boy were at the moment due to the few bottles of wine he'd recently downed. 

The fact of the matter was, Wayne had caught him off guard, and Jerome had felt quite bad for up and jerking away the way he did- only doing so because Wayne's actions had surprised him greatly- and Jerome had somehow drunkenly decided the best way to fix the poor boy's embarrassment would be by silencing him with a kiss to show it wasn't as though Jerome had disliked it or anything of the sort, even if he wasn't sure he'd particularly enjoyed it. 

Perhaps Jerome's reaction to the kiss was a bit foolish, as most actions made with an alcohol induced mind were, but Wayne certainly wasn't complaining. 

Jerome could feel Wayne's pulse under his fingertips, realizing he was probably gripping the poor kiddo's wrists hard enough to bruise and then realizing just what he was actually going and doing and pulling back, hoping he hadn't just made a regrettable impulsive decision and beginning to regret drowning his common sense in expensive red wine as Wayne stared up at him wide eyed. 

Yeah, okay-- Jerome shouldn't of tried to kiss someone he wasn't sure he was even returning the feelings of... that had probably been foolish. 

Jerome cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. "Can I uh-" He swallowed dryly, gaze averting as his cheeks tinted pink for a change. "Can I have my shirt?" He requested while holding out his hand-- maybe if he just acted like it never happened Wayne would play along and save them both the embarrassment... totally a fool proof laid out plan that even a sober person would believe could actually work, right? Not unrealistic at all! 

Wayne swallowed thickly, still soaking in what Jerome had really just done before giving a nod and kneeling to the floor, picking up the shirt he'd dropped and standing back up as a blush overtook his features, hesitantly holding out the article of clothing and politely looking away as Jerome tried to button it up, biting down on his lower lip while the older teen took over a minute to just get one button before turning towards him and shooing his hands away, knowing it couldn't be easy buttoning up a shirt when drunk. 

Jerome averted his gaze to the side while Wayne helped button his shirt, the ginger's hands falling to his side as a tense awkwardness filled the air, Wayne getting to the last button and parting his lips to say something yet instead jumping as loud bangs rang out, his room lighting up with colors from the window as cheers throughout the city could be heard, bright fireworks booming throughout the sky in vibrant colors. 

Perfect time to distract themselves from the kiss they weren't sure they regretted or we're glad they tried! 

"You wanna' go look at the fireworks?" Wayne quickly asked, Jerome's brow furrowing as he gave a shrug and pointed to his ear, unable to hear the other, causing Wayne to gesture for him to follow him over to the window, Jerome nodding and doing so. 

Hells Wayne hoped things wouldn't feel this weird between them for too long... 

Wayne opened the window, carefully setting Ivy's plants on the windowsill to the side so he and the other could lean on it, refusing to even look at Jerome as bright colors lit up the darkened sky, too busy trying to come up with something to say when the fireworks stopped to actually enjoy the ongoing celebration-- he knew Jerome was just as unsure about their little previous interaction as he was... maybe even a bit more so. 

Jerome didn't know why he said what he did next-- perhaps it was an impulsive attempt to get in the holiday spirit, or maybe he was just trying to drunkenly ease the tension with something that he shouldn't realized would only intensify it, or maybe he was just saying and doing shit he normally wouldn't do because he'd gone and decided it would be a good idea to water down his common sense in general without having said common sense to learn from his mistakes. 

Nonetheless, Jerome looked at Wayne, bit down on his lower lip, and said, "You know people kiss on midnight of New Year's, right?" 

Wayne looked over at Jerome, realizing he'd said something and crinkling his brow. "What?" Oh gosh this was embarrassing... Still yet, Jerome leaned forward and repeated himself before pulling back to study Wayne's reaction. "What?" 

Jerome gave a strained chuckle, looking away and pondering while chewing on the inside of his cheek before hesitantly returning his gaze back to Wayne's broodingly and pausing, afterwards leaning forward. 

Wayne tensed up but didn't move as Jerome pressed their lips back together, staying quite still for a long, long time before closing his eyes and bravely pushing up on the tips of his toes to give the taller male a better angle, feeling Jerome's lips amusedly smirk against his own as Jerome dipped downwards a bit more before pulling back after a few lengthy seconds and opening his emerald shaded eyes, meeting bluish gray ones. 

Wow. 

Okay, yeah... Jerome was pretty sure he felt something tug at his heart a little-- make it skip a beat and whatnot. Maybe it was just the alcohol. Maybe it was just the rush from a kiss and nothing else. Maybe he was just a bit anxious. Maybe his heart just decided to skip a beat because it felt like it for all he knew. Or maybe... 

Wayne leaned on Jerome, cheek resting against his upper arm as he looked back up towards the fireworks, feeling the other give him a gentle nudge and smiling at that. 

The tension successfully let up-- it had worked! Somehow... 

The fireworks eventually stopped, and Wayne reluctantly pulled away from Jerome, still feeling ever so awkward, yet more excited than anything, both teens clearing their throats as Wayne rubbed his upper arm and Jerome rubbed the side of his neck before giving shy nods to one another, afterwards gathering up their sleeping attire and going separate ways to get dressed. 

Wayne was the first back inside their room, putting Ivy's plants back up on the windowsill before shimmying under the sheets and staring up at the ceiling while a cheeky grin accompanied with a blush spread on his features-- he'd kissed Jerome Valeska... and Jerome Valeska had actually kissed him back. 

Whoa. 

Jerome returned to the room, pausing whence reaching the edge of the bed and smirking at how Wayne was embarrassedly covering his face up with a pillow, laying down on the mattress and wrapping his arms around the bashful boy, earning an embarrassed noise and snickering. 

They were getting a bit braver. 

"Ya' know that mistletoe Jonathan put up in the hallway?" Jerome mused, Wayne hesitating before giving a nod. "I got it down." 

Wayne didn't say anything for a few lengthy seconds, uncertainly lowering the sheets covering his face and giving a groan as Jerome examined said mistletoe amused. "You know you don't have to have a reason to kiss me, right?" The raven haired teenager hesitantly huffed, earning a smirk. "You can just..." He trailed off. 

"I know," Jerome hummed, setting the mistletoe to the side. "But I'm still trying to figure out whether or not I like you." He admitted cheekily, pinning Wayne underneath him with a smirk more playfully than flirtatiously. 

"In other words you're just finding excuses to kiss me?" Wayne accused, yet in a playful tone nonetheless. 

Jerome gave a chuckle, pondering on dipping downwards and pausing. "Can I kiss you?" 

Wayne tilted his head taken aback-- he was surprised at the question considering they'd very well already kissed twice. "What if I said no?" 

Jerome's eyebrows raised at the musing. "Then I'd get off of you and stop trying to kiss you." He answered with a shrug. 

Wayne bravely gave a hum. "Oh? So you're trying to kiss me then?" His pulse was racing like hell and he felt anxious, but it was a good sort of anxious. 

Jerome cracked a grin. "Maybe." 

Wayne pretended to ponder. "Hm... well I guess I can't say no to mistletoe-- that would be breaking the rules." 

Jerome had to admit... he kinda' liked Wayne being a little tease-- it was fun. 

"Ooh yes, wouldn't want to break the rules now would we?" Jerome agreed with a serious nod, grinning as Wayne laughed. 

Wayne bit down on his lower lip, finding he did that a lot around Jerome, before sitting up the best he could with being pinned down, feeling his stomach brim with butterflies as Jerome dipped downwards, lips pressing together. 

Wow. Wow wow wow. Hells, Wayne didn't know if he'd ever actually get used to this. 

Jerome pulled back after a long while, Wayne staring up at him with big bluish gray eyes, and yeah fine-- Wayne was kind of cutesy. 

... Alright, no-- Wayne was super adorable. 

Jerome moved off of Wayne, laying back beside the other and hooking his arm around his waist again, smiling amused as Wayne turned to face him. 

"Have any more excuses to kiss me?" Wayne teased, earning an amused smirk. 

"Hm... I don't know-- do I?" Jerome hummed, Wayne feeling his cheeks heat up and hells-- the way Jerome smirked was too damn attractive. "If I didn't know better I'd say you want me to kiss you again." 

"You are pretty bad at taking hints." Wayne teased, earning a chuckle. 

"Someone's acting flirtatious tonight." Jerome mused, pondering briefly before pressing his lips against Wayne's neck in a more playful way than sexual-- in fact, most of this was just being... playful with one another... playful with a dash of something suspiciously along the lines of something which was nearly romantic, the pair just testing out small things and honestly just seeing whether or not they liked... well, any of this. 

Wayne laughed at the relatively simple kiss; Jerome didn't seal lips over the area on his nick, or bite or suck, or do anything like the people in movies did-- Jerome only pressed his lips against different areas on Wayne's neck in a brief innocent and almost... sweet sort of way. 

Wayne couldn't help but be grateful for how he didn't feel pressured to do anything out of his comfort zone, taking note Jerome was being careful to not push any boundaries-- in fact, the smaller boy was admittedly taken aback at the... well, gentleness of the other-- he'd figured Jerome would be a bit more touchy feely and dominant... and he probably was, but that didn't mean Jerome wasn't a gentleman. 

"What's your excuse for these kisses?" Wayne bantered playfully, biting down on his lower lip to contain his laughter-- his neck was rather ticklish. 

Jerome gave a hum. "Seeing if my theory is right on you being ticklish." 

Wayne laughed, enjoying being showered with affection, yet pulling away to nuzzle against Jerome's chest, blushing wildly and having to take a break to regain himself. "So you're kissing me for science now?" 

"Ah yes-- purely for science." Jerome agreed seriously, grinning as Wayne laughed again-- wow he sounded cute when he laughed... 

"So, um-" Jerome may of been the intoxicated one, but it was Wayne who felt like he'd just drank one too many bottles of wine. "Does this mean we're-" 

Before Wayne could finish Selina, Jonathan, and Ivy walked inside, causing both teens to instinctively act like they were asleep, not sure why that had been their first reaction but figuring they were simply too flustered- or something along the lines of such- to bother interacting with anyone for the time being-- in any case they couldn't very well let the others know they had faked sleeping the instant they walked in, as that would be a tad too suspicious. 

"Oh good-- Jerome hasn't run away." Jonathan observed with a yawn. 

"Should we wake them up?" Ivy asked quietly. 

"Nah, let 'em sleep-- they've had a lot night." Selina answered while giving a stretch. 

"Most people would be quite mentally fatigued after being kidnapped by a dangerously delusional fan." Jonathan agreed tiredly. 

"I would've figured Wayne would be used to being held hostage by guys who tell bad jokes by now." Ivy added at that, Selina snickering and the corners of Jonathan's lips just barely tugging upwards in amusement. 

Jerome couldn't help but to feel a bit offended at that-- his jokes were hilarious! 

Wayne smirked as Jerome gave a quiet grumble, the three other minors gathering up what they needed to get ready for bed. 

"I guess we can just apologize to Wayne tomorrow for being..." Selina trailed off. 

"Childish imbeciles?" Jonathan casually suggested, earning a scoff. 

"Sure-- more or less." Selina agreed with a shrug. 

Around thirty minutes of the three kids getting ready for bed went by, it taking them around thirty more to go to sleep before Wayne hesitantly pulled back somewhat to look up at Jerome. 

"You awake?" Wayne asked quietly, Jerome giving a groggy nod, the wine really beginning to hit. "You okay?" 

"Mhm." Jerome murmured, pulling Wayne closer and furrowing his brow as a migraine began to form. "Don't feel good." 

Wayne gave a concerned look that melted into an impish smile, bravely offering, "I could kiss you to make you feel better." 

Jerome was quiet for a long while, Wayne starting to wonder if he'd fallen asleep when the other hesitantly said, "Just to make it better." 

Wayne noted the sudden shift-- Jerome wasn't being nearly as playful; sure, it was probably the migraine, although the younger boy couldn't help but feel it was possibly something else as well... maybe... 

"Is something wrong?" Wayne muttered worriedly. 

Jerome went quiet again, before sighing, "I'm beginning to realize I'm drunk-- really drunk-- don't want to do anything I wouldn't do sober." Did that make sense? Jerome was pretty sure it did-- he couldn't quite tell with the added grogginess to an intoxicated mind. 

Wayne felt his heart sink a little. "Oh..." 

Was Wayne upset? He sounded upset. "I'm not saying I wouldn't do this sober-- I just don't know if I would." Jerome assured, heavy eyelids still shut. "Don't want to do some bad drunk shit and make both of us regret it." He didn't know how to get what he wanted to say more so across, and frankly he just wanted to get some rest. 

"Oh? So kissing is 'bad drunk shit'?" Wayne grumbled sourly. 

"Doing anything new like that could be." Jerome defended, Wayne starting to feel quite self conscious. 

"You've already kissed me a few times-" 

"Just to make you feel better and for New Year's Eve and mistletoe." Jerome countered, not bothering to structure his words all that correctly. "Wanna' be sober if we do anything real or whatever. I guess. I don't know-- I'm tired. I'm drunk. And tired, too. Can we talk about this tomorrow?" 

Wayne rolled away from Jerome and onto his side of the bed, curling up in a ball-- he knew it... Jerome didn't like him back. "Fine." 

For a few seconds, Wayne figured Jerome had gone to sleep. 

And then... 

Wayne blinked, feeling himself get flipped over, staring up at Jerome wide eyed as the other looked down at him seriously-- not menacingly, just... seriously. 

"I'm not going to do something that you and I may end up regretting when I'm sober and you're sleep deprived." Jerome stated firmly, holding Wayne's wrists down. "It's complicated, and I don't know how to explain it, alright? I just-" Jerome didn't even know what precisely he was trying to say. "I know I'm not acting like myself, and I know I usually wouldn't act like this, and I know you're usually not this impulsive, so we can talk when we're both in our right minds, okay?" Wayne swallowed thickly, nodding at that. "Are you still upset?" 

"No." Wayne lied, earning a look. "Yes... I mean- a little..." 

Jerome brooded for a long while. "I'm just making sure you don't get yourself into something you wouldn't normally want to." 

Wayne knew Jerome was just trying to be a gentleman in his own weird way... even if he personally sorta' wanted him to be the big bad charmer he usually was... then again, Wayne had to say he did feel a tinge of relief with the insistence. 

"Okay." Wayne agreed softly, Jerome looking him over to make sure he was no longer disappointed before laying back down next to the other, arm hooking around Wayne's waist again. "... So I probably shouldn't ask for just one more kiss then?" Wayne regretted asking as Jerome went quiet before giving a long sigh. "Never mind, sorry, I shouldn't of- you don't have to-" 

Jerome cupped the back of Wayne's neck and leaned forward, pressing one more generous kiss against Wayne's lips for what felt like minutes but we're only seconds, yet many seconds nonetheless, before pulling back, almost wanting to dip forward again with that look Wayne was giving him and- no-- he was drunk, and Wayne was sleep deprived-- they should wait to be in their right minds. 

Wayne was okay with that-- in fact... he was actually kind of... thankful for that. 

Jerome closed his eyes, feeling Wayne nuzzle against him and letting out a much less frustrated and much more content sigh-- this was okay. 

Wayne wondered if Jerome would be oh so willing to kiss him sober... 

When Jerome woke up in the morning he gradually recalled last night's events of what had happened at the party with Jonathan acting off and Selina revealing some rather serious shit to him, remembering how Wayne had gotten kidnapped and then rescued with the help of Selina-- how he himself had gone and possibly killed Jester... 

... How he'd had a dream in which he was showering Wayne with affectionate kissed that had been super realistic-- Jerome had admittedly had a lot stranger dreams, but that? That by far was the one that had shocked him the most. 

Jerome gave a groan and sat up, migraine pounding and stomach lurching as he dizzily stood up in a quick fashion, having to sprint off to the bathroom-- he had a hangover and it was a bitch. 

Wayne sat up with a frown as Jerome left the room, rubbing his eyes tiredly and wondering if everything was okay- 

"Merry Christmas!" Three voices chimed (well, two chimed-- Jonathan more or less just blandly stated it), Wayne jumping as Selina and Ivy jumped onto his bed, Jonathan holding out a neatly wrapped package with a stiff posture. 

Wayne quirked a brow, Selina dropping a present onto his lap and Ivy carefully holding out a small cardboard box as Wayne took the gift from Jonathan. 

"What-" Wayne started taken aback. 

"Well, belated Christmas." Selina corrected with a shrug. "Sorry they're late-- we hadn't realized you got us anything until..." She trailed off. 

"You didn't have to-" Wayne started, smiling nonetheless. 

"Oh just shut up and open them." Selina huffed, Wayne grinning and giving a nod. 

Wayne opened Ivy's first, seeing it was a small Venus flytrap, the ginger proudly stating his name was 'Wayne Jr.' and she'd been raising him for over a month, Wayne thanking her rather impressed with the peculiar plant before moving onto Selina's present, seeing it was a map she'd made of all the secret routes in Gotham as well as (questionable) shops and clubs in hidden areas, Wayne finding out it was apparently her only map as she assured him she more or less had the whole thing memorized and it was his to keep, earning a humbled thank you from the fourteen year old boy. Wayne opened Jonathan's gift last, almost feeling bad whence taking off the nicely wrapped paper, finding it was a book on conquering one's fear along with carefully laid out notes Jonathan had added on each and every page, Wayne thanking him for the extremely useful gift. 

Selina, Jonathan, and Ivy all left to go get ready for the day as Jerome groggily returned, the red haired teen noticing Wayne's belated Christmas gifts on his bedside table and rummaging under the mattress tired, pulling up his own present for the younger boy, handing it to Wayne while laying down and burying his face against the pillow-- he shouldn't of drank that much. 

Wayne opened the present, a grin breaking onto his lips whence realizing it was an owl carved into wood. "Jerome-" 

"I know it's shitty but that was my seventeenth try and I only had six days to make it with that knife you gave me that I'm still getting used to." Jerome defended in a grumble. "Wiki-how gave me the instructions on how to carve it-- if you don't like it then blame them." 

"This is awesome," Wayne assured, setting the owl to the side and laying next to Jerome, pressing a kiss against his bare shoulder. "I love it-- it's really nice." 

Jerome would've sat up if the light didn't hurt his eyes, instead keeping his face against the pillow-- did Wayne just... kiss him? 

Sure, Jerome was used to Wayne and himself invading one another's personal spaces- if one would even call it an invasion of such anymore- and jokingly flirting with each other, but that? That was... a bit much. 

Oh what the hell-- it wasn't that bad; they'd both already kissed one another on the cheek before... maybe Wayne was just accidentally getting a bit overly affectionate with how little boundaries there were in between them. 

... 

... or maybe Jerome's dream last night wasn't a dream. 

Pft-- yeah right... like Jerome would actually kiss Wayne much less Wayne actually kiss Jerome, ami'right? 

... Right? 

"So um..." Wayne chewed on his lower lip. "About last night..." 

"I shouldn't of gotten drunk." Jerome apologized in the kindest tone he could muster with a throbbing migraine and cotton dry mouth. "I usually don't drink, and I was just sorta' stressed out last night is all-- it won't happen again and you don't have to worry about me being an alcoholic or some shit." 

Wayne's brow quirked. "That's not what I-" He cleared his throat. "That's not what I meant..." 

Jerome crinkled his brow. "Huh?" He begrudgingly sat up, rubbing a palm over his sensitive eyes, wanting to close the curtains. "What did you-" He glanced to the side of the bed, looking for something to cover his face with, eyes widening at the sight of familiar mistletoe tossed carelessly to the side... "-mean?" ... as in mistletoe he'd used in his dream to get a kiss from- 

oh. oH. OH. Oh no. Oh boy. Oh dear DC. Oh Ra. Oh shit. 

That hadn't been a dream. Oh. 

Wayne frowned-- did Jerome not remember..? 

Maybe Wayne just needed to jog his memory a little. 

Jerome tensed up, feeling Wayne practically drape himself over him from behind, Wayne's arms wrapping around his neck as a chin rested on his shoulder. 

Jerome gave a nervous smile-- shit shit shit. "Uh-" He started in an unsure chuckle, anxiously clearing his throat. 

"Do you really not know what I'm talking about?" Wayne inquired while nuzzling against Jerome's neck affectionately, trying to figure out whether or not Jerome was just joking around. 

"Nope." Jerome lied with a strained laugh, not letting on he'd remembered last nights rush of events, swallowing thickly as Wayne gave what felt suspiciously close to a kiss against his neck, causing Jerome to instinctively yank out of Wayne's grasp and stand up. "I'm going to go take a shower!" He stated with a chuckle, hoping the fact he was freaking out wasn't too obvious. 

"Oh." Wayne nearly pouted at that. "Okay..." Great, Jerome didn't remember anything-- maybe he should just give up on trying to get Jerome to like him back with how the universe seemed to be against him having any damn chance whatsoever with the ginger. 

Jerome nearly felt bad with how sad Wayne looked, although he was freaking out more than anything... 

... nonetheless, maybe Jerome should take just a second to comfort him. 

Give a comforting pat on the back. 

An apologetic smile. 

A reassuring ruffle of hair. 

A friendly hug. 

A kiss- 

No, Jerome was not going to give Wayne a kiss-- he was going to go take a cold shower, cool off, get in his right mind, and figure out what all had gone down last night as well as why- despite feeling antsy as to the fact he and Wayne had kissed... and more than once at that- he was feeling a tinge of... possible curiosity as well. 

Curious as to what exactly kissing Wayne felt like considering he couldn't quite remember- 

No, stop that-- Jerome needed to leave, and he quickly did so, hurriedly making his way to the restroom and ignoring Jonathan as the inducer of fear arched an eyebrow while Jerome sped by him quite quickly. 

Jerome was just naturally intrigued to many things... it's not as though he wanted to kiss Wayne again, he was just wondering what would happen if he did- 

The red haired male turned on the faucet, eyes sliding shut as cold water hit his skin, mind racing. 

This was going to be hella' awkward and humorlessly complicated. 

Selina had finished apologizing to Wayne for possibly the worst New Year's Eve ever while Jonathan had finished explaining what had been going on with him when Jerome reluctantly entered the room again, trying to ignore the tension that arose as Wayne glanced over at him, realizing what the others were talking about and murmuring a half assed yet genuine apology for being drunk and acting like an ass awkwardly, keeping his gaze averted. 

Ivy, Jonathan, and Selina all felt their eyebrows raise-- Jerome wasn't smiling, and whenever Jerome wasn't smiling he was usually pissed... but he didn't look upset, he just looked... uncomfortable? What the hell? His expression was incredibly foreign to their eyes-- Jerome was the one always making things uncomfortable if anything, and was never the one actually feeling so. 

Maybe it was the hangover or something..? 

It was Jonathan who was the first to catch on as Wayne oh so casually said, "You guys don't need to apologize-" He made a point of looking Jerome's way as the oldest teen rummaged through his possessions for a hairbrush. "-this has ended up being a great New Year-- thank you." 

Jerome hesitantly looked up, catching the faint smirk oozing with flirtatiousness that Wayne was giving him, and oh had the tables had turned. 

The seventeen year old laughed nervously as Wayne bit down on his lower lip and rubbed his upper arm while looking away shyly, swallowing dryly when the little shit quickly composed himself before daringly glancing back at Jerome and bravely holding his gaze in a teasingly challenging sort of way, forcing the poor ginger to avert his eyes and clear his throat. 

This was going to be an interesting new year.


	21. Valentine's Day Bonus

Jerome had kissed Wayne over a month ago. 

Jerome had also been mentally denying he'd ever want to kiss Wayne, much less actually act on a desire to kiss Wayne and dare to do such an action. As far as Jerome was concerned, he would definitely pull back if Wayne ever happened to let their lips meet, whether it be on accident or on purpose. 

Jerome hadn't kissed Wayne as far as he was concerned. Jerome hadn't acted on a drunk impulse and done something he wouldn't do while sober. Jerome hadn't done something he wasn't regretting. 

Wayne knew better than that, though. Wayne had been sober, and Wayne knew damn well Jerome had kissed him, and he also knew Jerome was a little shit in denial refusing to admit that to Wayne much less himself. 

Wayne knew Jerome was acting like nothing had happened between them, and he knew Jerome had gone and convinced himself that little moment had just been a silly dream, and Wayne knew Jerome had managed to get himself to believe he hadn't fricking dipped down to press their lips together as fireworks went off to celebrate the new year. Jerome believed he hadn't kissed Wayne's neck with the excuse of just wanting to see if he was ticklish. Jerome believed he hadn't kissed Wayne before they went to sleep to reassure the poor boy of the fact he wasn't regretting kissing Wayne in the first place. 

Jerome just didn't believe he'd kissed Wayne, and that was that. 

Nonetheless, Wayne knew he did. 

Believed and knew. 

That was the difference-- Jerome believed something, but Wayne knew something. Wayne knew Jerome had indeed done what the seventeen year old in complete and utter denial was only believing he hadn't, and it was pissing Wayne off that the kiss he'd FINALLY gotten wouldn't mean shit unless Jerome accepted the facts. 

The first week was the week Jerome had acted weird around Wayne. He'd slept as far off to the side of his mattress he could get, and he had stopped making the flirty jokes to the fourteen year old that he made to everyone, and he got all too obviously antsy whenever Wayne would lean on him while watching television. That was the week Jerome wasn't sure as to whether or not the very real moment in between him and Wayne was a dream or- well... real. 

The second week was the week Jerome didn't only act weird, yet sounded weird. He'd ask Wayne if he did anything out of the ordinary on New Year's Eve, and when Wayne would ask Jerome what he meant in hopes the ginger would just spit out what he was trying to say due to Wayne being too embarrassed to say it for him, Jerome would simply shrug it off, say never mind, and change the topic. Wayne was rather pissed off that he hadn't had the guts to just tell Jerome they had indeed kissed despite having the courage to kiss the red haired jackass in the first place. That was the week Jerome convinced himself it was just a dream due to Wayne's so called cluelessness. 

The third week was the week Jerome apparently decided it'd be a good idea to just make sure nothing had happened between him and Wayne- despite the fact it had- by somehow deciding it'd be a swell plan to mess around with Wayne just to see how he'd reacted. Now, Jerome was an unintentional flirt by nature, so it's needless to say when he tried to be flirty and was more of a flirt than usual, he did so a bit heavily. Wayne noticed the way that Jerome was suddenly winking at him rather than just smirking, and he noticed the way Jerome would talk to him much more suggestively as well as be more touchy feely with him, and Wayne noticed the way the ginger went and more or less tried to see if Wayne showed a reaction implying any interest. Wayne knew Jerome wasn't flirting with him because liked him-- Jerome was only flirting with him because he wanted to make sure there was nothing between him and Wayne, but there was because the raven haired boy had an undeniably enormous crush on Jerome. So, Wayne did his best to not react to Jerome's advances, because Wayne didn't want to ruin things with Jerome-- Wayne wanted to make sure he could get Jerome to take a hint without flushing their friendship down the drain and making things unrepairable with awkwardness. 

The fourth week was the week Jerome began to get more comfortable thanks to the belief nothing had happened between him and Wayne. Jerome wasn't all the way back to his old self, although he was obviously getting back to being the old jokester he had been and acting quite friendly around the younger boy. 

The fifth week was the week Jerome got even more comfortable-- comfortable to the point things were almost back to normal. He was being a charming flirt again, and jokingly bringing up questionable topics, although he still wasn't quite to where he was sure enough to kid around about Wayne having a crush on him. 

Now, it was the beginning sixth week, and Jerome was almost completely back to normal... which meant Jerome was almost back to where he was convinced nothing had happened between them... which meant the kiss almost didn't mean anything. 

Which meant that if Wayne didn't act soon then his bravery on New Year's Eve would all be for naught. 

Well... if there was ever a good time to act on an intimate impulse, then it was the week leading up to Valentine's Day. 

All Wayne had to do was gather up some courage and flirt back whenever Jerome jokingly made a suggestive comment so Jerome took the hint, and if that didn't work then all Wayne had to do was swallow his pride and straight up tell Jerome the truth while throwing caution to the wind in the hopes that doing so wouldn't ruin their friendship by making it unbearably awkward for all eternity. 

If that didn't work though? If Jerome just figured Wayne was jesting around? Then all Wayne would have to do was bravely plant one on Jerome like he'd done on New Year's Eve... and hope Jerome wasn't in denial of his damn feelings to the point he somehow found a way to convince himself a kiss could be platonic or some shit. 

Yes, there was a chance the feelings wouldn't be mutual-- Wayne knew this; Wayne just hoped Jerome would at least have the common sense to accept Wayne liked him... a lot. At least being rejected would be better than not being acknowledged. 

Sure, Jerome was clever-- Jerome was REALLY clever, and witty, and intellectual. Although when it came to anything even remotely close to so called 'romance'... well, he knew about as much about that as he a chihuahua knew about relaxation. 

"You okay there, Wayne?" Jerome chuckled amused, Wayne blinking and snapping out of his contemplating. "You look kinda' dazed." 

Wayne straightened up, nodding promptly. "Just pondering." 

"On?" Jerome inquired intrigued, head cocking. 

Wayne gave a nonchalant shrug. "Valentine's Day." 

"Oh?" Jerome smirked. "Some girl at school give you a sappy card or something?" 

"No." 

"Some guy?" Jerome instead guessed, sitting up on the kitchen counter and grabbing one of the strawberry scraps that Alfred had pushed to the side before running off to the store to go grab the whip cream he'd forgotten was required in the dessert dish he was planning to serve after dinner. 

Wayne may of looked calm, but he was undeniably antsy on the inside to the point he was wondering if this was a good idea as he said, "No," A pause. "Although I do have my eyes set on a guy." Step one-- flirt back and try to get Jerome to take a hint. 

Jerome quirked a brow. "Who?" 

"Oh, you know..." Wayne gave a smooth shrug. "Just a guy." 

Okay, Jerome was curious now. "A guy in your class?" Wayne shook his head casually. "What, you have a crush on Jonathan or something?" 

"What? No-" Wayne denied, earning a snicker. "I don't- no Jerome, it's not Jonathan." He hesitated. "His name does begin with a 'J' though." 

Jerome laughed, tossing another strawberry piece into his mouth. "Well what's he look like?" 

Wayne wasn't going to back down-- he was going to go through with this, dang it. "He's a ginger," Wayne answered, Jerome nearly choking on the fruit at that. "Has irises that look like emeralds," Wayne continued with an even tone, Jerome giving a cough. "He's got a scar, too." Wayne informed, making a point of glancing at the area on Jerome's neck. 

Jerome cleared his throat, forcing on a grin. "If I didn't know better-" 

"You'd say it was you?" Wayne guessed, Jerome's grin falling at that. 

Jerome stared at Wayne uncertainly, attempting to figure out what the other was getting at. "I- uh-" He swallowed. "Yeah." 

Wayne met Jerome's gaze, not saying anything for a few lengthy seconds before nodding. "Okay." 

Jerome studied Wayne quizzically. "Okay?" The fourteen year old wasn't going to confirm or deny his accusation, was he? 

"Something wrong?" Wayne asked all too innocently. "You look hot." 

Jerome gave a nervous laugh. "I look what?" 

"Your face is kinda' red, but it's pretty cold in here-- do you have a fever?" 

"Oh, like temperature hot-" 

"Well yes, that's what I meant," Wayne confirmed. "But don't get me wrong-- you're attractive, too, of course." This was actually kinda'... fun; payback for all the times Jerome had been a tease. 

Jerome eyed Wayne, wondering if this was just his mind playing tricks on him, or if... 

"Um..." Jerome rubbed the back of his neck. "Sure, you too." 'You too'? What a shit reply; normally, Jerome would jokingly flirt back, although he couldn't help but feel like Wayne wasn't saying what he was saying jokingly. "So- uh-" Change the subject-- Jerome needed to change the subject. "How was school?" 

Wayne actually smirked at that-- the tables had turned again. "No need to get all bashful Jerome," He teased, earning a look. "I'm just saying you're handsome is all." 

Okay, what the hell was Wayne up to? "Is there a reason you're suddenly trying to sound charming?" Jerome accused, offering his own smirk and trying to shift things back to the way they were supposed to be-- Jerome was the unintentional flirt, and Wayne was the defensive mess... it wasn't the other way around. 

Wayne took the challenge though. "What? Don't like it when people return your advances?" 

Jerome's smirk fell, not expecting the risky reply. "I like it when people return my jokes." He corrected, emphasizing the word 'jokes'. 

"Oh?" Wayne stepped forward daringly. "You're acting like I'm not just joking around." 

Jerome gave an anxious laugh, Wayne much too close as he hopped off the counter, arms crossing while he stared down at the smaller one, trying to figure Wayne out. "Are you?" 

"Am I what?" Wayne continued nonetheless, stepping forward again. 

Shit. "Joking." Jerome answered in a murmer, backing down and stepping away, making some space in between them. 

Wayne crossed his arms, moving forward again. "About?" 

"Ya' know-" Jerome cleared his throat, finding himself shuffling back as Wayne continued stepping towards him. "Are you-" There was no way Jerome was imagining this-- Wayne was up to something. "Uh-" 

"Am I..?" Wayne questioned knowingly. 

"Coming onto- trying to- you're being a-" Jerome stuttered, blinking as he felt something hit the back of his heels and stumbling backwards over a pile of boxes, hitting the floor while letting out a string of cuss words. 

"Are you okay-" Wayne started, reaching down to help Jerome up. 

"I'm-" Jerome started, trying to get up and tripping over his feet, giving an antsy laugh. "I'm fine." He waved off while standing, forcing on a smile. "I- um- I have to- I have to go do... something." 

"Something?" Wayne inquired, head tilting as he placed a hand on Jerome's upper arm, acting as though he was just making sure the other was alright. 

"I- uh- oh boy." Jerome laughed nervously. "Um- wow, okay... haha, I uh- I have to- bye." He blurted out, stumbling over his words while backing up and more or less speed walking out of the kitchen. 

Well... at least Jerome was finally catching on. 

Now, Selina had been minding her own business and peacefully feeding a stray cat some fancy food (because Wayne could afford that... even if she didn't bother asking) when a surprisingly panicky Jerome approached her; Jerome never panicked as far as she knew, so she was already dreading what he could've gone and done to make himself get into such an evident frenzy. 

"Selina-" Jerome started, forcing on a smile. 

"Who'd you kill?" Selina asked blandly, earning an anxious laugh. 

Killing someone would've been a lot easier for Jerome than... this. 

"Haha wow Selina, funny." Jerome snapped sarcastically, earning an eye roll. "Okay, quick question-" 

"Are you okay?" Selina interjected slightly concerned-- slightly. 

Jerome gave an impatient grin. "No, I'm not, so-" 

"Well what is it then?" 

"Maybe if you'd just shut up for one second and let me finish-" 

"Excuse me?" Selina scoffed at the rude impatience, eyes narrowing and arms crossing as she stood up from her kneeling position, the cat she'd been petting rubbing up against her ankle. 

"Just- listen-" Jerome sighed, hand running through his hair. "I- uh-" Oh hells he felt like a damn mess. "You and Wayne are going out, right?" 

Selina's brow arched. "It's..." She shrugged, rubbing her upper arm and averting her eyes. "It's complicated considering he likes you, too." 

"Alright, look, just- what- how do you know he likes- are you sure-" 

"Yeesh Jerome, you're usually a smooth talker," Selina teased, smirking amused. "Cat got your tongue?" 

"Haha aren't you hilarious?" Jerome snapped, earning a snicker. "Okay, ya' know what? I uh- I need some time alone to do... I dunno', something... You and Wayne should go on a date or something-" 

"Wait, what? Why-" Selina paused, gradually realizing what Jerome was getting at. "Oh." She looked away again, the cat at her feet standing up on its hind legs somewhat to knead at her jeans. "You finally done with being a ditz and actually realizing the billionaire philanthropist likes you now?" She grumbled bitterly. 

Shit-- Jerome probably shouldn't of come to the gal that had a... thing with Wayne about Wayne having a thing for him; sure, Wayne liked both of them, but Jerome still should've probably just gone to Jonathan instead or... something. 

"I- uh-" Jerome murmured, rubbing the side of his neck and offering the best grin he could muster up-- oops. 

"Took you long enough." Selina huffed sourly, kneeling over to pick up the cat, gathering the animal up in her arms and turning her back towards the ginger. "Have fun being a sappy couple who braids each other's hair and watches shit like 'The Notebook'." She added sarcastically, starting to walk away. 

"Oh come on, I'm probably just exaggerating!" Jerome laughed, unsure as to whether he was trying to convince himself or Selina of that as he moved in front of her, blocking off the annoyed girl's path. 

"If you're 'just exaggerating' then why the hell did you come to me?" Selina snapped while setting the animal back down, the cat circling her feet. "What? You want me to act like this is bullshit? Because it's not-- Wayne likes you, and I'm not going to waste my time trying to convince you otherwise just so you feel rest assured-" 

"No, he likes you-" Jerome argued defensively, getting somewhat irritated by Selina's sass. 

"He likes both of us, dipshit-- ya' know people can be attracted to more than just one person, right? Or are you too dense to-" 

"I don't have time for this sappy crap-" Jerome decided with an irked smile, already realizing this little chit chat was just making things worse. 

"Yeah, well, neither do I!" Selina huffed, spinning on her heel and starting to stop off. 

Jerome exhaled, eyes rolling. "Okay, come on, wait a second curly-" He sighed, reaching for her shoulder, the cat following Selina getting into a crouching position and hissing at him as its fur stood up, causing him to take a step back, Selina reluctantly stopping in her tracks and looking over her shoulder at the red haired teen eying the cat annoyedly. 

"Jerome-" Selina started, giving a sigh and placing a hand on her hip, turning to fully face the other. "Just- look... honestly, I don't have time for whatever cheesy mumbo jumbo Wayne is going through right now; I-" She hesitated, gaze averting. "I have... other things going on right now that I need to take care of, and I don't have time for drama, so honestly I could care less about romance- or whatever the hell you wanna' call it- right now, because gossiping over who likes who is not my main priority for the time being," She crossed her arms, still not meeting Jerome's eyes. "Which means you and Wayne are more than welcomed to do whatever you want without having to worry about me getting pissed off or whatever, but-" The curly haired girl swallowed, the cat laying down at her feet as Jerome tilted his head curiously. "But let Wayne figure things out, okay? Like- like let him figure out what he wants or whatever before trying to... just don't rush him into things or whatever if you decide to-" 

"What? No-- I don't- uh- IF he does like me or, um... whatever, then the- well, ya' know- it's not like the feeling would be mutual or anything, so uh-" Jerome cleared his throat, giving a strained laugh. "No need to worry about any of that-" Geez Jerome usually never stuttered, and he felt like he was making up for that today. 

"I got it." Selina interjected somewhat relieved, Jerome clearing his throat again and nodding. "In any case, maybe he doesn't like you; I mean, I doubt it with how he's practically doting over you, but I guess there's always a chance if that helps at all." 

Aaand there went the little moment in between them. "He's not doting-" Jerome denied, Selina scoffing at that. 

"Sure he isn't." Selina interjected, smirking at Jerome's glare. "Well, I should probably get going-" 

"Hey, one more thing," Jerome piped up before Selina could finish, causing her to freeze up ever so slightly. "What exactly were you referring to when you said there were 'other things' you had to take care of?" 

Shit. "Oh." It was Selina's turn to clear her throat. "Just-" She shrugged, gaze averting again. "Just... ya' know... stuff." 

Jerome raised a brow at that, smirking intrigued. "Like?" 

Selina began to back up. "Um... you know- uh... the usual." 

Jerome tilted his head, arms crossing. "And by usual you mean?" 

"Like normal things." Selina answered, mentally face palming herself at that. "I- um- I gotta' go! Talk to you later hope things work out with Wayne nice chat though good luck see ya' later!" She blurted out, words spilling from her lips and stringing together as she turned and more or less jogged off. 

... 

... Well that had certainly been rather... peculiar, although Jerome didn't have much time to ponder on the quite sudden abnormality of Selina's behavior considering Alfred was pulling up in his limousine and requesting Jerome's help with the groceries. 

"Everything alright?" Alfred questioned as he and Jerome carried the groceries inside, noticing the usually jesting and somewhat immature ginger was being strangely quiet with a surprisingly brooding expression rather than his signature smile. 

Jerome blinked, giving a grin. "Oh, uh- yeah," He laughed, giving a nod. "Just tired." Yeah, that was it! Jerome was just tired and was taking too many things to heart... he was just over exaggerating a little, right? I mean, really-- Wayne liking HIM? Pffft, yeah right! He just needed to get some rest, and then he'd be back to his senses and realize Wayne's so called advancements was just Wayne being friendly! 

... even Jerome was beginning to doubt his own mental assurances, but it's not as though he was actually wrong here... right..? 

When it came down to it, Jerome was able to not ponder anymore on such a ridiculous subject until dinner, because he had (admittedly) avoided Wayne until dinner time came around by what he had convinced himself was by accident (although it was factually on purpose) since he totally hadn't been trying to avoid Wayne (he had.) 

Wayne noted Jerome's stiff behavior, Jonathan seeming to be the only other one who caught onto the fact something was up considering Ivy was too busy talking with the just as clueless Alfred and Selina had skipped dinner due to apparently not feeling well. 

"Everything okay, Jerome?" Wayne finally asked, gently nudging the other with his elbow. 

Jerome- who had been shoveling food into his mouth and absolutely refusing to speak- gave an anxious laugh at the physical contact, nearly choking on his meal. "Mhm," He assured, swallowing down the food, Jonathan smirking as realization came into place as to just what precisely was very seemingly going on. "Why do you ask?" Jerome chuckled, wondering if the collar of his shirt had always been this tight. 

"Just making sure is all," Wayne answered oh so innocently, hand resting on Jerome's shoulder. "You look tense." 

Oh hell. "I'm fine." Jerome assured through clenched teeth, smile forced. 

"Maybe you should give him a massage, Wayne," Jonathan spoke up nonchalantly-- teasingly. "Ease some of the tension." 

"Maybe I should kick your ass." Jerome snapped back, giving the brunet a pissed off smile. 

"Oi, Jerome," Alfred warned, Jonathan snickering. "Language." 

"Temper temper." Jonathan hummed casually. 

"I swear Crane I will shove this knife down your-" Jerome started to threaten with an irritated smirk. 

"Jerome!" Alfred repeated, voice raising, Jonathan giving a smirk. "And you stop provoking him, Jonathan." Alfred added, earning an eye roll from the brown haired male. 

"Wayne's twelve and he's more mature than both of you." Ivy muttered, Alfred sighing and giving her a look, not wanting the little one to cause more arguments. 

"I'm fourteen!" Wayne corrected, not knowing why the hell everyone kept mistaking him for a damn ten or twelve year old, because it was really beginning to piss him off- 

"Alright, you know what? Off to bed-- all of you," Alfred decided, not knowing why he'd gone and agreed to watch over five kids when Wayne was already more than a handful. "No dessert tonight, and you'll have none tomorrow if you act up again." Just one night of peace and quiet was all he asked for! One night of Wayne not doing something dangerous, and Jerome not talking Wayne into being mischievous, and Ivy not trying to stir up trouble, and Jonathan not trying to mix questionable chemicals for science that ended in a fire which Alfred had to put out, and Selina not stealing one little thing was all Alfred wanted-- was that too much? 

The four minors begrudgingly did as told, everyone getting ready for bed, both Wayne and Jerome being the last ones done and quietly making their way inside, being sure to not wake the others up. 

Usually Wayne and Jerome stayed up for a while whispering and whatnot if the others had already gone to bed, however Jerome instantly whispered, "Night!", before laying down and closing his eyes, as far away on his side of the bed as he could be. 

Wayne frowned at that, laying down on his side of the bed and glancing at Jerome before giving a sigh and staring at the ceiling; maybe he should just give up... 

The fourteen year old's eyes slid shut, knowing that would probably be best, and- 

No-- Wayne was not going to just up and back down because he got a bit shy. Wayne was stubborn, and he was not about to give up with trying to get his point across, dangit. 

So, Wayne sat up, glancing around the room at the sleeping others before giving a pondering sigh and biting down on his lower lip broodingly, Jerome cracking open an eye and staring up at him with an unsure smirk, intrigued as to what the small boy was up to. 

"Everything alright?" Jerome asked with an amused chuckle as Wayne anxiously laid back down, brow quirking as the younger boy yanked the sheets above them just to be safe, not wanting to get caught, smile faltering uncertainly before a smirk pulled at his lips as he wondered what precisely was making Wayne so bothered, because it's not like... no, everything was fine right now, Wayne just had to tell him something was all. "What-" 

"I like you." Wayne blurted out quietly. 

Jerome froze up. "What?" He'd heard that wrong, of course-- that was obvious... wasn't it? 

Oh screw it. 

Jerome froze, feeling timid lips press against his firmly, staring down at the uncertain and blushing teenager rather shocked at that. 

Wayne didn't pull away for a good five seconds, waiting to see what Jerome would do, growing nervous when not emitting any response other than seeing emerald eyes widening, the raven haired boy pulling back meekly, staring up at Jerome sheepishly-- the jokester was speechless for once. 

"Was that okay?" Wayne murmured softly, staring up at Jerome with great, big, puppy-like eyes. 

Jerome swallowed dryly, still soaking in what Wayne had just gone and done. "Uh-" He gave a nervous laugh, not exactly knowing how to properly respond. "I- you-" 

All in all? Jerome couldn't deny Wayne was 'doting' over him anymore. 

Wayne let out an embarrassed exhale, deciding it couldn't hurt to try one more time-- just to see if Jerome reacted differently... to see if he would maybe even actually kiss back now that he was obviously beginning to realize Wayne's peculiar behavior lately was not just overly friendly in a platonic matter. 

"Can I kiss you again?" Wayne asked, not wanting to just act on impulse and freak Jerome out as he'd clearly already done, only earning the stare Jerome had been giving him the last few awkward seconds, causing Wayne to let out another embarrassed huff before moving forward again. 

Jerome caught Wayne by his shoulders that time, causing the orphan to instantly halt, looking up at Jerome both vulnerably and respectfully-- Wayne didn't want to be rejected, he really didn't, but he wasn't about to try and force anything. 

"I- um-" Jerome didn't know what to say, which was incredibly rare; hell, he didn't even know how he felt about... this... Sure, he liked Wayne, he really did, and he felt something that was more than friendship with the boy, but he wasn't sure he felt anything that was romantic-- as far as he knew, it was platonic, but... dear DC, his mind was even more of a mess than it had been, and he still wasn't quit sure how he'd felt about that kiss. 

Yeah, alright, the kiss had felt... nice-- in fact, it had felt really nice, as most kisses with sweet people would, and let's face it-- Wayne could be bitter, but he was a sweet boy that had a good heart underneath his fancy facade. Nonetheless, Jerome really didn't feel like being the one that went and got Wayne into turning into a not so sweet boy, because all things considered if Jerome decided he wanted to kiss back and he wanted to return Wayne's... feelings, or whatever you want to call it, then he knew he'd probably rub off on Wayne in a negative way with how the poor boy was so young and- 

Wayne hesitantly moved forward when not earning an objection, Jerome too busy contemplating to protest, lips pressing against lips again, Jerome going stiff as Wayne gently moved his hands to grip his shirt oh so tightly, and oh Ra-- Jerome didn't know what to feel. 

Grayish blue eyes watched as emerald colored ones slid shut, Jerome trying to focus on figuring out what to do, the taller of the pair deciding it'd be best to just pull back and give them both some space to calm down and be rational, yet freezing up as an inexperienced Wayne tried to innocently move his lips against Jerome's based on what he'd seen in movies and whatnot, hoping he was doing this right. 

Wayne's eyes were squeezed shut, about to give up and pull away once more when Jerome continued not reacting, yet halting as the other's lips hesitantly began to move back more on instinct than anything, causing Wayne to practically melt, scooting closer to Jerome and letting out a content and relieved noise before pulling back to stare up at the seventeen year old again, Jerome flustered and Wayne blushing. 

One more time-- Wayne would try one more time; he'd gotten Jerome to not pull away, and he'd gotten him to react, and now he just wanted to get Jerome to, well... like it. 

Jerome's mind was undeniably buzzing way too much for him to decide whether or not he actually wanted to kiss Wayne, and Wayne wanted to fix that. 

So, Wayne leaned forward one more time- doing so a bit more courageously- and met Jerome's brooding gaze before hesitantly pressing their lips back together, earning a shaky sigh as emerald eyes squeezed shut again. 

Jerome's pulse was racing at a sickening speed, and his heart was thumping against his chest almost hard enough to hurt, meanwhile Wayne's pulse was racing an exciting speed, and his heart was beating pleasantly. 

Wayne wasn't sure why Jerome was evidently freaking out so much, because while Wayne was freaking out as well Jerome was, like... really, REALLY freaking out, and he didn't want that-- he wanted Jerome to like this, and he couldn't figure out why Jerome was so timid about doing so. 

Jerome's nails sunk into Wayne's shoulders as the younger one's lips began to move against his again, uncertainly moving his back on reaction and feeling Wayne more or less melt back into the kiss- 

Snap out of it. Jerome needed to snap out of this and have time to ponder on what they were doing-- he needed to stop reacting on impulse. 

... But hells Wayne was a good kisser he had to admit, and it was just an observation anyone would've noticed considering Jerome was pretty sure Wayne had probably only kissed Selina and Silver a couple of times- 

No, stop-- Wayne was young, and he was vulnerable... Jerome wasn't going to take advantage of that, not even if Wayne wanted to, and not even if him doing so would be unintentional. 

... Wayne was really enjoying this though, and while Jerone wasn't sure if he personally was, he didn't want to go and hurt Wayne's feelings or anything, but... 

Wayne pulled back, somewhat breathless yet smiling while biting down on his lower lip, Jerome meeting his eyes-- dangit, Jerome was still contemplating way too much as far as Wayne could tell. 

"I really, really like you." Wayne admitted softly, Jerome eying him quizzically. "Can I kiss you again?" He asked quietly, deciding he needed to see if Jerome liked this or not. 

Jerome sighed-- he couldn't do this to Wayne. "I-" 

Wayne's stomach sunk-- oh... oh that was much too clearly a 'no.' "Okay." He interjected with a wavering voice before Jerome could continue, it suddenly feeling very stuffy. "That's, um- that's fine." His voice cracked as he pushed the sheets off of them. "Night." He shouldn't of kissed Jerome-- he should've just left things the way they were, because now everything was going to go to shit with what he'd just gone and started, and all Wayne wanted to do was act like he hadn't just ruined everything. "See ya' tomorrow." Wayne managed to get out, eyes glossing over as he scooted towards the edge of the bed, back facing the seventeen year old. "Have a good rest." Maybe if he pretended he hadn't just been acting like a puppy pawing at Jerome for affection then the other would leave him be. 

Jerome frowned at that, hesitantly scooting closer towards the other, sitting upright and placing a hand on his shoulder, causing Wayne to curl up and shrink away. "Hey-" 

"Can we just act like that didn't happen and go to sleep?" Wayne requested shakily, doubting that would work, yet seeing no harm in at least trying. 

"Wayne-" 

Dangit. "I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't of done that, just please leave me alone for a little-" 

"Listen-" Jerome persisted, frowning as Wayne grabbed his pillow and pulled it over the side of his head, blocking out whatever Jerome was trying to say. 

"I don't want to talk right now." Wayne's muffled voice insisted. 

Silence, and then... "Okay." Jerome sighed, Wayne feeling his throat close up as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to just go to sleep so he didn't have to pay attention to the damn dread washing throughout him. 

Wayne had messed everything up. 

That was Monday. 

Tuesday neither Jerome or Wayne commented on what had happened, which turned out to be a lot worse than just getting it out of the way. Things were awkward, and tense, and... distant-- Wayne didn't even know if they were friends anymore with how different things felt in between them. 

Tuesday was the day Jerome brought one of the spare mattresses into the room and stopped sleeping next to Wayne. 

Wednesday was worse. On Wednesday Ivy commented both naïvely and even worriedly on how the two were acting 'weird', and both Jonathan and Selina- who had an idea of what had very possibly happened- changed the subject quickly, but Ivy's innocent comment had already made Wayne feel like shit. 

Wednesday was the day Jerome began to REALLY avoid Wayne, to the point he wouldn't even look at him much less talk. 

Thursday sucked, too. It was Thursday when Jerome left the house at six in the morning and hadn't gotten back until eleven at night. Wayne, Selina, Jonathan, and Ivy had looked everywhere for him, the four not daring to tell Alfred, knowing he'd fear the worst and believe Jerome had snapped or something only to most likely call Jim for help, and they certainly didn't want Jerome to end back up in Arkham. When Jerome did get back, nonetheless, Wayne honestly couldn't give less of a shit about the uneasiness in between them, practically tackling Jerome with a hug in relief-- Jerome had given him a half assed pat on the back, cleared his throat, muttered an unconvincing word of assurance, and then went to bed without another glance or word. 

It was Thursday Wayne began to wonder if Jerome was slipping, and if he was then Wayne was convinced that was completely his fault-- Wayne felt awful. 

Friday though? Friday was more surprising than anything. Tommy- AKA the boy who had bullied Wayne quite a bit, such as outside the school gates and at the haunted house before being run off by Jerome- had asked Wayne something that Wayne was almost certain had to be a joke. 

"Do you wanna' go to the Valentine's Day party with me?" 

Wayne blinked, hesitantly moving his eyes away from the book on his lap and up towards the blond fifteen year old, unsure as to whether he'd really heard that right. "What..?" 

Tommy cleared his throat, arms crossing self consciously-- defensively. "Do you wanna' go to the Valentine's Day party with me or not?" 

Wayne felt his jaw drop a little. "Wha- why- you're-" He cleared his throat, shifting around uncomfortably on the bleachers he sat upon. "Is this a trick or something?" 

Tommy's face heated up, glancing to the side. "Why would I be playing a trick on you? It's not like anyone's here to see it." 

Wayne's eyebrows quirked upwards. "Huh?" 

Tommy's eyes rolled, hand running through his hair embarrassedly. "What's the point of playing a trick on someone if no one's going to see you do it?" He attempted to explain, Wayne tilting his head. "If I wanted to play a trick on you I'd have my friends here to watch it or whatever, okay?" Did that make sense? He hoped it made sense-- just asking this question- which he was beginning to regret- was hard enough. 

Wayne blinked, noting his bully's 'sidekicks' weren't around. "Oh..." Did that mean Tommy was being serious here? That certainly didn't make sense. "Um... why-" 

"It's a yes or no question." Tommy snapped, Wayne shrinking into himself at that, causing Tommy to furrow his brow and look away, letting out a long sigh. "Look, if you don't want to come then that's fine-" 

"Honestly I doubt you want me to tag along," Wayne admitted truthfully, shutting his book, studying Tommy timidly. "You're evidently not too keen on the idea, and given the past between us I'm not too keen on it either." Alfred would want Wayne to be brave in a situation like this, and he had to learn how to stand up for himself in any case... he just hoped this wouldn't result in a black eye. 

Tommy narrowed his eyes, and oh great-- he was about to kick Wayne's ass, wasn't he? Maybe if Wayne just ran or apologized- "I'm literally friends with everyone in the class except for you because you're a weird hermit or whatever and that's fine I guess like no judgements and all but that means I know all the assholes in our class are homophobic jerks and right now my best bet is you're gay or at least not a homophobe or something so that's why I'm asking you out and if you say no and stay quiet about this then that's fine and I'll respect that but if you say no and tell anyone about what I just said then I'll kick your ass." Tommy blurted out, the words tumbling from his mouth. 

Wayne took a minute to detangle the words, eyebrows arching as he figured out what Tommy was trying to get across. "Oh." Well this was surprising. "You're gay?" 

Tommy resisted the urge to say 'No shit.' "Well I haven't fallen for a girl yet, and Channing Tatum is pretty damn attractive to me, so yeah-- I'd assume so." Tommy grumbled, and Wayne would've laughed at that little 'Channing Tatum' part if this wasn't his damn bully asking him out. 

"And everyone you're friend with is homophobic?" Wayne continued, Tommy nodding while averting his gaze. "So you're just going out on a limb here and hoping I'm not?" Another nod. "And if I'm not you want to... date me?" 

"I said I wanted to take you to the party-- I didn't say I wanted to date you." Tommy corrected, glancing at Wayne to glare at him before looking away again. "I swear if you tell anyone about this-" 

"I know-- you'll 'kick my ass'." Wayne interjected, eyes rolling-- real charmer. 

"Well are you gay or not then?" 

"I'm bi." Wayne answered, Tommy blinking at that, actually looking a bit... relieved. 

"So- uh-" Tommy cleared his throat, hands shoving down into his pockets. "You wanna' go with me to the party or what?" 

"I'm assuming if we did go together we'd have to act like we're going as just friends?" Wayne guessed, Tommy giving yet another nod, causing the younger boy to chew on his lower lip and contemplate before letting out a long breath. "Tommy, look... I- I'm already interested in someone, and I'm not sure I wanna' go out with the guy that made fun of my parents death and threatened to beat me up," A pause. "And I'm not sure you want to go out with the guy that beat you up with a watch..." 

Tommy had expected as much. "Fair enough." He murmured, giving a shrug that was meant to be casual, but looked more pitiful than anything, straightening up as the bell rang. "See ya' around or... whatever, I guess." He grumbled, turning away and walking off. 

... Dangit. 

Tommy's eyebrows raised, only managing to get halfway back to the school building when Wayne speed walked in front of him while saying, "You can meet me at my place at seven, but this isn't a date; if things go well, then great-- maybe we can do something like this again sometime. If things suck, then fine-- we'll just leave it at that. If you threaten me in any way whatsoever then I'm leaving, and if I'm going to be your 'date' then you're going to talk nice to me and I'm going to talk nice to you; if you're going to be a bully then no deal, because I'm only going with you if you agree to stop harassing me, got it?"

Tommy stared down at Wayne taken aback. "Uh-" He cleared his throat, glancing around to make sure no one had heard that before giving a nod. "Yeah, sure-- see you at seven." 

The rest of Wayne's Friday was uneventful, and it wasn't until Saturday that Jerome found out just who Wayne was going to the party with. 

You see, Tommy had called Wayne at nine in the morning, and while things had at first been cringingly awkward Wayne gradually found it was actually pretty... fun to talk with the other-- Tommy was a surprisingly good conversationalist. 

Wayne was taken aback at just how funny Tommy was, and his humor honestly even reminded him a bit of Jerome's comedic personality, and maybe that's why Wayne was so interested in getting to know the other more-- he'd screwed things up with Jerome, so the next best thing would be to start off things well with someone who vaguely resembled Jerome ever so slightly. Heck, the reason Tommy was suddenly oh so comfortable with Wayne was because this was literally the only person he'd (perhaps a bit impulsively) admitted his little secret to. 

Jerome had to admit... he was curious as to who Wayne had spent four hours talking to whence realizing it was one P.M. and Wayne was STILL on the phone. 

"Haha screw you too, jackass." Wayne sarcastically resorted, grinning nonetheless, Jerome quirking a brow at the unusually improper behavior, glancing up from his book as he continued to lay down on his mattress, staring up at the younger boy walking towards the walk-in closer before Jerome moved his eyes back towards the page he'd been reading. 

"Aw what, I can't call you cute?" Tommy teased on the other line, grinning as Wayne laughed with a hint of shyness in his voice. 

"I'm not cute." Wayne huffed, although doing so in a light tone. 

Jerome blinked, glancing back towards Wayne and furrowing his brow-- who the hell was he talking to? 

"Ah yes, of course you're not," Tommy snickered amusedly. "You're very macho and tough." 

"Hardy-har-har, very funny." Wayne chuckled, looking for an appropriate suit for the Valentine's party. "I could totally kick your butt." 

"Oh? Could you now?" Tommy hummed, smile spreading on his lips. "Guess I'd better play nice, hm?" 

Wayne caught the tinge of flirtation in Tommy's tone, actually feeling his ears heat up a little at that. "I mean... I'll play nice, too." 

Jerome shut his book, unable to concentrate on the words, sitting up and staring at the boy with his back facing him as he kept rummaging around in his closet-- was Wayne... flirting with someone? 

Tommy was quiet for a few lengthy seconds, Wayne hoping he hadn't stepped over the line by flirting back- "I'm sure playing anything with you would be fun." 

Wayne felt his cheeks go pink, having to tuck the phone in between his cheek and shoulder while bringing up his hands to his face, trying to rub the blush away while giving an embarrassed laugh. "Oh- um..." Wayne laughed again. "Wow..." 

"Was that too much?" Tommy chuckled, and yeah-- maybe Wayne could get over Jerome. 

"No no- it- uh-" Wayne gave another laugh. "It's fine, I kinda' like... um..." 

"Flirting?" 

"Yeah." Wayne confirmed with a chuckle. 

Jerome hoped whatever this person was saying to Wayne was G-rated... 

"Yeah, I uh-" Tommy cleared his throat, giving a laugh. "I like flirting with you, too-" A pause. "-it's kinda' fun flustering you up." Before Wayne could reply Tommy heard a knock on his door, causing his eyes to widen. "Shit, my dad is here-- I'll text you." 

"Okay b-" Wayne heard the dial tone, causing him to frown and turn his phone off-- he hoped everything was alright... 

"Who were you talking to?" Jerome asked nonchalantly as Wayne exited the closet, the ginger hopping up from his mattress and casually striding towards the smaller boy. 

Wayne pursed his lips-- oh, so now Jerome wanted to talk. 

"No one." Wayne answered stiffly, ignoring Jerome's approach and continuing towards the door. 

Jerome scoffed. "Oh? You were talking to no one for four hours?" He mused, stepping in front of Wayne and blocking off the exit. 

Wayne's jaw clenched, trying to step around Jerome. "If you must know I was talking to a very good friend of mine." 

Jerome stepped the same way that Wayne did, forcing the other to stay in front of him and earning a glower. "Does this friend have a name?" 

"Stop being nosy and let me by." Wayne grumbled, attempting to get by and huffing as Jerome continued to block his path. "Jerome-" 

"They from school?" Jerome hummed, managing to swipe Wayne's phone. 

"Hey!" 

"Boy? Girl? Other?" Jerome continued to muse, dodging Wayne's grab while checking the caller I.D. 

"Give that back, Jerome-" 

"Ooh, Tommy Elliot? Who's that? Boyfriend? Crush?" Jerome guessed with a smirk, actually a bit relieved Wayne possibly had moved on-- even if it was a bit quickly. 

"None of your business, asshole!" Wayne snapped, grabbing his phone back and seething at Jerome's smug expression. "Touch my stuff again like that and I'm throwing you out." Wayne grumbled, earning an arched brow. 

Okay... so Wayne really was pissed at Jerome-- this wasn't the average annoyance he felt for the other every once in a while... this was pissed. 

"Hey-" Jerome started, and oh hell how was Wayne supposed to get over Jerome when he sounded so damn concerned about his well being? 

"Just screw off and leave me alone." Wayne grumbled, trying to get by Jerome and gritting his teeth as the other stepped in his way once more. "Oh what? Now you wanna' talk?" 

"What's that supposed to mean-" 

"Well you've been avoiding me for the whole week!" 

"You told me to give you some time to yourself-" Jerome defended, although he looked more guilty at the accusation than anything. 

"Yeah, I meant until the next morning," Wayne countered. "And then when I tried to talk to you after you had supposedly ran away you just-" 

"I didn't run away-" 

"Well then where the hell did you go?!" Wayne shouted, Jerome blinking as his voice raised. "We spent all of Thursday looking for you-" 

"Listen-" 

"No, ya' know what? I don't care if you know who Tommy is-- he's the guy you met outside the school gates." Wayne interrupted, Jerome's brow furrowing confused. "You saw him at the haunted house, too-- now move and let me out of here." 

Jerome's expression fell, a smirk of disbelief spreading on his lips. "The bully?" He scoffed. "What the hell, Wayne-" 

"Yeah, the bully, and you know what? He's acting a hell of a lot nicer than you are-" 

"Oh bullshit-" 

"Bullshit?" Wayne scoffed, eyes narrowing. "At least he wants o talk to me while you just give me the silent treatment-" 

"You wanna' be pissed off at me? Fine, be pissed off, but don't go and try to get back at me or try to make things better or try to do whatever the hell you're doing by getting all buddy-buddy with the kid that's roughed you up and made you feel like shit-" Jerome insisted persistently. 

"I'll do what I want, thank you very much." Wayne snapped. "I'd rather hang out with the guy that wants to hang out with me than the guy that refuses to even look my way, because ya' know what Jerome? You've been making me feel pretty shitty lately-" 

"Wayne, please, just-" Jerome sighed, hand running through his red locks. "I'm sorry, okay? I haven't been trying to make you feel like shit, I've just been-" He swallowed dryly. "It's complicated-" 

"What's complicated?" Wayne interrogated, trying to figure out what the hell was going on with Jerome's mind and finding that was quite difficult. "You don't like me back? Fine." He swallowed thickly. "But that's no reason to completely distance yourself, Jerome-- you're acting like we can't be friends now and it's my fault." 

"What? No, we're still friends-" Jerome tried to assure, even offering a reassuring smile. 

"Well you're acting like we're not!" Wayne argued, just wanting Jerome to tell him what the hell was going on and to just... talk to him. Sure, they were talking now, but Jerome was being evasive. 

Jerome hesitated, staring down at the rightfully upset Wayne and pausing before stepping forward, hand resting on Wayne's shoulder. "I care about you, okay? And you're right, I shouldn't be avoiding you, alright? But I got when you weren't ready to talk about what had gone down in between us, and right now I'm sure as hell not ready, okay? So let's just hang out and talk like we used to if you wanna', but let's not talk about Monday yet, alright?" Jerome requested, Wayne considering his words broodingly before nodding, not quite getting why Jerome seemed so uncomfortable about the kiss to the point it was actually a bit... off, yet accepting he could wait to find out. "And don't-" Jerome frowned. "Just don't go out with Tommy, okay? Please? I don't want you hanging around that kid-- I don't trust him." 

"I-" Wayne straightened up, arms crossing and throat clearing as he stepped away from Jerome's grasp. "I'm sorry, but I already agreed to go, and I do not go back on my promises." 

Oh joy-- now Jerome was going to have to find a way to talk stubborn Wayne out of doing something he was oh so stubbornly set on doing. Yay. 

Valentine's Day was a doozy. 

Jerome hadn't been able to convince Wayne out of going to the party with Tommy. Heck, Jerome had tried to subtly inform Alfred of the fact Wayne was going to a party with his bully by bringing up said party at breakfast, but Wayne had kicked Jerome under the table and told Alfred he was just going to meet up with some friends. 

So, a few minutes before seven Wayne smoothed out his light gray and white suit as Ivy, Selina, and Jonathan all hung out while playing a board game in the living room, leaving the ginger and raven haired boy alone in the bedroom. 

"If you need anything call me," Jerome murmured, noticing that Wayne was struggling with his necktie and walking over to help. "And since it's going to be late by the time you walk back I'll meet you outside and walk you here since you don't want Alfred to drive you two." 

"I don't want Alfred to dive us because that would be childish, so I don't need you to escort me back, but thank you." Wayne assured, Jerome giving him a look. "I'm sure Tommy is perfectly capable of walking me back here safely." 

"A sheep shouldn't let a wolf walk by his side in the light much less dark." Jerome countered, smoothing the necktie out. 

Wayne couldn't help but enjoy that little metaphor... even if it did irk him a bit. "Well Selina and Jonathan have both called you 'the big bad wolf', so..." 

Jerome caught it-- caught the flirtatious tone; he could catch Wayne's little teasings now that he knew the other actually liked him. 

"Oh come on, I couldn't hurt my favorite sheep." Jerome dared to reply, because maybe if he flirted back he could get Wayne to stay-- Jerome couldn't help but have a bad feeling about Tommy... a REALLY bad feeling, and he frankly was just about ready to do anything to convince Wayne to stay there and safe from whatever that little blond prick was up to. 

Wayne went ever so slightly wide eyed at the flirtatious resort, not at all expecting the other to tease back, causing him to study Jerome uncertainly before hoping he hadn't misinterpreted the returned advance and hesitantly standing up on the tips of his toes, tugging Jerome down into a kiss by the collar of his shirt and being pleasantly surprised at how easily the other let him pull him down. 

Wayne had to admit... Selina and Jerome were both good kissers. 

Maybe if Jerome could just get Wayne to stay here then Tommy wouldn't be able to do whatever it was he was up to and- no, flirting was already something Jerome didn't want to have to do, and physical contact was crossing way over the line, causing him to pull back after only a few seconds, giving a strained exhale. "Wayne-" 

Wayne instantly knew what Jerome had been trying to do-- Selina had taught him deception quite well, and while Jerome was normally good at it these just weren't normal circumstances. 

Frankly? The fact that Jerome had tried to kiss him just to get him to stay as an act of (what Wayne was convinced was) deception just made things a lot worse. 

A buzz went off as a text message sent through Wayne's phone, that being Wayne's cue to meet Tommy outside since the blond couldn't very well just knock on the door considering Alfred would flip out if seeing him. 

"I have to go." Wayne grumbled bitterly, and yeah-- Jerome probably shouldn't of tried to deceive him like that. 

Jerome just kept making things more complicated. 

Tommy and Wayne's walk to the dance was... nice, it starting out with Tommy giving Wayne a matching red rose to put in his suit pocket. At first things had been a bit tense, but then Tommy began to joke around like he had on the phone, and Wayne immediately began to feel at ease, and Wayne felt even more relieved when Tommy revealed his crew that followed him around- AKA the main bullies- would be staying at home, so Wayne didn't have to worry about being harassed. Halfway to the school they began to even hold hands, and surprisingly enough it was Tommy that had unsurely stuck his hand out for Wayne's, and Wayne had hesitated before gladly taking it-- they didn't even let go until they'd reached school grounds, both putting on the act of being completely guys just being pals. 

The first half of the dance went back to being awkward, Wayne feeling out of place and Tommy trying a bit too hard to make sure they didn't do anything questionable, yet eventually they got more comfortable and began to joke around once more. A few songs played as they drank punch and snacked on fancy finger foods and whatnot, before Tommy looked around the dance floor casually to be sure they weren't being watched, afterwards directing his attention back to Wayne and gesturing for him to follow out of the cafeteria and into the school's halls. 

Wayne did. 

"Where did you get that?!" Wayne whispered as Tommy pulled out their first period's classroom key, unlocking the door and quickly ushering Wayne inside. 

"Relax, I know people." Tommy teased with a wink, turning the lights off after Wayne tried to turn them on. "Don't want anyone knowing we broke in here." Tommy explained, Wayne staring at him uncertainly. 

"Why are we in here?" Wayne grumbled, arms crossing as he eyed Tommy with a frown, really not wanting to get in trouble on Valentine's Day. 

"Well I can't very well kiss you out there, now can I?" Tommy mused, Wayne blinking at that, not even having time to reply before Tommy dipped downwards and cupped his jawline a bit roughly, invading the poor boy's personal bubble and causing him to yank back, stumbling away from the teen that had just kissed him without even having the manners to ask for permission first. 

"What the hell Tommy?!" 

"What? Don't like kissing? I mean, if you want we could do other things-" 

Oh dear. "What- no- I-" Wayne stuttered, clearing his throat, suddenly feeling very, very alone. "Other things..?" This wasn't good-- Wayne felt trapped. 

"Mhm," Tommy confirmed, stepping forward casually. "This room is soundproof after all-" 

Wayne backed up, stumbling over a desk with a loud clatter, heart hammering in his chest, and yeah-- he should've listened to Jerome, because right now he was getting an extremely bad feeling in the pit of his gut. "Ouch..." 

Tommy halted, staring down at Wayne as his eyebrows arched upwards. "Are you okay?" 

"I'm- I'm fine- I just-" Wayne answered shakily, standing up and pulling the desk back upright. "I- I'm not sure I want to-" 

"Hey, come on, relax." Tommy laughed, stepping forward and reaching out. "I'm just trying to-" 

"You relax!" Wayne snapped defensively, having half a mind to kick Tommy where it counts. "I know exactly what you're trying to do and if you try to kiss me again I'll-" 

"Look, it's fine, okay?" Tommy assured, Wayne blinking at that. "We can go back to the dance, yeah?" Well that was a tad bit unexpected in complete honesty. "I was just- uh-" Tommy cleared his throat. "Sorry, I kinda' figured you wanted to-" 

"Well I don't." Wayne snapped again, arms crossing self consciously. 

"That's fine," Tommy reassured, hands going up in a non-threatening manner. "I was picking up the wrong signals-- it was my bad." 

Wayne's felt relief wash over him at that, glad Tommy wasn't advancing on him anymore. "I- um- yeah, okay." 

Tommy contemplated, Wayne shuffling back somewhat as the blond stepped forward, the raven haired boy still on his guard. "Let's try this again, yeah?" Wayne narrowed his eyes-- what the heck did that mean? "Can I kiss you?" 

Well... at least he was asking permission. "Um..." But Wayne didn't feel like giving it. "I don't- um-" 

"Come on, just one kiss? If you don't like it we can stop." Tommy assured, apparently not understanding what no meant. 

When Wayne had kissed Jerome his stomach brimmed with butterflies, but now? Now his stomach just felt sick with how fast his pulse was racing. 

"Okay..." Wayne murmured. 

The kiss between them felt... weird, but Wayne didn't pull back. Felt like an invasion really, but Wayne held still. It felt stiff, and Wayne was pretty sure kisses weren't supposed to feel like this. Sure, Tommy was a good kisser, but the kiss still somehow felt off. 

Wayne didn't pull back until Tommy reached for the button on his shirt, pushing the other away and clearing his throat, earning a sigh. 

"Let's go back to the dance." Wayne spoke up quietly, not sure he liked how Tommy was blocking off the door, unsure as to whether he was doing so on purpose. 

"What? Didn't like it?" Tommy asked, but it was more of an accusation than a question. 

"I just want to go back to the party Wayne stated as evenly as he could, wondering why he hadn't just listened to Jerome and stayed home. 

"But the party is so boring." Tommy mused, giving a smirk and hooking his arms around Wayne's hips, trying to tug the other closer and rolling his eyes as Wayne pushed him back and pulled away. 

"I'm going back to the party." Wayne muttered, stepping forward and trying to calm the sickeningly rapid beating of his heart as Tommy moved in front of him. "Tommy-" 

"Let's just stay in here-" 

"Move." 

"Make me." Tommy challenged, Wayne swallowing dryly and inclining his chin. "What? Can't make me do anything without your little ginger guardian?" He spoke, tone suddenly a bit sour. 

Wayne began to wonder if anything in the classroom could be used as a weapon, because he didn't like where this was going. "Why did you bring me to the party?" 

Tommy's eyebrows raised. "Because you agreed to be my date-" 

"Then treat me like a proper date and let me go to the event you offered to take me to." 

Tommy stared down at Wayne unamused, eventually stepping forward, Wayne holding his ground. "You're the one that said you were tough, so why don't you make me?" 

"My 'ginger guardian' will make you." Wayne threatened, giving a nod towards the window in the door, causing Tommy to blink and look behind him, frowning whence realizing no one was there and blinking as Wayne swiftly sped by him before speed walking out of the classroom. 

"Wayne!" Tommy sighed, Wayne reaching into his pocket to call Jerome. "Wayne, come on! I was just messing around!" Tommy assured, sprinting in front of the other. "Hey-" 

"Screw off." Wayne threatened, continuing towards the cafe, looking for Jerome's number. 

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Tommy persisted, moving in front of Wayne and blocking off his path, earning a glower. "I just- I dunno'- I figured you'd be into-" 

"Oh what? Figured I'd be into you being a creepy prick?" Wayne scoffed, clicking on Jerome's name, about to hit the call button. 

"Look, I'm sorry, it seemed like you were just playing around-" 

"Ah yes, because me telling you to back off is just playing around!" 

"Wayne, come on, I-" Tommy put his hands up defensively, showing he supposedly meant no harm. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm really, really sorry, and I swear it won't happen again-- I didn't mean to make you freak out and I was just assuming-" 

"We're staying in the cafe, and if you try to touch me at all then I'm calling my butler." Wayne bargained mercifully, going against his better judgment and giving the benefit of the doubt while glaring daggers at the blond. 

"Yeah, okay, sure-- I get that." Tommy assured, giving a nod. "Let's just go back to the party and have fun there, okay? We can do whatever makes you most comfortable." 

Wayne honestly couldn't tell if Tommy was being genuine or just trying to save his own skin, nonetheless hesitantly giving a nod. "Fine." He grumbled, stuffing the phone back into his pocket. 

The pair went back to the dance, and other than the lingering awkwardness from Tommy's poor attempt at wooing Wayne it more or less went well as one could after such an interaction... 

... until only a few songs had gone by, and then of course everything just had to go to shit again. 

"Tommy?" A voice spoke up as the blond and Wayne tried to ease the tension by speaking to one another, causing them both to quirk their brows and look over towards the sound of the voice, expressions falling at the sight of Tommy's little crew of bullies who had apparently found dates and decided to come after all. 

Peachy. Absolutely peachy. 

Now, Jerome- being the rational one for the time being- had decided to go check up on Wayne after the little shit didn't answer his one (okay... seven) calls and two (okay... eleven) text messages, and when he got to the dance and weaved his way through the crowd only to catch bits and pieces of gossip pertaining to how Tommy had apparently suddenly started acting like an asshole to Wayne when his little crew of jackasses arrived, Jerome was reasonably pissed. 

Jerome intended to deal with Tommy later, deciding he may as well go off and find wherever Wayne had run to first, texting Wayne in hopes he'd reply despite not replying to the other eleven messages, and surprisingly getting back a single message that said, "Stairs." 

... Well bloody hell there were a bunch of staircases in the school, dangit. 

Jerome sighed, nonetheless deciding he'd just have to find whatever damn staircase Wayne was referring to, and eventually doing so. 

Jerome paused, observing Wayne broodingly before hesitantly sitting next to the other on the steps, glancing at the boy trying to wipe his tears away before swallowing dryly and looking forward, the older teen chewing on the inside of his cheek and contemplating, afterwards giving a sigh, hand finally reaching out to rub circles against Wayne's back, allowing the sniffling other to hesitantly lay down against his lap. 

Jerome figured a bit of physical contact couldn't hurt, and Wayne could care less about his pride after the rather... crude things Tommy and his crew of pricks had said to him after Tommy the jackass saved his own skin by revealing Wayne was bi, which Wayne was going to have to deal with his prude classmates knowing for the rest of his life. 

"You remember that crush I said I had when I was eight?" Jerome eventually spoke after allowing a minute or so of silence to linger, Wayne giving a choked out sob before nodding, trying to calm himself, yet recalling the crush Jerome had briefly told him about when first telling Wayne he was gay. "It was on a guy in our circus-- a clown." Jerome swallowed thickly. "He, uh- he was fourteen-- six years older than me." Wayne gave another sniffle. "He'd come over when my ma' would go out, and he'd talk to me; sometimes he'd bring me shit, like treats or cool toys, or books." Wayne was quieting down. "He acted real nice around me, I wasn't-" A pause. "I wasn't really used to it-- he'd make me feel like a king." Wayne let out a shaky breath, nuzzling against Jerome's lap as the other began to run a hand through his hair soothingly. "He'd say stuff that was kinda' weird though-- stuff like how mature I was for my age, how it wasn't fair I was so young compared to him, how age was just a number, or whatever... shit I didn't really understand at the time, but he made it sound like compliments." Wayne blinked at that, brow furrowing. "One night my ma' beat me up real bad and kicked me out-- it was snowing, and I didn't know where to go, so I-" Jerome wet his lips, throat suddenly very dry. "I went to the older guy's trailer, and he told me I could stay since his roommate was out practicing for the next act." Jerome wasn't smiling. "I just wanted to sleep, but he told me I needed something to drink because I looked dehydrated-- telling me it's easy to get dehydrated in the dry kinda' cold or whatever, and I didn't see any harm in it, so I took a glass of water, but it tasted funny-- he said it was because it was tap water." 

Wayne's stomach sunk, sitting up at that, wiping away the remaining droplets of tears on his cheeks. "Jerome-" 

Jerome averted his gaze, giving a hoarse laugh, feeling his eyes gloss up somewhat-- he chose to believe they were glossy due to allergies. "I ended up getting real dizzy, and he told me it was probably just from the beating, and then the next thing I know the creep's holding me down on his mattress and kissing my neck and shit, and at first it was sorta' nice... ya' know, realizing your puppy crush likes you back, and I mean- I mean it felt nice at first, like it was a bit of a rush and it freaked me out a little, but in a good way I guess," He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "But then his hand went for my belt and I freaked-- I said no, and he didn't listen," Jerome's jaw clenched and unclenched. "So next thing I know I'm telling him to screw off, and he says- he looks at me, and he says-" Jerome gave a bitter smirk. "-'Why so serious?'" He inhaled deeply, voice shaking. "I um-" Jerome gave another sour laugh. "I ended up calling for help, and someone came before he could manage to do anything serious or gag me or some shit-- a Grayson guy was the one who managed to get him off of me." Jerome shakily brushed away the water bridging in his eyes, threatening to spill, trying to act like he just had dust in his eye. 

Wayne couldn't help but feel relieved at that, but still... "Jerome-" He started concerned. 

"Listen," Jerome interjected, shaken up hand running through his hair. "I know I like you, okay? I know I like you more than I would like a friend, or whatever you want to call it, but I don't know if I like you- I don't know if I like you romantically or some shit," He gave a sharp inhale, vision blurring. "But you're fourteen, and I'm seventeen-- I'm going to be an adult soon, and you're still going to be a minor with a three year age gap in between us," Jerome still couldn't look Wayne in the eye. "I know you feel like you're an adult, and believe me-- you are mature for your age, but you're sure as hell still vulnerable, and I know you probably don't want to hear this, but older people know how to manipulate younger peoples emotions, and while you're clever you're still naïve in a shit-ton of aspects-- you still have a lot to learn about when someone's taking advantage of you." 

Wayne got where this was going. "Oh." 

Jerome gave a weak laugh at the simple reply, continuing at that and saying, "I don't know if I'll like you when we're both adults and you're older-- when you've learned more and get how to look out for yourself, and a three year age gap won't matter as much, and I don't know if you'll still like me, but until then I'm not going to take advantage of you by romancing you or whatever you wanna' call it, and I know I'm not going to feel anything even remotely close to attraction to you until you're older if anything, and even then I don't know if I'll want to be something other than friends with you, alright?" Jerome swallowed again. "If we tried to be anything other than friends right now I know you'd become more dependent on me, and you need to learn to take care of yourself before you let someone take care of you as they please-- I don't want to accidentally begin to take advantage of you, and I want you to be able to be older and a little bit more sure about what you want when it comes to shit like this so you know if you need to back out, okay?" 

There-- Jerome had said it... now all he had to wait for was Wayne getting upset at him for talking to him like a kid, even though he was- 

"Okay," Wayne agreed softly, earning a taken aback blink, Jerome finally meeting the other's gaze. "That's very-" A pause. "That's very kind of you to consider-- thank you." Jerome stared at him unsurely. "I didn't- about your crush, I didn't-" He sighed. "I didn't realize-" Jerome's reaction to the kiss was making a lot more sense now. 

"It's fine-- not as though you could've." Jerome laughed quietly, trying to get his eyes stinging with salty water to dry up. 

Wayne studied Jerome broodingly. "Really, Jerome-- thank you," Hells, that was a personal confession... he was still kinda' surprised Jerome told him any of that. "It means a lot you're looking out for me." 

Jerome looked away again, eyes landing on the surface of the stairs underneath them. "You don't have to thank me for not taking advantage of you." He chuckled, voice cracking as he managed to keep the brimming liquid in his eyes from spilling. 

"I know." Wayne offered a small smile, still not used to being the one comforting Jerome-- usually it was the other way around. "Besides-" He leaned forward, pressing a gentle, innocent, and brief kiss against the taller one's cheek before pulling back and leaning on his shoulder. "-I don't mind waiting a few years for both of us to figure out what we want." 

Jerome stared down at Wayne rather surprised, a smile spreading onto his lips, chuckle leaving his throat, and dangit-- he couldn't keep in the water dripping down his cheeks anymore. "You don't have to wait, ya' know." He assured, returning the affection and placing a kiss against Wayne's cheek, and it wasn't romantic-- it was just a small gesture to show they at least had a chance... Wayne got that, and was happy with it alone. 

"Neither do you." Wayne assured, eyes closing as he continued leaning against Jerome's arm. "Jerome?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Could we act like we're more than friends for a little while?" Wayne requested quietly. "Just until we get back to the mansion? I-" He'd understand if Jerome said no, but... "I've had a really bad Valentine's Day." He laughed embarrassedly, biting down on his lower lip anxiously when not earning a reply. "It's fine if you don't want-" 

"Sure." Jerome answered, brushing away his own remaining tears with the side of his hand and quickly regaining himself, pressing another kiss against Wayne's cheek and earning a relieved smile as he pulled the other closer-- they could act just for a little while... he didn't mind doing that for Wayne. 

"So did you have any crushes after that one or..?" Wayne hesitantly asked, Jerome smirking at that. 

"Eh... I kinda' got one on the Grayson guy that helped me out, but when I turned nine that just sorta'... went away." Jerome answered truthfully, watching as a few leaves blew around the wide concrete pathway in front of them. 

Wayne bit down on his lower lip. "What happened on your ninth birthday?" Jerome had briefly talked about that specific birthday before, and Wayne was admittedly intrigued. 

"Long story short?" Jerome gave a grimacing smile. "I saw the funny side of things." 

Wayne wasn't precisely sure on what that meant... but he assumed it had something to do with when Jerome had started acting... would comedic be the word? Darkly comedic? Like a trickster? Like a... jokester, maybe? 

Instead of prying, Wayne nodded-- Jerome had already revealed a lot to him tonight, and he didn't want to ask for more. 

"Can we go home?" Wayne reluctantly asked, not wanting their little pretending act to end, however knowing Alfred was probably worrying up a storm with how late it had gotten. 

Jerome nodded, standing up and holding his hand out as Wayne stood, earning a quirked brow, causing him to look to the side while rubbing his neck with his other hand and murmuring, "You wanted to act like a couple until we got back to the manor, right?", his cheeks being the ones heating up for a change. 

Wayne blinked, ears going a soft shade of red. "Oh!" He gave a shy laugh, rubbing his upper arm embarrassedly. "Um-" The fourteen year old boy gave a nod. "Yeah." Wayne confirmed, hesitantly reaching out to take Jerome's hand, causing the taller one to clear his throat before they both walked off. 

The first group of people Jerome and Wayne walked by was a group of older teenage boys, most being eighteen and nineteen, Jerome noticing the way the smaller boy self consciously shied away from their side of the sidewalk as they got closer and closer, causing Jerome to pause before hesitantly letting go of Wayne's hand while gesturing the younger one to his other side and away from the group's side, wrapping a secure arm around his hips. 

One of the older group males gave a smirk, parting his lips to say something Jerome was pretty sure wasn't going to be all that nice, before blinking and unsurely shutting his mouth as Jerome glared him down menacingly, the older boy swallowing down his words and deciding to not provoke the ginger giving him a warning glance. 

Wayne visibly relaxed as he and Jerome walked by the group without being harassed, earning a reassuring squeeze around his waist and looking up at Jerome with a smile that turned into a smirk when he saw how Jerome nonchalantly continued looking forward, refusing to look down at Wayne and obviously feeling just as awkward and even as shy as Wayne was. 

The rest of the walk home was seemingly uneventful, Wayne feeling his heart sink a little as they approached the front door, knowing the second they walked inside they wouldn't be able to 'pretend' anymore-- it was good while it lasted, though... even if it only lasted for a short time-- less than an hour, at that. 

Jerome cleared his throat for what had to be the fourth time that night, stepping away from Wayne and rubbing the side of his neck, both boys standing on the front porch and waiting to see what the other did, if anything. 

"Thank y-" Wayne eventually started, blinking as Jerome let out a sigh and dipped downwards, cupping the side of Wayne's neck while pressing their lips together, causing Wayne to instinctively back up in surprise, Jerome stepping forward while using his other hand to grab Wayne's hip to make sure he didn't fall, small hands going up to grip the taller one's shirt on reaction. 

Wayne's back gently came in contact with the exterior wall, wide bluish gray eyes hesitantly slid shut as Wayne's palms were able to feel Jerome's heart beating against his chest quite rapidly, just like Jerome could feel Wayne's pulse from his neck under his hand racing rather quickly, lips moving against lips unsurely at first before gradually gaining more certainty, both boys eventually pulling back after at least a few dozen seconds went by. 

Wayne swallowed, looking up at Jerome with big doe-like eyes as a tint of red shaded his cheeks, Jerome actually feeling his heart skip a beat at that because, yeah, he had to admit... Wayne was cute-- but then again anyone could of course see that. 

Jerome cleared his throat, releasing Wayne's hip and bringing his hand away from his neck, Wayne letting go of his shirt and allowing his hands to go to his sides, the older boy taking a step back as the younger one straightened up. 

Wayne felt a cross between a smile and a smirk quirk at his lips. "Yeah-" He began, standing on the tips of his toes and tugging Jerome down, pressing a kiss against his cheek before pulling back, walking around Jerome and towards the front door. "-I can wait." 

Jerome arched a brow at that, watching as Wayne paused at the threshold and swallowing. "You uh-" He averted his gaze. "You go on-- I'll come in in a bit." 

Wayne paused, staring at Jerome and pondering before giving a nod, walking inside and closing the door behind him. 

Jerome gave a shaky sigh, hand running through his hair and leaning against the side of the house, a slight smirk stretching at his lips and a chuckle leaving his throat... damn, Wayne was adorable-- and a good kisser. That much was practically just facts, really. 

When it came down to it, that kiss had just been a way to close their little act before they had to stop pretending, and while it had felt good Jerome still wasn't attracted to Wayne-- yes, he did see Wayne as a bit more attractive than he had originally, but he only felt platonic things towards the younger boy still yet... 

... but Jerome could tell he would definitely be able to like Wayne in he future if it came down to it, and the chance alone of actually falling for someone was surprising considering Jerome hadn't fallen for anyone in eight years. 

Jerome had a feeling he was going to end up falling for Wayne-- he was going to fall for Wayne hard. 

"Why are you in such a good mood?" Jonathan interrogated as a smiling Wayne entered the bedroom, Selina and Ivy already asleep. 

Wayne gave a small hum. "No reason." 

Jonathan's brow raised. "Wait, are you and Jerome- are you a thing now, or..? I mean, did you convince him to-" 

"No." Wayne answered with a rather dreamy smile, his mind clearly other places. 

"Are you sharing a bed or something again then?" Were they back to their normal selves..? Well, wait, no-- they couldn't be... not with Wayne acting this weird. 

"No." 

Jonathan's brow knitted. "Well then what-" 

"We made up." Wayne answered with a shrug, nearly saying 'out' instead of 'up'. 

What kind of vague answer... "What does that mean?" Jonathan was curious, damnit. 

Wayne laid down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling and daydreaming. "It means I have a chance." 

Whatever the hell that meant... "Okay?" 

Wayne waved Jonathan off. "I'll tell you in the morning." He assured, not wanting to wake Selina or Ivy up, yet figuring he at least owed Jonathan that much with how helpful he'd been in the past with attempting to get Jerome to take a hint. 

Jonathan stared at Wayne intrigued, before giving a shrug and laying back down. "Fair enough." 

When Jerome finally came into the room it was an hour later, the older teen looking at his mattress before glancing at Wayne and pausing, walking over to the side of the other's bed and hesitantly leaning over, pressing one more kiss against Wayne's cheek before straightening back up, observing the sleeping boy broodingly while running a hand through his hair, afterwards pulling away and going over to his mattress to lay down. 

Wayne cracked open an eye, glancing over at Jerome's mattress a few feet away from his bed and feeling a smile tug at his lips-- things were looking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I know it's been over a month, so I hope you enjoy the holiday bonus-- sorry it's a couple of hours late! Gotham finally returns February 29th, and I'm sure we're all super excited; it would be super great if they brought Jerome back this season! When it returns I should be back on my regular schedule of posting two chapters per week. 
> 
> In any case, feel free at this rad fem!valeyne fanart that diana-the-peacemaker made on Tumblr for Valentine's Day! I absolutely love their hairstyles! 
> 
> http://diana-the-peacemaker.tumblr.com/post/139096804521/femvaleyne


	22. Overprotective Guardians

Jerome and Wayne were back to being friends. 

The kiss a week before Valentine's Day had screwed a lot of things up, yet ever since the talk the two had had after that mess of a party things were actually... pretty good. 

Jerome didn't return Wayne's feelings, and while that of course sucked, it was still relieving in a sense to know the seventeen year old was just being a damn adult that knew better than to take advantage of someone younger; it was nice to know that Jerome- despite being a serial killer- still had ethics and still looked out for Wayne, and it genuinely made Wayne feel- well... good to accept Jerome's reasoning, rather than trying to get them into something a toxic problem which could be regrettably harmful. 

Nonetheless, Jerome did see Wayne as more than just a friend. There was at least SOMETHING other than just friendship in between them, and that was... exciting. It wasn't exactly romance, but it was still something, and it was something that could certainly grow into a lot more when they were both adults if Wayne grew on Jerome more than he already had as a friend-- something romantic, even. 

It wasn't just a friendship anymore-- it was a bond. 

Wayne was content with the liaison. 

What Wayne wasn't content with was Jerome's new injury. 

"Are you okay?" Wayne sighed again as the other gave a quiet pained grunt, helping patch up Jerome's chest by wrapping a bandage around it. 

"I'm fine." Jerome reassured with a pained smirk, the stitched up knife wound in the right side of his chest aching. 

Wayne pursed his lips, frowning as Jerome winced. "I'm staying here with you." He muttered, earning a scoff. 

"No, you're not-- you're going to France with Alfred." Jerome scolded, receiving a grumble. 

"It's Switzerland, not France," Wayne informed with a huff. "and I'm only going if you guys come with me." 

"Selina's too busy sneaking around and doing whatever the hell she's been up to lately, Jonathan's having an all time low while refusing to get out of bed, Ivy would never leave her garden, and I'm a wanted criminal you shouldn't be seen traveling with-- you're going with Alfred, and we're staying here," Wayne glared up at him as he finished up the bandage roll. "we'll be all right, too." 

"Fine, but we need to get you a real doctor to make sure you're not-" Wayne started stubbornly, arms crossing. 

"I'm not dying, Wayne-- I got stabbed a month ago, and I'm almost feeling good as new," Jerome interjected truthfully, Wayne clearly unconvinced. "I'd be dead by now if the wound was fatal-" 

"Well if you'd just let me get stabbed then at least I would be in a real hospital." 

"Oh? So now it's my fault for not letting you get stabbed?" Jerome teased, Wayne averting his gaze. 

"I'm just saying that I would've rather it of been me than you, because you just get Alfred's treatment and at least I would've gotten a real doctor-" 

"Alfred's care is fine," Jerome waved off, Wayne's brow furrowing. "he knows what he's doing." 

Wayne swallowed dryly, still not meeting Jerome's eyes. "Why would Theo's men even bother with still trying to attack me? He's dead-" 

"Loyal assholes." Jerome answered with a shrug, Wayne finally glancing back up at him. 

"I-" Wayne bit down on his lower lip. "You shouldn't of gotten stabbed for me," He breathed stressed. "I've been laying off with training, and if I hadn't been letting myself relax and get sloppy then I- I could've gotten out of the way, and you wouldn't of had to jump in front of-" 

"I'm using to getting stabbed." Jerome joked, trying to lighten the mood, earning a look from the unamused Wayne. "Look, it's not your fault, all right? You need to go somewhere safe though until whatever's left over of Theo's men is put in jail." 

"You and the others need to come with me." 

"You know we can't-" 

"But-" Wayne objected frustratedly. 

"Other than Ivy all of us have killed a person," Jerome pondered. "well, I'm pretty sure Jonathan has in any case... Okay? Seriously-- we'll be fine," Wayne glanced towards the side again, once more refusing to meet Jerome's gaze. "we know how to take care of ourselves." 

Wayne made a point of staring at Jerome's bandaged up torso. "Sure you do." 

"I've gotten stabbed in the throat, kiddo," Jerome reminded, Wayne hesitantly looking back up at him. "I'm tough to kill." He added cheekily, earning an eye roll. 

Wayne contemplated for a long, long while, eventually letting out a long exhale while warning, "If you die then I'll kick your ghost ass." 

"Whatever you say, Ghostbuster." Jerome jested, grinning as Wayne finally cracked a smile. "Now hurry up and go say bye to everyone else," He directed, shooing Wayne away. "Alfred's gonna' have a riot if you two miss your plane-" Jerome blinked as a pair of small arms swung around him, brow quirking while he ignored the surge of pain in his injured chest from the sudden impact, pausing briefly before clearing his throat and politely returning the hug. 

Considering Jerome had decided to be responsible and respectfully keep his distance since the Valentine's Day incident the hug was... somewhat foreign with how they'd both grown used to minimum contact. 

Wayne knew better than to try and nuzzle against Jerome's neck or linger on the hug too long, not wanting to make Jerome uncomfortable with too much "affection" and reluctantly pulling back, giving the older one his space. 

Nonetheless, Wayne did dare to try, "Can I have a kiss before I go?", oh so innocently. "For all we know this may be the last time we-" 

"Hardy-har-har Mr. Drama-King," Jerome snickered, earning what looked suspiciously close to resembling something along the lines a defeated pout. "really-- very nice try, kiddo, but no." Jerome mused, ruffling up the younger one's hair. "Now hurry up and go meet up with Alfred; he's been waiting for over five minutes." 

Wayne gave a long sigh. "Fine, fine..." He begrudgingly agreed, Jerome narrowing his eyes and smirking as the fourteen year old stood up with a rather mischievous expression, wondering what the little shite was up to now. 

"What-" Jerome started intrigued. 

Wayne pressed a quick kiss against Jerome's cheek before speeding towards the exit, Jerome parting his lips after registering the fast gesture to respond, yet before he could say anything Wayne casually interjected, "Just in case one of us ends up getting killed." 

"Oh haha Wayne, very funny-" Jerome scolded with a scoff. 

"Love you!" Wayne teased jokingly, flashing a smug grin over his shoulder while going through the threshold. 

"I'm dying of laughter." Jerome replied sarcastically. "I'm not gonna' forget this, ya' know-" 

"Aw, does that mean the feelings are mutual?" Wayne kidded with a cheeky smile, pausing on the other side of the door and glancing back at Jerome. 

"It means we're having a talk when you get back-" Jerome corrected, Wayne interrupting him with an amused goodbye and a teasing wink while shutting the door before the taller one could finish. 

Jerome had gone from wanting to corrupt Wayne when they'd first met to wondering if he'd possibly been too much of a bad influence on the kiddo... 

Wayne made his way over to Jonathan's room a few doors down, giving a gentle knock before carefully cracking open the door, softly making his way inside while piping up, "I- um... I'm leaving now," He noticed the drawn curtains and shut off lights. "do you need anything before I go, or-" 

"No." Jonathan spoke up, Wayne going quiet at that. 

"All right, I should be back in five months at the longest," Wayne admitted while rubbing his upper arm, not earning a reply. "maybe just three weeks if I'm lucky." He added hopefully, nonetheless guessing it would take around three months overall for things to get safe. "If you need anything Alfred left a private number you can call on the main kitchen's fridge." Silence. "Well- uh- bye, I guess..." 

Wayne walked towards the door, reaching for the handle and hoping the brown haired older teen would be okay alone when having a down like this- 

"Hey," Jonathan said with a groggy tone, begrudgingly sitting up from his place on the mattress, hand rubbing his wrist awkwardly. "I- um- just-" He let out a frustrated breath, not at all used to stumbling over his words in an non-composed manner. "Try to be safe and watch out for yourself and Alfred, will you? I'd frankly rather not have the pair of you going off and misfortunately ending up dead if we're being completely honest here; funeral bills are much too expensive," A pause. "not to mention it would be rather... I suppose the word would be 'saddening,' if you were to go off and die." He stuck his nose stiffly in the air. "Not that I'd care all that much, of course." 

Wayne perked up, offering a smile and a nod. "You be safe, too." 

Jonathan chewed on the inside of his cheek, looking over Wayne broodingly before sighing while standing, ignoring the dizziness that came with doing so; it felt like he hadn't gotten up in ages. 

"Here," Jonathan grumbled, approaching Wayne while paying no mind to the black dots in his vision from getting up too fast and instead stretching out his hand. "in case any of Theo's cringingly loyal men manage to follow you to France and prove to be even bigger thorns in your side than they already are." 

"Switzerland." Wayne corrected, taking the spray bottle and looking it over curiously. 

"Whatever." 

Wayne's eyes widened. "Is this-" 

"Fear toxin." Jonathan confirmed with a nod. "Two firmly pulled and direct sprays will eventually kill them, one soft indirect spray will just freak them out permanently." 

So Wayne could either kill someone or cause them to feel fear for the rest of their lives... not exactly ideal. 

"Is there an antidote?" Wayne blurted out, earning an arched brow. 

"Afraid you'll accidentally dose yourself?" Jonathan guessed quizzically. 

"No, but when they're behind bars then it'd be safe to give them an antidote instead of just letting them-" 

"Why the hell would you want to give someone who takes an attempt on your life an antidote?" Jonathan scoffed in disbelief. "The least those distasteful brutes deserve is a bit of paranoia for the rest of their miserable lifespans." 

"Well then could I at least have some antidote for me?" 

"And just for you?" 

"Yeah, I'll only use it for me and Alfred if we need it." 

"You're a fairly convincible liar when it comes to anyone other than Jerome, Selina, Ivy, and myself, you know." Jonathan informed scoldingly. "I'll give you one exact dosage of the antidote to take with you, which means you need to keep it safe and not use it unless absolutely necessary-- this is for you or Alfred only, is that understood? If you give this to anyone else and end up accidentally dosing yourself then you're out of luck." Jonathan waited for a nod before plucking a tiny container out of his pocket, holding the vile just out of the smaller one's reach. "This is also a beta-antidote, so there's no guarantee its ability to work is absolute," He warned, keeping the chemicals raised in the air. "which means I'd recommend being utterly careful, and do try to NOT dose yourself with the toxin, will you? It's a truly unpleasant experience." Wayne gave another nod, Jonathan contemplating briefly before dropping the vile into Wayne's awaiting palm. "When you spray the toxin be sure you're spraying away from you at a distance, and make sure the wind doesn't have the chance to blow it back in your face." 

"Got it." Wayne assured, examining the antidote curiously. "If I need the antidote do I drink it then, or-" 

"Have you ever used nasal spray for a cold?" Jerome inquired, earning a scrunched nose of distaste and smirking at that. "It's like that, which means you should be extra careful so you don't have to do such an uncomfortably simple procedure." 

"Point taken." Wayne murmured, stuffing the vile into his pocket. "Anything else I should know?" 

"You must use the antidote as soon as possible if you do get a breath of the fear toxin, or else it may not work." 

"Oh." Wayne gave a nervous laugh. "Good to know," Maybe he should've just declined the deadly formula... "thanks." 

"There's a safety clip on the spray bottle as well-- right opens it, left closes it, and considering I doubt you want dangerous chemicals to leak on your clothes I do hope you'll remember to keep it closed when packing." Jonathan added, palm stretching out, causing Wayne to raise a brow and glance down at the offered hand. "It's been a pleasure getting to know you these last few months, have a safe journey, and I gladly plan on seeing you whenever you return." Despite his monotone he seemed genuine... more or less. 

Wayne hesitated before taking the other's hand, giving a firm shake and a nod, cracking a smile at that. "The feeling's mutual-- see you again soon." 

Next on the list was Ivy. 

Wayne was reasonably surprised when he went outside to say a temporary farewell to Ivy and was greeted with the sight of the red haired girl surrounded by at least forty pots of various plants and a small opened suitcase carefully filled with even more greenery. 

"What-" Wayne glanced around both impressed and... confused. "What are you doing?" 

Ivy continued patting down a plant she was working on into soft soil brimming a pot. "I'm packing." She answered nonchalantly, moving on to unearthing yet another plant. "Do you have more butlers than Alfred? I need help carrying my flowers." 

"Oh." Wayne couldn't help but feel a bit bad as he said, "Um... Ivy, you're not-" The younger minor glanced up at him. "I- well..." Wayne gave a long exhale. "Alfred said I had to go alone." 

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know that, but you're the boss," She reminded with a shrug. "just give him the order to let us come." 

"I'm not the boss-" 

"Well he's your butler, isn't he?" 

"And my guardian." Wayne countered, Ivy more or less puffing her cheeks while pausing and glowering up at Wayne with more of an annoyed pout than angry stare. "You have plenty of food to eat in the kitchen, and we'll keep paying the bills while we'll gone, so you'll still have utilities-" 

"But I wanna' go with you." Ivy protested persistently, standing up while brushing the dirt on her knees off. "You didn't even let us know you were leaving to go to France until today-"

"Switzerland-" 

"I don't go to school, Wayne-- I don't know anything about geography." Ivy snapped irked. 

"Honestly even I didn't know I was leaving today until Alfred-" 

"What if the bad guys come here?" Ivy interrupted with a frown, brow knitting somewhat. 

"Jerome will take care of any intruders-" Wayne assured, hoping this whole thing wasn't freaking the poor girl out too much. 

"Jerome?" Ivy scoffed unconvinced. "Am I really supposed to depend on the guy that got himself stabbed twice to defend us-" 

"Jerome's probably stabbed more people than people have stabbed him." Wayne murmured under his breath. 

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Ivy snapped back. "I mean, really-- good to know the one looking out for us is a mass murderer-" 

"You're not exactly innocent other, Ivy," Wayne reminded, causing the girl to purse her lips. "I've looked at your files, and you've used some pretty deadly plants on-" 

"Anyone I've attacked on the streets was for defense!" Ivy defended. "... usually." She blinked. "Hey wait a minute-- how did you get my files?" 

"That's besides the point." Wayne evaded vaguely. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I have to go-- Alfred's not letting me have much of a choice, and I've been testing the waters out more than I should with him," Wayne confessed, Ivy's brow raising. "for all I know he may kick you guys out if he decides that would be best, and he's going to decide that if I refuse to go with him just because I want to stay with you," Ivy's expression almost softened-- almost. "he's a good man, and you're all growing on him, but he's still making decisions for me that will effect you guys, and while I don't agree with that I can't risk going against him." Wayne let out a long breath, rubbing his upper arm. "I can't fire Alfred because then I'll end up in a foster home, which means you guys won't be able to stay here anymore and-" Wayne bit down on his lower lip broodingly. "and honestly I don't want to fire him; he's just trying to do what's right, even if I disagree with it completely, so-" 

"I get it." Ivy grumbled. "It makes sense," She added with a shrug. "it disses me off, but it makes sense." 

Wayne gave a relieved smile. "I'll bring you back a souvenir, all right?" 

"Make the souvenir a plant and we have a deal." 

Wayne smirked amused. "Deal." 

Now all Wayne had to do was find Selina... 

... except he couldn't. 

Wayne looked everywhere. The kitchen, Selina's bedroom, the place in the yard where she fed stray cats, and even the roof, yet she was nowhere to be found. 

Alfred called Wayne down, the butler a bit irritated he'd been waiting over fifteen minutes for the other with how time was of the essence all things considered when it came to the fact one of Theo's men could spring up any minute, causing Wayne to begrudgingly go to his limo and get inside. 

Wayne didn't know what Selina had been up to lately, but she'd been sneaking out... a lot. 

Needless to say when Selina got home that night one can imagine how upset she was to hear of Wayne going off with Alfred without a warning, much less a goodbye. 

"What?" Selina said in disbelief. "When did he leave?!" 

"This morning," Ivy answered, watering her flowerpots. "but Alfred promised they'd continue paying the bills until they returned, and there's more than enough food-" 

"What if those killer monks come back?" Selina interjected haughtily. "Theo's men will murder us!" 

"I'll kill them before they can kill us." Jerome waved off in nonchalant assurance. 

"Oh right-- the guy that's managed to get himself stabbed twice will protect us." Selina scoffed with an eye roll. 

"That's what I said." Ivy agreed while carefully clipping off dead leaves on her plants. 

"Yeesh, harsh much?" Jerome snickered, Selina continuing to fume. "Have a little faith," He flashed a grin. "I did get stabbed thanks to trying to protect Wayne, ya' know-- I'd say I'm a pretty dedicated bodyguard." 

"Yes well... that was Wayne," Jonathan countered knowingly. "I highly doubt you'd risk getting even a scratch for the rest of us unless doing so benefited you in some shape or form." He pondered. "Well... maybe other than Selina-- she's obviously grown on you a little more than the rest of us." 

"True." Jerome admitted without shame. "Still though, I AM a mass murderer, so it's not as though I'm gonna' go and chicken out when it comes to killing any intruders-" 

"You know what? Fine-- let's act like we don't have to worry about being murdered in our sleep when a serial killer is guarding us," Selina interrupted semi sarcastically. "I still don't get why Wayne had to just leave so suddenly-" 

"Alfred was in a rush." Ivy answered, Selina's eyes narrowing. 

"Lemme' guess," Selina began, a light seeming to blink on in her mind. "Alfred convinced Wayne we couldn't go with him for security purposes or some shit?" 

Jonathan noted the sudden peculiar behavior. "Yes," He answered, looking Selina over broodingly. "although Alfred has also been rather kind to us, so if you're implying that he's up to something shady-" 

"That's exactly what I'm implying." Selina snapped, Jonathan going quiet. "Alfred doesn't give a shit about any of us-- his main priority is Wayne, and honestly he's been wanting to get rid of us for a long time now." 

Jonathan's eyebrows quirked. "Are you saying he's hoping we'll get killed?" 

"No, he's not that much of an asshole... probably." Selina replied, hand on hip. "I'm saying we sure as hell could've gone with Wayne considering I'm willing to bet he has a private jet, which means we wouldn't of had to worry about Jerome or any of us being noticed, but Alfred made us stay here because he figures we'll leave just to be safe, and he's convinced us being gone is what's best for Wayne," Selina's teeth gritted. "so maybe Alfred's trying to be a good guardian or something, but he's doing a cruddy job of it, and frankly I can tell he's gonna' figure out a way to get us kicked out one way or another," She turned, walking towards the door. "which is why I may as well go on and get out of here before that jackass figures out a way to make Wayne turn against me-- you guys do what you want, but I'm leaving," She swallowed thickly. "Alfred and I never got along anyway." 

"Selina-" Ivy objected, setting down her gardening shovel and visibly wincing as the door slammed shut. 

Meanwhile Wayne was quite upset as well, and Alfred had caught onto that with how the teenager had refused to talk for him for hours and instead just glared him down. 

"Master B-" Alfred finally tried. 

"You told me we couldn't take my jet." Wayne reminded annoyedly, glowering at Alfred across from his seat. 

"Master Wayne-" Alfred sighed again exasperated. 

"That was the whole reason you said they couldn't come with us," Wayne continued with a glare. "because we were going to a regular airport since the jet needed repairing, and you were worried about security recognizing Jerome or one of the others," Alfred parted his lips to defend himself. "was that a lie?" 

"Look-" Alfred tried to explain. 

"You knew we were taking the jet the whole time," Wayne scoffed, able to tell by the look Alfred was giving him. "we could've taken them with us!" 

"Well it's a bit too late to go back now considering we're already in the air." 

"That's besides the point!" Wayne exclaimed irked. "Why didn't you want them to come with us?" Alfred didn't reply. "They're in danger there, Alfred-- if Theo's men come looking for me then it's them that will get attacked!" Wayne had half a mind to get his skydiving equipment and jump off the damn plane, although he'd never attempted sky diving without his parents before and was hours away from Gotham, so he decided against that. 

"Jerome swore to look after everyone." Alfred reminded, earning an even more upset stare. 

"Jerome is still healing from his stab wound, and he hasn't received any training," Wayne gritted out icily. "how exactly do you expect him to fend off skilled murderers?" 

"If it comes down to it I'm sure Selina has a hideout." 

Silence dragged by, and the next thing Alfred knew Wayne had caught on. 

"You want them to leave that bad?" Wayne snapped, abruptly standing from his seat and practically fuming. "Putting their lives in danger just because you want them to go away so they don't 'influence' me is wrong, Alfred!" 

"Oh rubbish!" Alfred huffed back. "They're criminals-- they know how to take bloody care of themselves!" 

"They're kids!" 

"You're a kid as well!" Alfred countered, arms crossing as he looked up at Wayne from his seat. "A good one at that," As far as Alfred was convinced this was what had to be done. "and I'll not have you be going and becoming one of those hooligans," Alfred was doing the right thing... he had to be... "I've allowed them to hang around you long enough, and they've clearly already rubbed off on you with how you've been acting lately; you're damn well lucky I didn't kick them out sooner!" 

"Oh? Tell me Alfred-- how exactly have I been acting?" 

"Frankly?" Alfred questioned, earning a nod. "You've been getting a bit too cozy with Jerome, sneaking around with Selina, obviously changing the subject of whatever you and Jonathan talk about whenever I walk by one too many times, and providing Ivy with some plants I'm fairly sure aren't legal from who knows where." 

"I hope you haven't honestly expected me to stay a child forever," Wayne argued sourly, not taking mind to the disrespect in his tone. "I'm just maturing!" 

"Letting a mass murderer use you as his damn toy is not maturing much less normal!" Alfred nearly shouted, standing to look down at Wayne. "Jerome isn't keeping around because he's your friend, Master B-- he's keeping around because you're the rich boy who gives him food, water, shelter, and entertainment," He continued in a more even and quiet tone, regretting his loud outburst with the way that Wayne's expression fell. "and I don't want to know at what ends he'll go to use you until he's bored." Alfred shifted from foot to foot, eyes temporarily averting before returning to Wayne's upset gaze. "You and I both know Jerome's the worst of the lot with being a damn murderer, but the others are just as bad-- they're all just sticking around for their own gain of not being on the streets when it comes down to it, and I'll not have such a selfish lot using you." 

Wayne's hurt expression turned bitter. "I wouldn't say the friends that willingly helped save me from Galavan and risking their lives to do so are using me in any way whatsoever." He spoke with a hint of venom laced in his tone. "I find the ignorant belief that I'm just a possession to Jerome incredibly insulting and overused all things considered, and I would recommend you stop trying to force this false accusation onto me as one too many have attempted to do before," Wayne warned in the calmest voice he could muster. "even detective Gordon has eased up on Jerome and accepted we share a mutual friendship." He turned, taking a few steps towards his cabin before stopping in his tracks, pausing briefly and afterwards glancing over his shoulder while adding, "Jerome has risked many things many times for me, and you have absolutely no right to act as though you know something about where we stand with one another when it comes to you doing so at his expense." Just because Alfred was trying to be good didn't mean he was succeeding. 

"Just as you have no right to defend a serial killer," Alfred stubbornly insisted. "and you're damn well lucky I'm just shooing him away from you rather than calling Barnes." Alfred was just trying to keep Wayne safe-- he was the right one here... wasn't he? 

"I've looked into your files, Alfred," Wayne reminded knowingly. "and you've committed actions for your country as well as my family amongst other things that are just as equally horrid as the things he's done due to abusive circumstances, and frankly I don't approve of your or his motives, yet I don't hold that against either you due to you being my friend as well as guardian, and the same goes to Jerome as my friend considering you've always taught me to not have double standards." He caught the way Alfred frowned. "Besides-- this IS Gotham; anyone not actively committing a crime is practically a saint who doesn't deserve to be thrown in a facility where the guards are sicker as the criminals," Wayne began to walk off again. "so until I can make that change I'm not going to act like the circumstances of now and the past somehow don't matter." 

Alfred let out a long exhale as Wayne entered and shut his cabin door-- he was never going to win an argument with that stubborn shite... 

Rather than going after the pissed off Wayne and escalating the situation, Alfred instead decided to call back at the mansion to see how things were going. 

"Hello?" Jerome answered while tucking the phone under his shoulder and jaw, running a cooking knife under a stream of faucet water as he glanced over at the chopped up bright red slivers of sliced peppers on the counter. 

"Just checking in." Alfred greeted, staring out the window broodingly; maybe Wayne had a point about leaving a bunch of minors in a targeted house... 

"Well Selina left to go who the hell knows where as she's been doing a lot lately, so nothing new there," Jerome mused, temporarily setting the knife down and dabbing a blood red ketchup spot off of the counter. "but Ivy ended up going after her and hasn't come back yet, so I assume they're both living on the streets again." He heard Alfred give a sigh on the phone. "Jonathan decided to leave, too-- didn't want to risk getting murdered by Theo's men and whatnot." 

"So you're the only one there?" Alfred asked just to be sure, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"I am now." Jerome confirmed, wringing out a cloth of splattered crimson cranberry juice he'd spilled. 

"And have-" Alfred cleared his throat. "Have any of Theo's men..?" 

"One," Jerome hummed, washing off the blood from a cut he'd gotten on his thumb thanks to the cooking blade. "I managed to fend him off-- don't worry." 

Alfred glanced over at Wayne's cabin, making sure the door was shut and lowering his voice while saying, "Did you..?" 

Jerome smirked at that. "No need to fret, Alfred," He picked the knife he'd set to the side back up. "I did exactly what we agreed on." He assured, washing freshly stained blood off the knife. 

"Yes, and I certainly hope you're keeping to that agreement," Alfred murmured. "because if you kill anyone other than those monks after Master B I'll call the whole damn GCPD on you." 

"Believe me, you already made that crystal clear," Jerome hummed, glancing over at the deceased robed man. "just relax and have fun in France; I'll call you when the remaining monks are dead." 

"Switzerland." 

"Yeah yeah, got it," Jerome shrugged off, drying the relatively cleaned knife. "no worries-- I've murdered before, ya' know; it's not like I'm gonna' chicken out on the chance to have some fun." 

Alfred rolled his eyes. "Right-- 'fun'." He muttered with a hint of sarcasm, tensing as Wayne exited the cabin. "I have to go." 

"Aw really? We were having such a pleasant conversation." 

"Goodbye, Jerome." Alfred sighed exasperated, about to shut the phone off before hesitating and breathing with a strained tone, "Look, if you decide you don't want to do this, then you don't have-" 

"Like I said, Alfred-" Jerome began, the butler practically able to feel him grinning like a cheeky little bastard through the phone. "-I'm not about to give up a chance to have some fun, so no worries." 

"Who are you talking to?" Wayne grumbled as Alfred hung up the phone. 

"The billing company," Alfred lied smoothly. "just to make sure Jerome and the others would have water and light and whatnot this month." 

"Oh." Wayne crossed his arms and hesitated before exhaling, "Look, I don't want to have us be at one another's throats the whole time we're in Switzerland considering we could be there for five months, so let's just agree to leave this behind us as long as you swear you won't do something that will put the others in danger again." 

Alfred's chin inclined. "Very well, Master Wayne." 

Alfred had done many things... many things most would judge as wrong. He'd let a bully who was only a boy get beaten up with a watch, slapped a young girl, and was now he was asking a teenager to murder who knew how many people... 

... but Alfred had done this to protect Wayne, and this was for Wayne's own good. 

Besides, it's not as though Jerome had a problem with killing... or at least not until after a week of diligently murdering Theo's men gone by. 

Jerome had been stabbed (for the third fricking time and this shit was getting old) in the leg, afterwards being tied up to a chair. 

"Where is the boy?!" The monk interrogated, blade piercing Jerome's upper arm. 

Of course everything that had been going just smoothly had to go and get rough practically out of nowhere; why couldn't Jerome just keep killing in peace, dangit? 

Jerome let out a pained laugh, teeth gritting. "Son of a-" He chuckled through clenched teeth, tone irked. "You're-" He gave another laugh, not dating to look at the fresh wound and hoping not doing so would lessen the sting a tad bit. "You're going to have to be a little bit more specific." 

"I'm not playing games here," Theo's pawn threatened, pressing the knife's tip against Jerome's chest menacingly. "you know who I'm talking about-- where is Wayne?" 

"Do I look like a secretary or something? I don't keep tabs on him-" Jerome bit down on his tongue, seeing the blade swipe upwards and feeling it graze his cheek. 

"You're his friend," The robed make persisted impatiently. "you know where he is!" 

"No I don't-" 

"You're lying!" 

Jerome choked out a noise, doubling over as the blade jabbed the right side of his stomach. "Screw off." He laughed out of breath, vision blurring. 

"I don't have to kill you," The intruder reminded. "I can keep you alive for months while making sure you're still in pain, and I won't stop until you tell me where the lamb is." At least this prick didn't beat around the bush. 

"The lamb?" Jerome scoffed, noting the blood that left his lips as he spoke and guessing that couldn't be good. "Nice nickname, but I'm not about to let ya' go and be an asshole who slaughters Wayne or some shit, jackass." 

"Then we'll be doing this for a while." 

"Good-- I could go all day." If Jerome was going to die he may as well do so sarcastically. 

An hour more of that went on, the skilled fighter eventually going off to take a break and investigate the mansion more so to make sure Wayne wasn't there. 

Before the trespasser could get back, however, Jerome managed to get one of his hands loose, but he also broke one of his thumbs when doing so, and it was quite unpleasant in all honesty. 

Jerome figured he could've won the next struggle between them when encountering the torturer again, although before he got the chance to find out as the robed man held him down on the floor while giving a punch to his jaw he realized said robed man was suddenly rolling off of him and... screaming? 

What- 

"I leave for less than two weeks and you're already getting your ass handed to you." A familiar voice sighed, a spray bottle of the fear gas he'd just used on the whimpering man in his right hand. 

Jerome felt a relieved grin meet his lips at the sight of good ol' Johnny. "I would've preferred seeing you a bit earlier, but honestly I'm happy enough to kiss you right now." 

"I'd rather you not," Jonathan murmured with a scrunched nose, noting Jerome's busted and bloodied lip. "although I would like to know why it is you've decided to stick around such a dangerous zone under such unsafe circumstances rather than getting somewhere safe." 

"Aw, worried about me?" 

"Hardly." Jonathan glanced at the flesh wounds. "Are you dying?" 

"I sure hope not, but I can't really tell considering everything just hurts like hell right now." Jerome admitted with a smirk. "How about you help bandage me up and I fill you in?" 

Jonathan did as requested and was relieved to find the robed man had been careful to not inflict any fatal wounds due to not wanting to kill the ginger before he could get something out of him, and Jerome did as promised by telling the other of his and Alfred's agreement. 

"Sometimes I worry that Alfred may turn into a felon with the things he's willing to do and ask to be done for Wayne," Jonathan commented, patching up Jerome's broken thumb and fractured hand. "after all-- you do kill for the kid, and Wayne certainly seems to have an... effect, if you will, on people," A pause. "particularly you." 

"I kill for Wayne, he entertains me-- simple as that." Jerome shrugged off casually. 

It was Jonathan's turn to smirk. "I can't wait to see what you two are like when you're older." 

Jerome's eyebrows arched. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Well it's clear you already have a complex friendship now," Jonathan answered amusedly. "which means you'll it's likely have an even more complicated relationship in the future if things keep... 'progressing' between you two." 

"Oh?" Jerome inquired intrigued, wanting to know just how much this little psychology-loving-teen could predict. 

"I doubt you'd take my input well." Jonathan admitted, earning an even more curious gaze. "Perhaps I shouldn't-" 

"Aw come on-- I'm interested now!" Jerome urged with a grin, causing Jonathan to pause. 

"Truthfully?" Jonathan finally mused, dabbing at Jerome's cut on his cheek. "You're probably going to get jealous of some guy or girl Wayne's interested in when you're both in your twenties and end up having a one night stand with him after voicing your envy, which will lead to him initiating a kiss amongst other things, and that will turn into a full time relationship where you're a bit possessive and he's a bit cold, but you'll both remain to be relatively respectful towards one another overall." 

Well that was blunt and extremely unexpected. 

Jerome was quiet for a few long seconds. "What?" He scoffed, clearing his throat embarrassedly. "We- I- that wouldn't happen-" 

"Or you'll give into your murderous urges and eventually kill everyone who dares to look at Wayne the wrong way and he'll realize what's going on after only a few murders, thus ending your friendship due to his conflicting high morals." Jonathan added, wrapping a cloth around Jerome's leg wound. 

"How are you even coming up with this shit-" 

"Or Wayne will find a different significant other and leave your friendship to enter a romantic relationship; you'd probably either go back to being on your own and being a serial killer or realizing too late that you have feelings for the poor boy." 

"I don't have 'feelings' for-" Jerome objected in irritation. 

"Not yet, but with how things are forming between you two I'm willing to bet you will in the far future when you're both adults." Jonathan hummed in a knowing tone. "Oh! Or you'll cause Wayne to become corrupt and he'll enter a toxic relationship with you that will make him both harmful to himself and others." 

"Okay, ya' know what? I get it-" 

"Or you'll have a 'friends with benefits' thing that lets you act like you don't have romantic feelings towards him." 

"Haha, very funny, now stop-" 

"Or-" 

"Jonathan I will kick your damn ass if you don't stop being a little shit." 

Jonathan gave a snicker. "Point taken." 

Silence dragged by. 

"I wouldn't have a one night stand with Wayne." Jerome informed defensively. 

"Again, I was referring to the future in which you're both adults." Jonathan assured, Jerome looking quite unsure nonetheless. "Don't worry-- the chances of you ever getting bored of Wayne and turning on him or doing anything inappropriate as minors is immensely low, if that's what you're so concerned about." Jonathan added, Jerome obviously not convinced. "I'm only predicting the far future-based outcomes of what could likely happen with the way things are going between you currently-- nothing is ever definite in psychology." 

"It's just bullshit predictions." Jerome chuckled with an eye roll, it being unclear as to whether he was trying to convince himself or the other of that. 

"If saying that's what makes you feel better." Jonathan shrugged off, finishing with bandaging the ginger up. "Now then... how many more of Theo's men do we need to kill?" 

Jerome's eyebrows raised. "We?" 

"Hey, if you get to have fun then why can't I?" Jonathan confirmed nonchalantly, earning a wide smile. "Besides-- I need some people to experiment my toxins on." He contemplated. "I can also make sure the weapons you used and bodies you've gotten rid of are properly exposed of considering I'd rather us not get caught." 

At least Jonathan's help would make things go faster... and it did so immensely. 

Jonathan had several clever traps to lure the robed men out with the help of misinformation pertaining to Wayne being at certain boobytrapped places at certain times, and overall it only took a month to gain a fair amount of certainty that the majority- if not all- of Theo's men were finally dead. 

Which meant Wayne could finally return home. 

Jonathan didn't stick around though-- he couldn't help but feel like Selina had a point about Alfred, and while Jerome agreed he decided to stick around while he could. 

Despite being upset at Alfred for the fact the others (except for Jerome) had left and gone who knows where, Wayne was glad to be back... even if Jerome did have a few new injuries- such as a scar on his cheek, arm, and leg as well as a broken thumb- from a supposed mugging he'd insisted had happened. 

"So what now?" Jerome mused while laying down on the couch, staring up at the ceiling bored, causing Wayne to look over at him and returning the stare, the red haired seventeen year old flashing a grin-- he was bored and wanted to do something fun! 

Wayne wasn't interested in "fun" though-- not at the time being. "Now we figure out who showed up in the alleyway a year ago." 

Jerome's smile fell as he realized what Wayne was referring to, and suddenly Wayne seemed... a whole lot different-- it was kinda' eerie. "Yeah?" Jerome muttered, looking Wayne over curiously. 

Wayne nodded. "The holidays are more or less over, and I'm back from Switzerland-- it's time to stop messing around and start getting serious." 

"Serious?" Jerome inquired, not quite liking the word. 

"Yeah," Wayne confirmed, arms crossing. "which means I need you to teach me how to kill." 

Jerome's brow quirked. "Kill?" Oh boy-- this was certainly going to be a doozy...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!Gotham Season 2 Future Spoilers!!! 
> 
> Guess what Valeska fans? It's been confirmed on a live Q & A video broadcast by Michael Corey Smith (Edward Nygma/The Riddler) actor that Jerome's coming back to the show! The link's below if you wanna' see for yourselves; skip to 8:15 :) 
> 
> http://quellines-stories.tumblr.com/post/141468538891/cory-michael-smith-just-confirmed-jerome-is-coming


	23. Bad-Boy's Make Good-Boy's Bad

"Come at me." Jerome instructed, arms crossed. 

Wayne furrowed his brow. "Huh?" 

"Try to attack me." Jerome elaborated, earning an unsure look. "You wanna' train to kill or not?" 

Wayne paused, eying Jerome hesitantly before biting down on his lower lip and giving a nod. "Okay..." He cleared his throat and stepped forward quickly while giving a half assed punch at Jerome's jaw, blinking as the other grabbed his wrist with one hand and used the other to reach out and grip his throat. 

"You're dead." Jerome muttered, releasing his hold. "Try again." 

Wayne felt a bit more determined whence realizing the other certainly wasn't completely defenseless, causing him to give a more confident nod. "Right." He tried to kick Jerome where it counts, letting out a noise as Jerome side stepped the attack while his foot hit thin air, causing Wayne to lose his balance and fall back, shrinking into himself as a shoe gently pressed down onto his chest. 

"Dead." Jerome murmured, shuffling back and reaching out a hand to help the other up. 

"You're acting a lot more serious than usual." Wayne commented, taking the hand while standing. 

"Good to know." 

Wayne quirked a brow at the unamused tone. "Everything okay?" 

"Peachy." Jerome answered sarcastically. 

"What's wro-" Wayne tensed, hands going up too late as Jerome abruptly gripped his upper arms, shoving him against the wall firmly yet carefully, being sure to not hurt the smaller one. 

"You can't let yourself get distracted by conversation." Jerome warned, releasing the fourteen year old. "Dead." 

Wayne pursed his lips. "Fine." He determinedly lunged forward, letting out a huff as Jerome easily grabbed him by his hips midair as though they were doing a damn dance routine, softly tossing the annoyed boy to the side. 

"I could've thrown you out the window," Jerome sighed, Wayne getting up while brushing himself off. "so-" 

"Yeah, I know-- dead." Wayne grumbled, still unsure as to why Jerome wasn't messing around in the least like his usual jokester self. "Are you sure everything's okay?" 

"Positive." 

Wayne didn't particularly like how unconvincing that sounded. "Hey..." He began concerned, walking forward and reaching out a hand to place on the older one's upper arm. "what's up?" 

"Nothing-" Jerome started, eyebrows arching as Wayne gave it his all and more or less pounced him, stumbling back from the force while legs wrapped around his hips, causing the older teen to fall and hit the ground. 

"Dead." Wayne hummed proudly, practically beaming like a cocky little bastard. 

"You've died more times than you've won," Jerome reminded, shooing Wayne off of him. "you don't have bragging rights yet." 

Wayne's expression fell at the lack of a smirk and not an ounce of praise. "You're acting weird." 

"Good to know," Jerome waved off carelessly. "now stop stalling and try to punch me." 

Wayne's jaw clenched annoyedly, hands going into a fist. "Why are you acting so stern all of a sudden?" He inquired, taking a swing at the ginger. "You're behaving like Alfred." 

"No reason." Jerome dodged the punch, grabbing Wayne's wrist and forcing him in a hold that made him lock up and struggle before dropping to the floor in defeat. "Dead." 

Wayne's teeth gritted, recalling what Alfred had taught him over months of the butler's own training and kicking Jerome's feet out from underneath him, letting out a long exhale of irritation when the other managed to fall above him and pin him down before he could move to hold Jerome down. "Get off." Wayne grumbled. 

"Make me." Jerome directed, earning an arched brow and elaborating, "Find a way to get me off." 

Wayne rolled his eyes, attempting to knee Jerome in between the legs, squirm loose, and even bite the other to no avail as Jerome dodged and blocked the attempted blows. 

"Give up?" Jerome offered, Wayne more or less fuming. 

Wayne blinked as an idea hit. "Nope." 

Jerome raised a brow as lips pressed against his, quickly pulling back and giving the smaller boy a look. "What the hell, Wayne-" He wasn't able to finish his sentence as Wayne took his surprise as an opportunity to suddenly wrapped a leg around Jerome's hip, managing to maneuver them so their positions were quickly switched, holding Jerome down cheekily. "Get off." 

Wayne's eyes rolled, knowing Jerome wasn't about to congratulate him with how pissed off he looked. "Fine." The raven haired one sighed without arguing, doing as told and moving off the other before standing, Jerome getting up as well and giving Wayne a disapproving stare. "What? I got you off." 

"I would really not recommend kissing the bad guys as a fighting strategy." 

"Well it worked-" 

"Yeah, well, you need to learn how to fend off perverts, too, and it sure as hell won't work then-- not to mention I doubt you'd wanna' kiss Malone." Jerome scoffed, earning a grumble and narrowing his eyes. "What was that?" 

"Nothing." 

Jerome's jaw clenched. "Kissing is off limits from now on, understood?" Wayne averted his gaze and nodded. "I would've figured that was obvious-" 

"Why are you being such a stick in the mud all of a sudden?" Wayne sighed, eying Jerome quizzically. 

"I'm not particularly keen on teaching you how to be a murderer, all right?" Jerome snapped, earning an arched brow. "Look, how about-" He let out a long breath, hand running through his hair. "How about you just let me take care of Malone? You know that would make this whole shenanigan a whole lot easier-" 

"Aren't you the one that wanted me to begin breaking the law with you?" Wayne piped up. "When we hung out before all you wanted to do was illegal crap for fun-- crap that could've gotten us in trouble." 

"Yeah, I did, but not-" Jerome chewed on the inside of his cheek, eyes averting. "Listen, that was when we first met, okay? I don't exactly want you to- this could... if you do this then you may-" 

"It's just one person-- it's not like I'm asking you to teach me how to go on a killing spree." Wayne muttered, letting up on his tone a little and trying to be more assuring, having a pretty good idea about what was going on. 

"My mom was supposed to be just one person." Jerome countered, glancing back at Wayne. 

"This is a murderer, Jerome-- it's a bad guy, all right? It's not like I'm going to kill an innocent-" 

"Well ma' sure as hell wasn't innocent with the shit she did, and I still came out pretty screwed up after-" 

"You're getting better," Wayne argued, and Jerome honestly felt a twinge of guilt at that considering Wayne didn't know what he'd done to those monks after Wayne for Alfred, and if the raven haired teen found out he doubted he'd be easily forgiving. "and you know from experience what this can do to a person-- I respect that, and it's because you have experience with this kind of thing I'm trusting you to be the one to teach me what I should and shouldn't do to make sure I don't cross the line." Jerome stayed quiet, studying Wayne broodingly. "If you're not comfortable with teaching me this then that's fine, okay? I understand that, and all I'm asking for is that you in return understand I have to do this if I ever want to be at peace." 

"This won't make you at peace," Jerome scoffed. "this will just make you-" 

"Not doing it will make things just keep getting worse than doing it would." 

Jerome looked Wayne over uncertainly, contemplating for a long while that seemed to drag by forever before finally deciding, "I'll keep teaching you defense first," Wayne perked up at that. "learning how to attack will come later, got it?" The younger boy nodded relieved. "I'm only doing this if you agree to tell me when you're going after Malone, which means I go with you, all right? I'll let you kill him on your own, but not without me tagging along to make sure you don't get your ass handed to you." 

"Agreed." Wayne instantly spoke while stretching out his palm, Jerome eying him over to make sure they had come to an understanding before shaking the offered hand. 

"And Wayne?" Jerome added, earning a tilted head at that. "Stop finding excuses to kiss me." 

Wayne gave an innocent grin, relieved Jerome was at least smirking as he scolded him; he was glad Jerome was seemingly back to himself. 

~*~*~*~ 

"I'm so sorry." Wayne apologized sheepishly, dabbing at Jerome's bruised jaw with an ice pack. 

"It's okay," Jerome snickered, still able to taste metallic on his tastebuds. "you've gotten better at punching." 

"At least we know training has been paying off." Wayne offered with a guilt-ridden smile. 

"Just try to not break my nose." Jerome scoffed, earning a meek nod. 

"So have you heard about the recent ice attacks?" Wayne asked, keeping the ice pressed up against Jerome's skin. 

Jerome gave a hum of confirmation. "First some chick tries to set Gotham on fire, now a guy's trying to freeze it over; lovely city, eh?" 

"Honestly sometimes I want to move out to Smallville." 

Jerome's nose scrunched. "That boring ol' country place? Or is it business place..." 

Wayne shrugged. "It seems to be a lot safer than here." 

"The less safe the more fun." Jerome countered with a grin, not earning a laugh and cocking his head to the side curiously. "Everything all right?" 

Wayne hesitated. "I... may possibly know who the ice-guy is," He set the ice pack down, eyes looking the other way. "sort of." 

Jerome certainly found that intriguing. "Oh?" 

Wayne rubbed his upper arm, chewing on his lower lip unsurely. "You remember the New Year's Masquerade?" 

"Where Jester attacked us?" Jerome mused, smile going sour. "Believe me-- I remember." He wondered if that prick even managed to stay alive or not... 

"Well I- um... I possibly... maybe... probably..." Wayne ran his fingers through his raven shaded locks. "... met him." 

Jerome raised a brow. "You did?" 

"There was a guy in a blue and white mask who approached me when I went out to the balcony," Wayne explained, taking the melted ice packet set to the side and dropping it into the cooler, taking out a spare one from the chilled container. "he talked kind of... strangely-- he said something about how nice Gotham looked covered in ice, and I'm pretty sure he tried to warn me about Jester." 

"Warn you about Jester?" Jerome questioned curiously, earning a nod of confirmation. "Maybe ice-guy isn't so bad then." 

"Yeah, there's a chance he's being manipulated or something," Wayne agreed broodingly. "which means when we're with this Malone case we should investigate Mr. Freeze's," Wayne suggested afterwards. "I can't help but feel like there's more to this than just this guy going on a random rampage." 

"Mr. Freeze?" Jerome snickered amused. "Is that really the best name the papers could come up with?" 

"At least they didn't accidentally name say his name was Jerome 'Alaska.'" Wayne teased with a smirk, referring to a news anchor who had gotten an amusing typo. 

"Oh haha, very funny." Jerome scoffed a bit stiffly, Wayne cracking a smile at the defensiveness. "You ready to start training again?" 

Wayne perked up. "Yeah! What are we learning next?" 

"Hell if I know," Jerome admitted with a shrug. "I'm just making this shit up as I go." 

~*~*~*~ 

Despite more or less B.S.ing his teachings with stuff he'd just picked up along the way of surviving in the circus as a kid, Jerome was actually quite helpful when it came to learning how to kick ass-- even if he had gotten beaten up quite a few times in which the circumstances were against him. 

"You can't keep letting me pin you down," Jerome warned, holding Wayne's wrists against the floorboards. "the minute someone manages to get on top of you they have way too big of an opportunity to kill you." 

"You have really nice eyes." Wayne commented while staring up at the other. 

Jerome smirked as he cleared his throat; he was still getting used to Wayne's teasings. "Stop flirting and-" 

Wayne grinned, using Jerome's taken aback (vague) surprise to his advantage by knocking the ginger back with his knees, leaping forward before the taller one could get up and pinning the other underneath him, grinning down at the seventeen year old in his hold cheekily. "Didn't you say you should never let your opponent's words get to you?" Wayne inquired knowingly, looking all nice and proud with his success of coming out on top. 

Jerome briefly went quiet, emerald eyes locking with bluish gray ones. "Hells, your cute." 

Wayne felt his ears heat up. "Wha-" He tensed, feeling Jerome grab his hips and flip them back into their original position, the ginger holding down the glowering raven haired boy smugly. 

"Yeah, and you just ignored that rule," Jerome mused cockily, Wayne giving a grumble as the older one stood and helped the younger one up. "you're getting better, though." 

Wayne's glare disappeared at the praise. "So what's next?" 

"You've learned the basics of defense and attacking, so stealth and learning how to block someone out to where their words won't shake you up at all will be next," Jerome paused, studying Wayne's expression as he hesitantly added, "learning how to use typical weapons will come last." 

Wayne didn't falter. "How long?" 

"With how you're making my ass train you eleven hours every damn day?" Jerome mused, earning a vaguely sheepish laugh. "One more week before we can set out to kill Malone." 

~*~*~*~ 

"Stay in the shadows." Jerome instructed, arms crossed. 

"I am." Wayne snapped with a huff, finding stealth probably had to be the most frustrating strategy so far. 

"I can see your whole damn leg sticking out from your hiding place," Jerome scoffed with an amused smirk, Wayne letting out a long exhale. "you're not staying in the shadows." 

"Well I'm trying, okay?" Wayne grumbled, stomping out from the other side of the wardrobe and looking around for a different spot. 

"We just began an hour ago," Jerome waved off, Wayne glancing at him and crossing his arms defensively. "don't worry-- you should have it down by tonight." 

"Why do you get to be the expert at hiding?" Wayne muttered under his breath, earning a snicker. 

"I've had my share of having to hide is all." Jerome admitted vaguely, earning a curious stare. "Let's just say I had to find a hiding place pretty fast whenever ma' had one too many drinks." 

Wayne's expression fell. "Oh..." He looked Jerome over, frowning as the other gave a nonchalant shrug and casual grin. "You don't have to act like getting slapped the around wasn't a big deal-" 

"Eh, I'm over it," Jerome interjected, rubbing the back of his neck while giving a careless laugh, and while his laughter was usually a bit unsettling, it was always times like these when Wayne almost felt like the other was hiding something that the laughs were the most disturbing. "bitch got what was coming to her in the end in any case." Jerome shrugged off, Wayne's brow furrowing. 

"Jerome-" 

"Wanna' keep training or take a break?" Jerome interrupted, Wayne taking the hint and dropping the subject. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome had attempted to teach Wayne how to pay no mind to the simple words of your attacker so the fourteen year old could build up his resistance to being influenced, but Jerome had found he'd perhaps started out a bit... harshly. 

"Look-" Jerome sighed, not meaning to get Wayne all pissed off at him. 

"It's fine," Wayne murmured in an unconvincing tone. "let's just keep training." 

"Wayne-" 

"I have to build up a tolerance to being talked down, don't I?" Wayne persisted, earning an almost concerned stare. "It wouldn't do any good to start off soft-- you may as well just go at me now." 

Jerome chewed on the inside of his cheek, meeting Wayne's cold stare. "All right, but you know I didn't mean what I said, right?" Wayne stayed quiet. "I'm sure your dad tried his best to stop Malone-" 

"Good to know you don't really believe he was 'too much of a coward to grab Malone's weapon.'" Wayne quoted snappily, punching at Jerome and narrowly missing the other's nose. 

"I wasn't really saying he was at fault," Jerome reassured, blocking Wayne's second punch and giving the smaller boy a look. "I was just-" 

"I know," Wayne interrupted haughtily, kicking at Jerome and missing as the other stepped back to avoid his foot. "you were just trying to see how well I could handle verbal attacks." He sounded pissed despite his attempt at being nonchalant. 

"We need to take a break and talk." Jerome sighed, giving Wayne a disapproving stare as the younger one jabbed at his stomach, almost managing to get him. "Now." 

"No, we don't," Wayne objected, wanting to just keep training and growing more irritated with the way Jerome refused to fight back as he tried and failed to hit the other. "we'll take a break at lunchtime like always-- until then we keep training." 

Jerome grabbed Wayne's fist in midair before it could collide with his cheek. "We're taking a break." 

Wayne's teeth gritted. "No, we're not." He argued stubbornly, swinging his other fist at Jerome's jaw. 

Jerome narrowly managed to catch the second fist by its wrist. "Yes, we are." 

Wayne's lips pursed, and for a second Jerome figured was going to back down... 

... and then Wayne rammed his face forward, and hells did it hurt as Jerome wondered if the little shit had just given him a broken nose. 

Jerome stumbled back, releasing Wayne's wrist while giving a groan. "What the hell?!" 

"You're the one that told me to never let my guard down." Wayne defended, hesitating as he noticed Jerome's bleeding nose due to feelings a twinge of brief guilt before swallowing it down and trying to do a roundhouse kick, which proved to be a poor decision with how he hadn't mastered that move very well at all, Jerome grasping his ankle with ease and yanking. 

Wayne let out a noise as his foot on the ground gave out from underneath him, slipping backwards and bracing himself for the impact, definitely not expecting Jerome to wrap an arm around his hip to make sure he didn't hit the ground like the ginger did and staring up at the unamused Jerome quizzically. 

"Do you want me to train you or not?" Jerome questioned, staring down at the glaring Wayne without his usual smile. 

"I do," Wayne answered, wrapping his leg around Jerome's and quickly yanking it back before the other could react, managing to throw Jerome off balance and pin him down. "so stop talking and train me." 

Jerome held in his annoyed snicker, instead using his knees to shove Wayne off of him, standing before the younger one could pounce him again, gripping the smaller male's upper arms and locking them in a hold as he shoved Wayne against the wall firmly, doing so carefully nonetheless. 

"I'm training you, right?" Jerome questioned in a much sterner tone than usual, Wayne struggling to get out of his grasp. "Right?" 

Wayne glowered up at him, pausing his squirming and grumbling, "Right." 

"So that means when I tell you to stop and take a break so we can talk, then we stop and take a-" 

"I don't need to talk," Wayne interjected, gazer averting as he more or less fumed. "I'm not mad." 

"My ass you aren't." Jerome scoffed, tightening his grasp on Wayne's arms as the other tried to jerk away, being sure to not bruise the raven haired boy. "Just-" 

"I don't feel like training today," Wayne informed, crossing his arms the best he could. "I want to leave." 

"Wayne-" 

"I don't want to talk right now." 

Jerome went quiet at that, looking Wayne over a bit more obviously concerned than he would've wanted to be as he contemplated clearly worriedly, before letting out a long exhale and pulling back, releasing his grip. "Okay." 

~*~*~*~ 

"Did I break it?" Wayne piped up unsurely while laying a folder on the coffee table, watching as Jerome placed a bandage over the bridge of his nose. 

"Nah, it's just kinda' sore is all." Jerome shrugged off, wincing as he patted said bandage into place. 

Wayne furrowed his brow, noticing the bloodied up tissues on the coffers table. "Oh..." 

Jerome flashed a grin, casually waving off, "It's fine; I've had a lot worse." 

Well that certainly didn't make Wayne feel any better as he only repeated, "Oh." 

Jerome pressed an ice cube wrapped in plastic against his nose, hoping the ache would subside soon. "How are you doing?" 

Wayne shrugged, rubbing his upper arm. "I'm okay." He went quiet for a few lengthy seconds, eventually sighing, "I should apologize-" 

"Eh, it's fine." Jerome assured nonchalantly. 

"No, it's not," Wayne interjected, Jerome's eyebrows arching. "I acted out irrationally and violently, and that's something I need to learn to control," He insisted, not meeting Jerome's stare. "I understand you were trying to teach me that, and I apologize for quickly acting out of rage rather than considering both the circumstances and consequences." Jerome smirked at the overly proper apology. "I agree that you could've started out with softer verbal attacks and gradually risen to harsher ones, although it's still my own fault for unreasonably taking what you said to heart since you made it clear what you were saying wasn't something you agreed with, much less believed." Wayne glanced at Jerome, offering an ice pack for the other's nose. "I shouldn't of punched you and used the excuse of only doing so for training when it was obviously done out of an impulse, and I promise this won't happen again," Wayne brought his hand back as the other took the ice pack. "I understand if you're upset at me, and while I would prefer continuing our training sessions I will not hold it against you if you would rather not." 

Jerome snickered, Wayne's eyebrows raising at the carefree laugh. "Nah, I'm not upset-- like I said: I've had worse." 

"Just because you've had worse doesn't mean it justifies my cruel behavior." 

"Cruel behavior? You're about as cruel as a puppy." Jerome chuckled amusedly. "Next time you wanna' apologize or whatever you can just say you're sorry, ya' know," He added, flashing a grin. "You don't have to give the whole long and proper oh so fancy apology." 

"I was just trying to give a genuine apology." 

"Saying a simple 'sorry' is genuine enough." 

Wayne let out a long and frustrated exhale. "You shouldn't shrug off my actions just because we're friends," He scolded, Jerome's eyes rolling and only making Wayne more aggravated. "if I do something wrong it's all right to be mad at me, you know; just because you've done a few- um... bad- things doesn't mean I'm never the bad guy." 

"I've murdered people, Wayne," Jerome reminded with a scoff. "that's not exactly the same as a simple punch." 

"Still doesn't mean I should've punched you." 

"I've taken you hostage- what, three times now? So how about we just call it even?" Wayne parted his lips to object Jerome's offer. "I get it-- your apology was sincere, and it won't happen again, all right? Honestly you don't need to make a big deal of it all things considered; it was a complicated situation." He added casually, lounging back on the sofa. "Just ease up and lay off yourself a little, will ya'? You get boring when you go and beat up yourself up over petty things too hard." 

Despite Wayne being a tad bit annoyed at the nonchalance, he gave a nod, feeling a bit more reassured at that. "So when would you like to begin training again?" He inquired, taking papers he'd laid on the coffee table and holding them out. 

Jerome quirked a brow, taking the offered folder. "What are these?" 

"Matches Malone's files." Wayne informed, Jerome blinking and staring at him taken aback. "Alfred gave them to me, and it seems we'll be having to keep the fact I'm going to be the one to kill Malone a secret." 

Jerome really didn't like where this whole thing was going... 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne blocked Jerome's punch, side stepping his kick and managing to swerve around the ginger, hopping on top of Jerome's back and locking him in a hold, tensing as the older one simply started to fall backwards at that in attempts to pin Wayne underneath his back and against the floor, Wayne quickly letting go and taking a step to the side while kicking Jerome's calves, managing to make the taller teen lose his footing and hit the ground, Wayne triumphantly pinning the other down and giving a cocky smirk. 

"I wouldn't mind getting you in this position." Jerome teased, trying to fluster Wayne up in order to distract him just enough to knock him off. 

Wayne kept Jerome's wrists held against the floorboard as the other suddenly attempted to yank his hands away to no avail, the fourteen year old grinning cheekily. "Nice try." 

"Too bad you couldn't do this and save your parents in the alleyway, hm?" Jerome hummed, once again trying to rile Wayne up as he took his chance to kick the other off of him, brow arching as Wayne used his legs to keep him held down. 

"Not gonna' work." Wayne informed proudly, Jerome relieved he hadn't faltered and had taken the comment much better than the first time they'd tried that. 

"Can't blame me for trying." Jerome chuckled while slyly maneuvering so he was able to switch their positions, Wayne ending up underneath him for only a brief second before he managed to shove Jerome back with his feet, both of them standing quickly, Wayne grabbing a nearby glass of water and splashing it onto Jerome's face. 

"Dangit, Wayne!" Jerome huffed, smirking nonetheless as he wiped the water out of his eyes, seeing Wayne was gone when he blinked his vision back into place. 

Wayne had certainly gotten better at hiding. 

Jerome cautiously walked around, warily glancing behind the couch before carefully moving onto a nearby table with absolutely no one under the tablecloth, afterwards looking behind a pile of boxes, next moving onto checking behind the door, frowning whence finding no sight of Wayne. 

"Where-" Jerome said to himself in a murmur, blinking as Wayne popped out from an armchair and held a piece of cardboard in the shape of a knife against Jerome's throat. 

Jerome wasn't sure whether or not he particularly liked how similar Wayne's little smirk resembled his own as the smaller one said, "I win." 

Jerome also wasn't sure if he liked the fact that meant Wayne was ready. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Selina agreed to get me a firearm to kill Malone with." Wayne spoke quietly, not wanting to risk Alfred overhearing. 

Jerome nearly frowned at how casual Wayne was talking about murder. "Yeah?" He chuckled, not showing the tinge of discomfort at seeing and hearing Wayne act like... anything other than Wayne. 

Wayne nodded. "Would-" He hesitated, chewing on his lower lip unsurely. 

Jerome could tell Wayne wasn't sure on whether or not he should say something, and that unsettled Jerome even more, because Jerome was after all Jerome fricking Valeska, which meant Jerome had done unspeakable things, so if there was something Wayne wasn't sure he should ask HIM of all people, then whatever Wayne wanted to say probably had to be pretty bad. 

"What?" Jerome questioned nonetheless, not wanting to risk Wayne going and trying to do anything unexpected when they went to kill Malone. 

"Would it-" Wayne gave a sigh, and for once he didn't avert his gaze from Jerome's-- he locked it. "Would it be a bad idea for make Matches pay for what he's done?" 

Jerome forced his smile to grow rather than fall, trying to act normal as he laughed, "You're gonna' kill the guy, Wayne," Yet how the hell was he supposed to act normal when Wayne was acting anything but? "exactly how else would you make him pay?" 

Wayne didn't look away. "After what he's done?" His tone was sour, and his voice was bitter, and his words were laced with venom. "I'd say he deserves a little more than just going and having the privilege of quickly dying." 

Jerome's smile did fall at that-- at how suddenly unmerciful Wayne sounded. "Yeesh, Wayne... are you wanting to torture the guy or something?" Jerome half joked in hopes Wayne wouldn't nod, but he did. "No." 

It was Wayne's turn to be surprised at the instant answer against him being violent, particularly because this was in fact Jerome. "Huh?" 

"You want to make him bleed out? Fine," Jerome offered, this being the most serious he'd looked since Wayne had met him. "but you don't stay and watch, and you sure as hell don't do any more than that." 

"But-" 

"No buts." Jerome interjected, Wayne raising a brow at the peculiar sternness. "You wanted me to tell you whenever you are and aren't going to far to make sure you don't go down the wrong path? There-- I'm telling you from experience that doing anything more than making Malone bleed out- at the most- is crossing the line." 

"He's more than likely killed dozens of people," Wayne reminded a bit sorely. "he doesn't deserve to have something he did to his victims done to him just once; Malone needs to be punished." 

"Dying would be a hell of a lot of punishment-" 

"You're not listening!" Wayne accused, Jerome going quiet at that. "Just his one death wouldn't make up for all the people he's killed," Wayne insisted, not at all liking how Jerome was so against this-- how a damn serial killer was against this. "he deserves to have a more severe punishment after all the lives he's ruined." 

"You're not killing Malone for all the lives he's ruined," Jerome argued knowingly. "you're just killing him for two lives he's taken away from you," This was about where Wayne's eyes would begin to gloss up, but they didn't. "you're punishing him for ruining YOUR life, not everyone else's, and if you use the excuse of acting like you're doing this for all the other people he's attacked then you're not going to be able to come back from this." Jerome locked their gazes, trying to emphasize his point. "Don't go down a road you can't turn back on." 

This is where Wayne would begin to cry, but he didn't. Wayne was behaving cold, and bitter, and like everything he usually wasn't, and Jerome was beginning to regret agreeing to help a damn fourteen year old with murder. 

When Jerome had wanted to corrupt Wayne and get the kiddo to be like him for fun, he hadn't been able to do it. Now he was trying to keep Wayne safe from walking down a bad path and he suddenly couldn't do that, either. 

It was hilarious in a way. Funny, honestly. 

"He killed both of my-" Wayne swallowed, eyes shutting as he gradually regained himself, jaw clenching before he eventually reopened his eyes and met Jerome's stare. "One death still doesn't make up for two no matter how you try to put it, much less dozens." 

Jerome hoped Wayne wasn't saying what it sounded like he was saying. "Are you saying you wanna' kill someone close to him or something?" 

"What? No." Wayne answered truthfully, Jerome feeling relief wash over him at that. "I don't want anyone but him to pay for his mistakes, and while I'll consider your words, I'm afraid I'm not about to just let this man get away with having a simple death-" 

"You want him to be tortured?" Jerome interrupted, Wayne going silent. "Fine-- I'll torture him," Wayne's eyes widened at the offer. "but you don't watch or listen, and you give him a mercy-kill afterwards, got it?" 

Wayne considered the offer, still not quite used to Jerome being this... serious. 

"Got it." Wayne agreed softly. 

~*~*~*~ 

"So Alfred doesn't know Wayne will be killing Malone instead?" Jonathan inquired, earning a nod. "You're going to get kicked out, you know," Jerome stayed quiet. "he's going to say you're a bad influence," A pause. "and while I hate to say it, I'd agreed" Jerome glanced at him with a slight glare. "You, me, Selina, Ivy-" Jonathan gave a shrug, leaning back against the stack of hay in the abandoned barn they sat in. "-we're all bad influences." 

Jerome took a sip of the moonshine Jonathan had given him. "Can I ask you something?" 

"You just did, but yes-- go on." 

Jerome stared down at the scattered golden straws of hay on the worn down wooden floorboards. "You're good at predictions and shit, right?" He took another sip of the alcohol. "Does it seem like Wayne will turn out-" 

"Like you?" Jonathan offered knowingly, Jerome quieting. "It's a very real possibility. Jonathan confirmed, Jerome feeling sick at that. "I doubt he'd have the same dark humor you do, though," Jonathan elaborated, mixing a few liquids together experimentally with the homemade advanced chemist kit in front of him. "he'd be just as merciless as you, but a lot colder and less talkative," Jonathan swirled together the smoking fluids in the small measuring tube. "I mean, you two are practically Yin and Yang, after all." 

Jerome set the moonshine down as a bitter taste began to linger on his mouth. "Would we stay..." He trailed off. 

Jonathan glanced up at Jerome, eying the one with his gaze averted broodingly before pushing his chemicals to the side, keeping his eyes on the ginger intrigued. "Would you stay friends?" He guessed curiously. 

Jerome swallowed dryly, giving a nod. "Yeah." 

Jonathan pondered briefly. "Most likely," He assured, Jerome meeting his eyes again at that. "in all honesty, whether he does or does not become a criminal, I do hope you'll stick with him." 

Jerome's eyes narrowed. "Why?" 

"Because if you don't I'm willing to bet you'll go back to not- and pardon my French here- giving a shit about anyone," Jonathan answered bluntly. "and I can only imagine what sort of chaos you'd inflict on this city if you lost the one thing rather evidently keeping you grounded." Jonathan tilted his head musingly, adding more to himself than Jerome under his breath, "Then again, that would be quite an interesting show to see unfold..." 

~*~*~*~ 

"You smell like alcohol." Wayne commented, trying to hide his concern. 

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna' try to kiss you like I did on New Year's," Jerome scoffed, ignoring Wayne's worried stare. "I'm not THAT drunk." 

"Why were you drinking?" Wayne questioned with a furrowed brow. "What happened?" 

"I was thirsty." Jerome waved off nonchalantly, Wayne eying him unconvinced. "I've murdered people-- having one bottle of alcohol isn't that bad all things considered." 

"Where are you even going to get alcohol at?" Wayne interrogated, knowing Jerome hadn't snuck a bottle of the mansion's wine. 

"I didn't go anywhere-" 

"Don't lie," Wayne huffed, arms crossing. "you have hay on the back of your jeans, and I heard you stumbling back inside the house like a drunk." 

Jerome scoffed. "Nice work, detective Wayne." He snickered with an eye roll, walking over to the staircase and narrowing his eyes as Wayne sped walk in front of him, blocking the steps. "Move." 

"What's wrong?" 

"Nothing-" 

"You're upset," Wayne persisted knowingly. "now what's wrong?" 

"I'm just tired," Jerome lied, trying to shoo Wayne out of the way to no avail. "so if you'll just let me get to my damn room-" 

"Jerome-" 

"If you're gonna' drill me you could at least wait until the morning when I'm not so-" 

"Intoxicated?" 

Jerome's teeth gritted. "Get out of the way." 

"I'll 'get out of the way' as soon as you tell me what's wrong." 

"What's wrong is you're being a stubborn little arse and not moving." Jerome laughed in annoyance, more or less shoving Wayne out of his way, nonetheless being sure to not be too violent with said shove as he was sure he didn't shoo Wayne away hard enough to bruise. 

Wayne rubbed his vaguely sore shoulder that had bumped into the wall whence being gently, but firmly, pushed, glowering at Jerome as the other walked up the stairs, giving a sigh as the intoxicated seventeen year old tripped drunkenly, going up to help the objecting ginger up the rest of the steps before being shrugged off, Jerome going to his room and leaving the somewhat pissed off and very concerned Wayne at the top of the stairs. 

At least they could always just talk in the morning... 

~*~*~*~ 

Alfred was adjusting his necktie when a babbling Wayne came sprinting into the room, brow arching at how frantic the young boy looked as he let out strings of incomprehensible words. 

"Oi, calm down now," Alfred soothed worriedly, walking over to the anxious Wayne and placing a hand on his upper arm, briefly rubbing up and down in a calming fashion. "what's wrong?" 

Wayne swallowed thickly, head shaking as he tried to regain himself, stomach feeling sick. "Jerome's gone!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> diana-the-peacemaker has been featured on here a few times before for her Valeyne art, and she's recently made a great Gotham Kids Pokemon AU, which you can see below 
> 
> http://diana-the-peacemaker.tumblr.com/post/140998361841/gotham-with-pokemon-the-children-go-first 
> 
> and she even made another lovely art piece with this AU involving a bit of Valeyne cuddling, which you can also see below! 
> 
> http://diana-the-peacemaker.tumblr.com/post/141038166361/pokemongotham-fluff


	24. Cold Laughter

"I'm sure he's absolutely fine, Master B," Alfred assured, driving down a remote road with a gradual pace as Wayne scanned the visible alleyways for any sight of the ginger. "although he is a criminal-- perhaps he decided it was time to move on from living a risky life of being in a law abiding household before one of us ended up turning him in." 

"Jerome and I got into a fight before he left," Wayne revealed from the passenger seat, not turning to meet his butler's gaze as the other glanced at him with a quirked brow. "he probably left because of that." The raven haired boy tapped his foot up and down against the car floorboard anxiously. "Besides, Jerome's mental health was getting better," He continued to counter, perking up at the sight of red hair. "so I doubt either of us would've ever had to report him." Wayne sighed, realizing the ginger wasn't Jerome, disappointed in the fact it was only a red haired stranger. 

"What exactly did you two get in a fight about?" Alfred questioned with narrowed eyes. 

Wayne didn't precisely feel like revealing Jerome had been drunk and getting home late considering he'd rather not have Alfred up and decide they weren't going to search for the seventeen year old anymore; the older man was convinced Jerome was bad enough of an influence already, even if the taller teenager no longer wanted to coax Wayne into breaking the law with him, and Wayne didn't want to give Alfred a reason to believe that more so. 

"He was tired, but I wouldn't let him go to bed," Wayne answered, and it wasn't exactly a lie... "I was a little worried something was wrong since he was acting kind of funny-- that's all." ... it just wasn't the complete truth. 

Alfred tensed, nonetheless calmly murmuring, "Acting funny?" Oh dear... was Jerome slipping up from murdering Theo's men? 

Wayne refused to admit Jerome had been drinking. "Tired-funny," Wayne replied casually. "as in he was behaving a bit out of it due to being exhausted." 

Alfred had been serving this boy's family for years, and he knew damn well when this child he'd helped raise since birth was hiding something. 

It sounded like Jerome was acting out, and this whole thing was just a big jumbled up mess with how Alfred figured the seventeen year old was slipping up about the murders the guardian had urged him to commit, while Wayne was worried Jerome was mad at him about shrugging off his advice and insisting Malone had to be punished with something other than just being given a quick kill, when in reality Jerome had decided to leave before he went and ended up influencing probably one of the only innocent kiddos left in Gotham. 

Alfred was convinced Jerome was going to reveal their little deal to Wayne and ruin his relationship with the adopted child, Wayne was concerned Jerome was possibly dead considering this was after all Gotham, and Jerome was wondering what the hell he was even doing as he looked for a frick'n place to stay. 

Jonathan hadn't been at the abandoned barn surrounded by the cornfield he'd said he'd always be at, Selina was Ra knows where with how she'd been sneaking off to wherever she'd been going lately, and he had little to no idea where Ivy stayed on the streets. 

It was forty degrees Fahrenheit, the slippery hard ground he was sitting on was iced over and cold, the cardboard boxes he'd tried to put together up against the edge of a building to keep him dry were leaking while being not at all big enough to cover much of him, and he hadn't eaten all day. 

To make matters even more unfortunate, said cardboard (which was poorly taped together) eventually peeled off of the edge of the building, resulting in a puddle of chilly frosted water splashing down on Jerome as the little shelter he'd had was lost. 

Peachy. 

Jerome gave a pissed off laugh of disbelief, standing up and walking off with sloshy steps through multiple puddles, deciding to look for somewhere else to stay. 

That's when an absolutely exquisitely horrible idea came to mind as Jerome remembered the address of a little place he'd researched after getting out of Arkham-- a place belonging to a man he had originally intended to kill. 

Jim Gordon opened the door, brow arching at the sight of a soaking Jerome surrounded by a puddle of water on his doorstep. 

Jerome was going to stay with the man that had gotten him thrown in Arkham... if he'd let him. 

Before either of the two males could utter a word, Lee was already ushering the amusedly smirking Jerome inside. 

"Lee-" Jim started uncertainly, and yeah, sure-- Jim had more or less forgiven Jerome after seeing the other risk his life for Wayne, but that didn't mean Jim particularly wanted a serial killer staying with them. 

"Go take a hot shower before you catch a cold." Lee instructed, shooing Jerome inside the bathroom. 

"Lee-" Jim repeated more firmly, the bathroom door already closing behind Jerome. 

"There's washcloths and towels under the sink." Lee stated outside the door, Jim letting out an exasperated breath. 

"Lee." Jim spoke up more firmly, earning a glance after the sound of running water started up, the detective staring at his fiancée vaguely upset. 

"Did you see how bad he was shivering?" Lee defended instantly, arms crossing. "His clothes had bits of frozen frost on them-- he needed to warm up before he went and got pneumonia or something." 

This unprovoked bickering between the pair wasn't new at all; ever since Oswald had gotten sent to Arkham, Jim had been watching his own back even more, and needless to say it was putting stress on their relationship. 

True, Jim and Lee hadn't ever had a reputation of seeing quite eye to eye, but he was on edge and she was adjusting to carrying a growing life-form inside of her. Now they argued with one another more than ever, and the way they used to negotiate or find an in between stance to meet one another halfway was lessening. 

They continued to argue in hushed voices- as they'd been doing for many minutes- after hearing the water shut off. 

Lee would usually find a way to patiently show Jim she was right when she was, yet she also understood their were times Jim was the right one, and when doing so she would respectfully try to see from his point of view. 

But right now she was having none of that whatsoever. 

"My apartment, my rules." Lee finally resorted, arms crossing; just because she let Jim put down her address for his home address at work since he'd been moving out from Barbara's to his own place didn't mean he was on the lease, even if he did help out a bit with groceries and utilities. 

"I could call the GCPD on him," Jim countered stubbornly, and he wasn't being cruel or anything of the sort-- he was just looking out for the woman he probably cared a little too much about. "as far as they're concerned he's still a wanted criminal." 

"You told me you two had settled things." Lee reminded just as stubbornly, arms crossing. 

"Yeah, and by settling things I meant coming to an understanding Wayne wasn't in danger around him," Jim argued in a kept hushed voice. "but guess what?" Lee gave him a look, Jim nonetheless continuing, "We're not Wayne! He wouldn't have a problem with murdering either one of us in our sleep! Heck, he probably already wants to kill me!" He added in a low whisper. 

"No, he wouldn't, because that would have a negative impact on the relationship between him and Wayne," Lee knowingly replied quietly. "I would know this sort of thing, Jim-" She paused, locking their eyes while reminding, "-I AM a psychologist, you know." 

"I don't see why you want him to stay here so badly-" 

"The poor thing was drenched and probably seconds away from catching a cold!" Lee snapped, keeping her voice down nonetheless. "What do you want to do? Just throw him back outside?" 

They continued to argue in hushed whispers, going quiet as the sound of the bathroom door clicking open met their ears, Lee giving a warm smile and Jim clenching his jaw while crossing his arms. 

"We were just about to have lunch," Lee informed, Jerome already having a pretty good idea about what had just gone in between the pair with the way that Jim was side eying the ignoring Lee. "are you hungry?" 

Jerome smirked, rubbing a towel through his hair to dry it, glancing at Jim while contemplating on the question. 

Jerome knew he should be polite and leave-- he really did. 

Instead, Jerome decided to have fun, and cheekily said, "Sure." This would certainly be entertaining. 

Wayne, on the other hand, figured he was going to be eating lunch alone since Alfred wasn't hungry... 

... 

... until Selina showed up. 

"You should have your firearm for Malone within a week." Selina informed, helping herself to an apple without bothering to ask-- not that Wayne minded, of course. "Where's Little Red Riding Hood?" 

Carrot-top, Ron Weasley, Little Red Riding Hood... Wayne wondered if Selina would ever run out of names for Jerome. 

"He left." Wayne muttered, staring down at his plate of an untouched sandwich with clear concern written all over his face. 

Selina arched a brow, hopping atop the table surface to sit down. "Left?" 

Wayne nodded, pushing his plate towards the curly haired girl after deciding he didn't have an appetite. "He came back drunk last night and then left." 

"Drunk?" Selina muttered with a frown, taking the offered food and earning a nod. "Does he drink a lot or something? He got drunk on New Year's Eve, too." 

Wayne shrugged. "I've known him since... well, a while before last Halloween-- almost a year... and he's only had alcohol twice since then, so it doesn't seem like he's a drinker, but-" Wayne swallowed dryly. "I'm just- I'm hoping he's all right is all." 

"Have you looked for him any?" 

"Yeah, Alfred and I went searching from six A.M. until one P.M.," Wayne stared down at the patterns in the wooden table below him. "but we couldn't find him anywhere, though." 

"I'll help you look." Selina assured while more or less stuffing the rest of the sandwich into her mouth, Wayne perking up and meeting her eyes. "I mean, I have to go somewhere later, but I've got some free time." 

"Where exactly is this 'somewhere' you've been going off to lately?" Wayne interrogated at that, still trying to figure out just what Selina had been oh so secretly up to lately. 

"Nunyah." 

Wayne stared at Selina for a long, long while, his brow furrowing as he tilted his head confused. "Nun...yah..?" What the hell was nunyah? 

"Nunyah' business." Selina clarified, hopping off of the table and onto the floor, Wayne's eyes rolling. "Come on, let's go find orangey." 

The pair searched until ten at night, and sadly Selina was set to go wherever it was she kept sneaking off to at eleven. 

"You could wait here," Selina offered, actually feeling kind of bad with how upset Wayne looked. "I could send a friend or something down here to help you continue looking if you want." 

"I'm going to take a break," Wayne interjected more tired than mad. "would you be all right with just coming over sometime tomorrow and helping me search some more?" 

"I can stop by at nine, and I'd have to leave at one, but then I could come back around two and leave again at four, but I'd be able to meet up afterwards at about five, and wouldn't have to leave again until eleven." 

That was... oddly specific. 

Was Selina going to some sort of appointments or something? This was just making Wayne more curious! 

Wayne decided to not pry though. "Sounds good." He agreed, stretching out his palm, Selina hesitating before shaking it, Wayne frowning as she winced when he squeezed her hand. "Are you-" 

"I'm fine," Selina quickly assured, jerking her hand back, rubbing just underneath her knuckles and looking away. "I just-" She paused briefly. "I just accidentally burnt my fingers is all." 

Now Wayne was even more concerned. "How?" 

"I was cooking." Selina waved off, turning on her heel and walking away before anymore could be said, Wayne's lips parting to question her further as she instead piped up, "I really have to go now-- it's almost nine," She began to sprint off to wherever the hell her destination was. "see you tomorrow!" 

Well there went that conversation. 

Wayne walked back home alone, and it wasn't the homeless individuals he saw on the way back that made him uncomfortable-- he'd found they were in fact some of the kindest and best people you could meet, and he had been surprised at that considering barely anyone else in Gotham showed more than an inch of civility. 

It wasn't the rather shady men in trench coats that walked by every once in a while while being sure to send a glare the kiddo's way if he dared to glance at them that made him uncomfortable, either. 

Heck, it wasn't even the occasional stray dogs that would growl at Wayne like he was chow that made him uncomfortable. 

It was the fact there was an unusual amount of ice glazed over walls and sidewalks when it was the beginning of March that made Wayne uncomfortable. 

It was the realization that the "Mr. Freeze" criminal was probably not too far behind from these markings that made Wayne walk home faster. 

And it was Victor Fries that noted Wayne from a distance, the criminal recalling his little deal between him and a generous doctor offering him a favor for a favor. 

Victor sighed strained; he'd never frozen a kid before... the only people he'd usually freeze was jerks, criminals, and anyone that caught him doing so. 

Jester swung an arm around Victor's shoulders, flashing a grin. "So is the little runt going to have death by ice or death by knife?" He snickered, twirling a blade in between his fingertips. "Because if you're getting cold feet- pun intended- then I'll be more than glad to do the deed." 

Wayne found that night was a cold, cold night. 

The next morning Jerome had decided he'd very evidently already overdone his stay at Lee's, even if he'd only been there for one night, and he knew that with how Jim was staring him down across the dinner table as Lee kept giving the detective a disapproving look, Jerome shoveling food down to stop himself from going and saying something that would result in an ass-kicking from the cop. 

"How long do you plan on staying here, Jerome?" Jim finally spoke, Jerome looking like a damn chipmunk with how antsy he'd been stuffing breakfast into his mouth. 

"Six months." Jerome joked through a mouthful of food, Lee choking on her coffee at that and Jim looking like he'd just been caught for murder with the expression he gave. "Kidding." Jerome assured, Lee smiling as Jim's expression remained stern, causing Jerome to reassuringly add, "I can leave after I'm done eating." 

Now there's the answer Jim wanted to hear. 

"You don't have to leave so soon," Lee replied, Jim giving her a look and Jerome trying to not snicker. "I mean, if you'd like you could stay a month." 

Jerome arched a brow-- wow, a whole month? That was actually pretty generous. 

"A month?" Jim scoffed, Lee elbowing him gently. 

"I'm good," Jerome denied before any arguing could be started between the couple. "I was planning on leaving today in any case," As much as he'd love to see how fun it would be to see how badly he could ruin their little relationship just for shits and giggles, he doubted Wayne would approve. "thanks for letting me spend the night, though," Then again, he was probably never even going to see Wayne again considering the whole reason he'd left was to not risk influencing the boy by hanging out with him. "great breakfast by the way." He added charmingly, giving a charismatic wink as Jim rolled his eyes, the ginger walking over to the sink with his dishes. 

"Feel free to drop by anytime you need a hot meal or a place to rest," Lee said with a friendly smile. "the same goes for Selina, Ivy, and Jonathan, too-- you all are always welcomed here." 

"What? No-" Jim objected, Lee softly swatting his arm and making him go quiet. 

Jerome smirked, giving a nod of thanks while grabbing his folded clothes atop the counter, sending an oh so cocky grin Jim's way. "Oh, and Jim? Thanks for letting me borrow one of your suits." 

Jerome knew damn well Jim wouldn't be letting him wear his clothing if Lee hadn't convinced him to. "You're welcome." Jim forced out irritatedly, Lee glaring at him as Jerome left. "What?" Jim snapped defensively. 

Jerome wasn't exactly sure as to where he'd stay next, although he found that was the least of his problems whence being greeted with a man just outside Lee's apartment building, ice-inducing weapon being aimed at the red haired teenager. 

What- 

"Where are you hiding Bruce Wayne?!" 

Oh hells. 

Jerome gave a nervous chuckle, eying the peculiar ice... ray... whatcha'macallit... thing. 

Why the hell did Wayne have to go and get his ass in so much damn trouble? 

Okay, sure, Jerome was usually the one that got Wayne into trouble, but to be fair he was pretty sure whatever was going on right now was all on Wayne. 

So how the hell had Wayne gone and pissed off Mr. Large Order of Fries off so damn much? 

It probably would've been best for Jerome to consider his words before speaking. 

"For a guy who likes ice, you've got a bit of a hot temper, eh?" 

Jerome- as usual- wasn't careful with his words, though. 

"Where is he?!" Fries repeated, cranking up his machine. 

Oh great, it looked like Wayne had REALLY pissed this guy off apparently. Not fun. 

"What? Not a fan of puns?" Jerome laughed, trying to ease the tension. 

It didn't work. 

Meanwhile, Wayne and Selina had run out of places to look. 

"Why don't we just get Ivy and Jonathan to come help?" Wayne suggested, being desperate enough to even check the inside of a dumpster. 

"Jerome may be trash, but he's not that bad." Selina commented as Wayne closed said dumpster's lid, earning an unamused glance. "Besides, I doubt Ivy and Jonathan would be able to help much right now." 

"Huh?" Wayne questioned taken aback, brow raising. "Why?" 

"It's a long story." 

"Well it's about five in the afternoon, which means we've got six hours of searching left," Wayne reminded, continuing to scan their surroundings for any sight of Jerome. "so I've got a long time to listen." 

"You honestly don't know what Ivy and Jonathan have been up to since they left?" 

"I wouldn't particularly be asking if I did." 

"Whatever. Short and sweet explanation? Ivy's gotten mixed up with some bad people called the Gilzeans who have been forcing her to make illegal plant products, and Jonathan's asshole of an abusive grandma got him back under her care after authorities caught him on the streets." 

"What?" Wayne certainly hadn't expected that. "Why didn't you tell me-" 

"I've been dealing with my own shit, Wayne, and it's hard enough to do that while keeping up with other peoples crappy lives, so how about you try to check on your damn friends instead of relying on me to do that for both of us?" Selina snapped, Wayne blinking surprised before pursing his lips in annoyance, teeth afterwards gritting a bit angrily, his lips parting to give a snap back at the rather harsh reply, his patience thin with how aggravated he was considering they'd found no sight of Jerome, yet his expression returning to surprise before he could even utter a single word as Selina abruptly let out a noise of pain and suddenly knelt down dizzily, clenching her arms, and oh hells-- it felt like her arms were on fire. "Shit-" Selina choked out, Wayne staring at her taken aback before worriedly kneeling beside her quickly, carefully reaching out to touch her shoulder concerned and instantly drawing back as she winced at said touch. 

"Selina, what-" Wayne started, trying to peel back her sleeves to see what was going on and having his hand slapped away, eyebrows quirking upwards as Selina abruptly stood and dashed off, Wayne standing before running after her. "Selina!" Oh great, what the hell was going on now? 

This had been happening to Selina a lot lately-- the nausea, double vision, tingling limbs, numb legs, prickles that felt like fire on her skin... it was always bad, but it had never hurt THIS much. 

She had to get help from- 

Selina let out a grunt as she tripped over her own feet, too dizzy to run properly, the concrete she collided with not helping her pain in the least as Wayne caught up to her. 

Lovely. Absolutely fricki'n lovely. 

"What's wrong?" Wayne asked while helping Selina limp over to the side of a building a few yards away so she wasn't in the middle of the walkway. 

"Nothing-" Selina lied through clenched teeth, feeling like she was going to black out. 

"If you don't tell me I'll call an ambulance." Wayne warned, bringing out his cellphone. 

"Don't-" Selina nearly pleaded, grabbing at the phone only to miss, vision blurring in and out. 

"What's going on, Selina?" 

Selina's ears were ringing. "Just-" She swallowed dryly, eyes squeezing shut. "Just gimme' a minute, okay? I need-" It got worse, pain increasing. "I need a minute to regain myself is all, all right?" Wayne stared at her unconvinced, thumb resting on the "9" key of his phone broodingly. "Just don't-" Dangit, why the hell wasn't this going away yet? This was the longest one of her flashes had lasted. "Don't call an ambulance." She could always wait this out before and end up fine, so she'd be able to do that like always, right..? 

Right? 

Selina wasn't the only one in trouble. 

Jerome backed away cautiously from the approaching Mr. Freeze, hands up defensively. 

"Look, you checked the mansion and Wayne wasn't there, you've checked with me and he's not here, so I get you're having a bad day with being luckless in finding the kiddo, but I really don't know where the hell he is, all right? So how about you just put that down and chill out-" Jerome bargained, jumping back as a blast of ice hit dangerously close to his feet, continuing to walk backwards. 

"You're lying." Mr. Freeze accused, sending another jolt of ice less than a foot away from Jerome's shoes. 

"Listen, you obviously somehow know I have a reputation for watching out for the kiddo considering you've come to me looking for him, which means you know even if I did know where the little shit was I still wouldn't give him up, so why bother trying to-" Jerome stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over his own feet as sharp shards of ice sprayed only a few inches away from him. 

"Where. is. he." Mr. Freeze persisted through clenched teeth, Jerome glancing towards the door of Lee's apartment only a few yards away that was frozen shut along with the first floor's windows. 

"Okay, ya' know what? You win-- he changed his identity to avoid danger after being adopted by some folks called the Eliot's, and his new name's Tommy. Dyed his hair blond and got facial surgery and everything, so by all means go on after him if you really want to, and just leave me outta' it." Jerome jested as his back hit the wall of a wall of ice, referring to Wayne's bully. 

"I'm not here for jokes! Where are you keeping him?!" 

Jerome skimmed his surroundings for a way out, cussing under his breath whence realizing there wasn't one with how the walls of ice keeping him trapped were frozen around Lee's apartment iced shut, knowing he couldn't scale the slippery seven foot walks. 

"What did Wayne go and do anyhow?" Jerome inquired with a forced smile, attempting to buy time as Mr. Freeze's weapon raised towards his chest, the criminal approaching him while the teenager braced himself against the ice wall. "I mean come on, I know he can be a prick sometimes, but is whatever he did really worth-" He swallowed dryly, the villain's weapon cranking up. "Okay Frosty the Dramatic Snowman-" Jerome snickered anxiously, deciding his last words were at least going to be sarcastic and insulting. 

"Last chance," Mr. Fries warned, pressing the metal weapon ready to fire against Jerome's chest. "where is he?" 

Jerome raised his hands upwards to show he meant no harm, chin inclining as he flashed a cheeky grin, keeping their eyes locked. "You sure you should be so concerned with finding a fourteen year old when there's someone behind you?" 

Mr. Fries blinked, brow furrowing. "What-" He let out a grunt, vision going black. 

Jerome let out a relieved sigh; that could've been a doozy. 

"You all right?" Jim questioned, tossing the bat in his hand to the side. 

"More or less," Jerome laughed, relieved the cop had decided to help him, even if it was with more than clear reluctance. "what about you, though? That looked like a pretty far drop." He commented, referring to how the detective had ended up having to jump out the second story window as Mr. Freeze cornered Jerome to make sure he didn't make too much noise like he would've had to if he'd broken the door or windows open. 

"Snow broke my fall," Jim shrugged off, kneeling down and turning Mr. Freeze onto his back. "is there a reason Fries is after you?" He questioned, visually confirming the man was Victor, afterwards pulling out his cellphone to call over backup; Jim was guessing Jerome had gone and done something foolish to get in a mix up with the criminal. 

"He wanted to know where Wayne was," Jerome answered, Jim's eyebrows arching upwards as he looked at the ginger surprised. "so I should probably go looking for the kiddo before he gets his ass in anymore trouble." He sighed in reluctance, it looking like his whole plan to stay away from Wayne to not influence him wasn't going to work if the little trouble maker didn't stop getting mixed up in dangerous things he shouldn't of and then needing Jerome to come save him. 

"It may take a while, but if you can manage to break through the front door then you can exit through the back way," Jim suggested, dialing in the GCPD's number. "unless you'd rather try to get over one of the ice walls and greet all the people gathering around and trying to figure out what's going on in here on the other side." 

"As much as I love an audience, I'll stick to laying low." Jerome assured, knowing Jim would get in a whole lot of trouble if people managed to witness him letting Jerome Valeska go, and as much as he would love to see that... he had better things to do than risk getting thrown back in Arkham if he made a scene. 

Jim nodded relieved, handcuffing the knocked out Fries while saying, "No one inside has figured out what's going on yet since you two didn't cause a lot of commotion, so I'd hurry up and get out of here before the news gets here." 

Jerome's eyebrows raised. "How exactly did you know we were out here then?" 

"That's none of your concern." Jim grumbled, not about to admit the fact Lee had made him go downstairs to apologize to Jerome only for him to realize something was wrong whence finding the door and Windows were frozen shut. "Now hurry up and go find Wayne-- for all we know he went and did something that got more than Fries after him." 

Regrettably, Jim didn't know how right he was. 

Alfred was cooking up some soup for Selina- who Wayne had brought home while babbling about how something was wrong and absolutely refusing to let Alfred call an ambulance- when there was a knock at the door. 

The butler had agreed to not call an ambulance after Selina seemingly began to get better as her cold sweat and temperature decreased despite her still being evidently exhausted, so it definitely wasn't 911 at his doorstep. 

Perhaps Jerome was back... Alfred had hoped he'd stay away. 

It wasn't Jerome or paramedics, though, and Alfred found himself wishing it was Jerome he saw. 

The intruder's hand caught the door before Alfred could manage to shut it, grin meeting his lips as he jested, "Is Mr. Wayne taking meetings right now by any chance?" 

Alfred eyed Jester uncertainly. "How the bloody hell are you alive?" 

As Alfred greeted Jester, Wayne greeted the awakening Selina. 

"Hey," Wayne murmured quietly, watching the curly haired girl sit up and rub her eyes as she let out a vaguely pained groan. "how are you feeling?" 

"Better." Selina answered groggily, Wayne giving her an unconvinced stare. "I'm fine." She reassured, rubbing her sore arms, relieved her jacket was still on and Wayne hadn't tried to take it off to check under her sleeves. "Alfred didn't call an ambulance, did he?" 

"No." Wayne chewed on his lower lip timidly, as though just looking at Selina the wrong way would put her in absolute agony again. 

"Relax, I'm okay," Selina waved off, catching the meek behavior. "I just wasn't feeling well is all." 

Wayne would've scoffed if he wasn't so concerned for the other. "Not feeling well?" He interrogated, the girl's gaze averting. "Selina, you fainted-" 

"I hadn't eaten breakfast." Selina continued to fib, Wayne staring at her in disbelief. "What? I'm awake now, aren't I?" 

"Yeah, well, Alfred and I were both worried you weren't going to wake up with how unresponsive you were getting." 

"I was fine-" 

"No, you weren't," Wayne argued, not knowing why the hell Selina was taking this so damn lightly, still unsure as to what she was keeping from him. "you could barely walk here-- I had to drag you most of the way, and you had a temperature of forty degrees Celsius-- that's a hundred-and-five Fahrenheit." 

"Okay, fine-- I had a fever, so what? I'm all good now." Selina countered, trying to stand up only to fall back down onto the sofa, the room spinning. 

"No, you're not," Wayne replied knowingly, taking the damp washcloth around Selina's neck and dipping it into a bowl of icy water. "you still have a fever of ninety-nine degrees Fahrenheit." 

"That's not that bad-" 

"Compared to the hundred-and-five? Yeah, it's not," Wayne agreed, handing Selina the chilled washcloth after ringing it out, letting her put it back around her neck as she grumbled something under her breath, Wayne choosing to ignore that. "but you definitely need to rest right now." 

Selina let out a long exhale, but for once didn't persist in arguing; she was too tired to fight. "Fine, whatever." 

Wayne was relieved at her reply, but still wasn't quite feelings one-hundred percent better about this whole thing as he hesitantly muttered, "So are you sick then?" 

Selina quirked a brow. "What?" 

"Are you sick?" Wayne repeated, locking their eyes to attempt to make sure Selina didn't lie, or at least trying to catch her slipping up if she did. "Is that where you've been sneaking off to? Do you have doctor appointments or something?" Wayne could tell Selina passing out had to do with wherever she'd been going lately, but he couldn't quite tell what-- not for sure. 

"What? No." Selina scoffed, seeming surprisingly genuine enough. "That's not what- I haven't-" She gave a sigh. "No, that's not where I've been going," She gestured to herself while adding, "I mean, does it LOOK like I could actually afford healthcare?" 

"Then what's going on?" 

"Look, I'm not trying to be a bitch here, but I've already told you this before, and I don't want to have to keep repeating myself," Selina began, forcing herself to sit up and ignoring the nausea. "so do me a favor and listen up when I say what I do in my own time is my own business, and nobody else's," She looked away, arms crossing. "not even your's." 

Selina expected Wayne to get mad at her, and she wouldn't of blamed him for it if he did-- she was being a bitch, even if it was for Wayne's own good; Wayne really didn't need to get mixed up in what she'd gotten herself into. 

He didn't get mad, though. 

"Selina, please just-" Wayne started, letting out a stressed breath. "I just want to know why-" Selina rolled her eyes, wondering if this kid would ever give up his stubborn persistence, her lips parting to snap out something sarcastic and get him to just drop it. "I'm worried about you." 

Selina blinked taken aback, and Wayne wasn't quite sure why the girl he'd figured he'd been pretty damn obvious about caring immensely for looked so surprised at his concern. 

"I-" Selina cleared her throat, rubbing her wrist anxiously. 

"I don't know what's going on, but if you don't tell me I can't try to help you." 

Selina pondered... 

... 

... Okay. 

All right... 

Fine-- she'd tell him. 

Selina locked their eyes while saying, "I've been going to-" 

"For a rich kid, you don't have many bodyguards." A familiar voice hummed, Selina's eyes widening and Wayne's stomach dropping. 

Selina scooted as far back on the sofa as she could go, still unable to stand properly, Wayne spinning around to face the man grinning at them while saying in the bravest tone he could muster up, "What are you doing here, Jester?" 

"Oh, you know..." Jester began with an airy smile, examining his knife in the light musingly before locking his eyes with the fourteen year old. "just killing the little stick in the mud that made the one entertaining guy in this shit-hole of a city stop being so much fun." He answered, blade pointed towards Wayne. "Where is Jerome, anyhow?" 

"Wayne, run." Selina instructed, earning a look of disbelief, because there was no way Wayne was about to leave her defenselessly on the- "Go, now," She ordered, glaring at the smirking Jester as menacingly as she could. "I've fended off these sort of jackasses when I was in worse conditions than this before-" She gave him a reassuring look. "-I'll be fine, I promise." 

Wayne considered the demand-- briefly. 

"You need to get out of here," Wayne threatened while grabbing a vase on a coffee table beside him for a weapon, stepping closer to Selina protectively while keeping his attention on Jester, making it clear he was staying. "immediately." 

The corner of Jester's lips curled upwards even more, slipping his knife into his pocket amusedly, Selina trying to no avail to shoo Wayne out of the room from her place on the couch as Jester strode forward. "Oh?" Jester caught Wayne's hand while the smaller boy tried to ram the vase against the other's cheek in order to knock him out, yanking said vase away from Wayne's grasp, carelessly tossing the expensive decor to the side. "So you're the tough guy now, huh?" He chuckled, Selina letting out a shout of objection as he wrapped his fingers around the struggling Wayne's throat. "I guess that must mean Valeska's not your bodyguard anymore, yeah?" He spoke in a knowing tone, stepping forward and forcing Wayne to walk backwards, the younger one's hands grasping at his attacker's wrists, attempting to pry them off of his windpipe with no success. "Where did Jerome wander off to anyhow?" He inquired curiously, Selina forcing herself to stand and lunge at the Jerome-copycat, letting out a noise as she was elbowed to the side with ease. 

Wayne's back hit the wall, glancing over at Selina looking up at him worriedly from on the floor to make sure she was okay before returning his glowering gaze to Jester's, swallowing thickly as the criminal whipped out his knife again and pressed it against cheek while his other hand continued to stay around Wayne's throat, the billionaire gathering his courage to admit in the best unwavering voice he could offer, "I don't know." 

Jester pressed the blade against the left corner of Wayne's lips. "Oh?" He tilted his head while giving a practically gleeful grin. "You don't know?" He wanted to make this little thorn in his side shake, but the stubborn little prick was staying still while meeting his eyes with a glare. "What happened?" Jester could fix that, though. "Did he finally get bored with you or some shit?" 

Wayne squeezed his eyes shut as the blade left his mouth, instead feeling a cut form on his cheek as the other swiped the blade across his skin, and it was just a small scrape that was barely visible, but Wayne knew this was like a cat playing with its mouse. 

When cats played with their mice, it typically started out as a few swats to the mouse, but then it got more violent, and it could go on for as long as the cat pleased, which meant Jester wasn't about to allow Wayne a quick death at the very least. 

It wasn't death that scared Wayne in this instance-- it was what would come before they finally got to that. 

"Stop!" Selina screamed whence seeing the trickle of blood on Wayne's cheek, stabbing Jester's ankle with a piece of the broken vase, earning a snarl of pain, Jester kicking the curly haired girl in the jaw, only causing Wayne to squirm more as she cradled the bruising area. 

"Let me go!" Wayne ordered, kicking and punching at Jester, cowering into himself as the other shoved him against the wall harder in warning, the edge of the blade pressing against his jaw. 

"Let you go?" Jester laughed through gritted teeth, his ankle throbbing. "Yeesh, you really aren't any fun, are you?" Wayne trembled as Jester put the knife up to Wayne's throat. "I mean, really, what the hell did the damn King of Jokes see in a stick-up like you?" There! Jester was already getting the kid to shiver; this was great! Hells, it was so EASY to scare anyone, and it felt amazing-- particularly when they put up a bit of a fight like this little twerp did. "Oh oh oh oh oh, wait... don't tell me-- you were like his puppy or something, right?" Jester continued, blade moving to the side of Wayne's neck, deciding that would be a nice little place to- 

"Killing me won't stop you from being jealous about the fact Jerome kept me around a hell of a lot longer than he'd be willing to keep you." Wayne spat bravely, and something he'd found out when nearly being sacrificed by Theo was that being on the brink of death could really pull out your true colors, and Wayne was at least at peace with the fact he wasn't a coward in what could potentially be his last seconds breathing if anything. 

Jester gritted his teeth, and for a second, he was enraged and cut off guard by the unexpected comment, that giving Wayne enough time to kick the criminal where it counts while shoving the other's hand with the blade away by Jester's lower arm, Wayne and more or less throwing his body weight the way opposite of the knife before kicking Jester's shin, managing to get the other to fall down with a shout as the billionaire boy scrambled up, running over to help Selina get up. 

"Wayne, I'll be fine, okay? Just go-" Selina nearly begged, reluctantly limping with Wayne towards the door. 

"Come on!" Wayne urged, ignoring the plea and continuing towards the exit, Selina's arm around his neck. 

"Try that again-" Jester began, ripping Selina and Wayne away from each other, shoving the poor protesting girl back on the floor while gripping Wayne's hair, forcing the younger squirming boy to look up at him, his free hand gripping his chin hard enough to bruise. "-and I'll cut your damn legs off." 

Wayne spit in Jester's face, trying to grab the knife the criminal had tucked in his pocket and being backhanded, the force of the strike managing to make him hit the floor, Wayne's ears ringing. 

"Screw you-" Wayne started with a mixture of bravery and shakiness in his tone, going quiet as a shoe pressed against his jaw. 

"Ya' know what? I was going to show a little bit of mercy on ya' since you're a kid and all that shit, but I don't know why the hell I'd even consider that with how much I hate you snobby little brats," Jester snickered, Wayne's jaw throbbing in pain as he pressed down harder. "so I've got a grand idea, you wanna' hear it?" Wayne only glared up at him. "Of course you do." Jester brought his foot back, kneeling next to Wayne and gripping his chin again, once more forcing their eyes to lock. "I'm going to torture that butler of yours I knocked out, and you and you're little girlfriend are going to watch before I slit your damn throat." 

"No-" Wayne choked out, and oh no no no... getting himself into this whole mess was one thing, but getting Alfred and Selina into it was another. 

"Shut. up." Jester interjected, tightening his grasp on Wayne's chin. "I'm not done talking, so you're going to keep your lips sealed unless I tell you that you can-" 

Wayne's flinched as Jester abruptly got yanked back, Jerome shoving the copycat against the wall, emerald irises briefly glancing over at the roughed up Wayne staring at the older teen with wide eyes, Jerome afterwards turning his gaze back to the no longer smiling Jester's. 

Jerome had come back, and he wasn't smiling in the least. 

"Missed me?" Jester tried to joke, earning an unamused stare. 

"Not particularly, no." Jerome answered with the most venom Wayne had ever heard laced in his voice. 

"He- he has a knife in his pocket." Wayne warned with a dry throat, Jerome giving a nod and moving his hands from Jester's shirt to his wrists, putting both of said wrists in his right hand while using his left to take out Jester's weapon, tossing it onto the floor next to Wayne. 

"Get Selina, take the knife just in case this freak manages to get free, and go check on Alfred." Jerome instructed, glaring daggers at the oh so cockily grinning Jester. 

"But-" Wayne started to object. 

"Now." Jerome ordered in a serious tone Wayne didn't recall him ever using before. 

Wayne reluctantly did as told. 

"Ooh, I get it," Jester gave a series of broken up laughs, it being clear he'd gone around the bin even more than he had the first time they'd met at the masquerade. "opposites attract, ami'right?" 

"Shut up." Jerome warned, kneeing Jester in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the intruder as he rammed his elbow into the other's back, making sure he stayed down. 

Jester laughed out of breath, kneeling on the floor and watching as Jerome walked over to the other side of the room to grab something. "Or-" Another laugh. "Or is he supposed to be your little loyal pup that follows you around like a ditz and listens to your every-" 

"I'll run a blade through your mouth if you don't shut the hell up." Jerome threatened, only receiving a loud chuckle. 

"Oh, oh, I know," Jester continued nonetheless, stumbling into a standing position, finding it hard to breathe with how hard he was howling with laughter, not to mention he was pretty sure the other probably broke one of his ribs when kicking him down. "he's your little toy, and you don't like people touching your things." 

"No." Jerome denied simply, tired of hearing that particular accusation, grabbing a blanket and rolling it up somewhat. "Arms behind your back." 

Jester bursted out laughing, Jerome's jaw clenching as he approached the other. "A bit kinky, aren't we?" 

Jerome's eyes narrowed. "Arms behind back." He repeated, gritting his teeth when Jester snickered rather than complying, the ginger resorting to just tying the blanket around Jester's torso, arms, and back before shoving the copycat down onto the floor roughly, Jerome afterwards bringing out the knife Wayne had gotten him. 

"Ya' know, he's a little young for my tastes, but if that's what you're into... then I guess he's got a cute figure that I wouldn't mind-" Jester didn't have time to finish, Jerome holding his knife against his throat, that managing to get the other's laughs to cease. 

"He's 'too young' for both of us, asshole, so if I hear you refer to Wayne one more time, then I'll cut your damn tongue out." 

"You're kinda' hot when you're all serious-" 

"Quiet." Jerome interrupted, not flattered in the least by this creep. "Is there anyone other than you or Fries that's after Wayne?" 

Jester had gotten a real reaction out of Jerome when referring questionably to Wayne, and hells did he love getting a reaction out of the other- even if it wasn't a laugh- which is why he dared to reply, "Ah, I see; you're worried about big bad men hanging out with your little ol' innocent-" Jester let out a string of cuss words, blade piercing his upper leg. "Shit!" That certainly was a more severe reaction than Jester had been trying to get. 

Wayne, meanwhile, blinked whence hearing a scream from the parlor, glancing at the weak Selina and knocked out Alfred, the fourteen year old chewing on his lip broodingly. 

"Answer the question." Jerome directed menacingly. 

"No! Shit- No! Just me and Fries-" Jester answered, blade leaving his leg at that. "Shit!" 

"What were you planning on doing to Wayne?" Jerome continued, pressing the tip of the blade just barely against Jester's other leg menacingly. 

"Nothing-" Jester choked out another shout as the blade sank into that leg. "Torture- shit! Torture, okay? I was just gonna' torture him is all-" The knife twisted just ever so slightly. "And kill!" He admitted, not laughing anymore. "I- I was gonna' kill him, too-" The weapon was withdrawn. "Frick-" 

"For a copycat you sure do a lot of shit I wouldn't." 

Jester gave a more bitter laugh that time, eying Jerome's weapon uneasily. "I do every damn thing you'd do if you hadn't gone and grown soft because of some little minx you like fawning over you so damn much!"

As much as Jerome would've loved to draw things out with this prick and torture him to his last breath... Jester's comments on Wayne had already pissed Jerome off more than he was willing to ignore. 

However, before Jerome could have the satisfaction of just driving a knife through Jester's chest and shutting him up for good, Wayne- much to Jerome's annoyance- just had to interject, as always. 

"Stop!" Wayne pleaded, and Jester looked surprised at that, but Jerome just rolled his eyes, because he was used to this shit where Wayne went and ALWAYS had to be the bigger person, even when it came to protecting the jackass that had nearly tortured and murdered him and didn't very well need to be protected considering Jester DESERVED this according to Jerome's opinion, and Jerome just always had to go and listen to Wayne's rather unfair pleas with how Wayne would go, "Jerome, please just-" And here was the part where Jerome would give Wayne a look and Wayne would add, "Don't, okay? I'm fine-- you don't have to kill him.", and this pissed Jerome off so damn much! He just wanted to slice Jester's throat and get this over with, rather than listening to Wayne. 

But Jerome WOULD listen, because Wayne was apparently 99.99% of his damn impulse control. 

Wayne didn't want Jerome to kill anymore, and Jerome knew that, and he understood that, and he would listen when Wayne asked him not to, even if the ones he was trying to kill had gone and done shit like what Jester had, but Jerome got that Wayne was glad he was getting better, and that just made Jerome more pissed off and almost- keyword almost- GUILTY about how he'd WASN'T getting better. How he'd killed Theo's men, and how he KNEW Wayne would be disappointed if he ever found out, and Jerome wasn't quite sure WHY he cared so damn much about whether or not some kid was disappointed in him, but he did, and- 

Jerome sighed, bringing the knife away from Jester's throat. 

If there was one thing Jester and Jerome both knew about Wayne and Jerome's relationship, it was that Wayne was his undoing. 

That was the one thing that Jester was right about, even if Jerome refused to admit it. 

Jerome needed to take a nice, cold, long shower to cool off, and he did so after calling Gordon and telling him to come pick up the scumbag he'd reluctantly let go on seeing the light of day. 

The shower was nice while it lasted, but of course nothing stayed damn nice, because right after Jerome got out of the shower and went to check up on Wayne, the other revealed, "Fries and Jester got away," He rubbed his upper arm as Jerome's expression fell. "Fries managed to get out of Jim's custody, and he came back here to rescue Jester, and they- um- they both broke out." 

Oh for the love of- "What?" Jerome scoffed, smirking in irked disbelief, and now he was even more pissed off than before, because he should've just killed off the pair of criminals when he had the chance, but no-- he didn't. He CHOSE to let Jim deal with Fries, and he CHOSE to listen to Wayne and let Jester go, and he CHOSE to let the bastards live, but he shouldn't have. Heck, he would've of even let those jackasses go if it had been solely up to him in the first place, but it wasn't, and now Wayne was in danger again, and a lot of things running through Jerome's mind then and there were REALLY dissing him off, and he wasn't sure why he was so damn on edge all of a sudden, but he was willing to guess it was because looking after someone- looking after WAYNE, just made things a lot more stressful, particularly when realizing just how much he could potentially corrupt Wayne, and it was CONFUSING to realize he didn't want Wayne to turn out like him like Jerome had wanted Wayne to at first, and he'd realized that for a while, but now things were really beginning to catch up with Jerome with all the building stress that actually giving a shit about someone had put on him, and Jerome wasn't used to FEELING like this-- he wasn't used to worrying, and caring, even though he'd been doing it for months when it came to Wayne, and it was unsettling for Jerome to silently acknowledge the fact he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up without getting himself or Wayne hurt if he kept letting this sort of stuff continue building up, and- 

Wayne interjected the concerns hitting Jerome all at once by saying, "I- um- I don't-" He exhaled quietly, looking back up at the aggravated ginger. "If you want to leave, then that's fine, okay? I-" He swallowed dryly. "I realized you're probably upset about me arguing with you so much about Malone when I agreed to listen to your advice, and if you're not comfortable being here then you don't have to stay, but-" Wayne had to avert his gaze again. "-but if you do, would you mind..." He bit down on his lower lip. "... just, ya' know... sleeping with me?" Jerome raised a brow taken aback. "I get that you don't want to share a bed with how I- uh-" Wayne cleared his throat. "-with how I'm attracted to you and all, but we could set up a pillow barrier in between us if that would be all right with you, because-" Wayne was beginning to wonder if he should just shut up. "-because it honestly would be nice to have- well, ya' know... someone close by if Jester..." Wayne trailed off at that. 

The previous concerns running through Jerome's mind were temporarily quiet as he contemplated, Wayne staring up at him uncertainly. 

Jerome pondered on whether he should stay or leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> diana-the-peacemaker keeps making Valeyne art and I love it tbh-- 
> 
> Seriously, you guys should check her art out on Tumblr; the Gotham art pieces she makes in general are rad! 
> 
> Check the link below for something she made that really reminds me of the relationship between Jerome, Wayne, and Selina when it comes to this fic in all honesty lol! 
> 
> http://diana-the-peacemaker.tumblr.com/post/142080051066/decided-to-try-one-of-these-draw-your-squad-meme 
> 
> (They're a sassy trio and they care about one another in their own ways and it's complicated and this artwork honestly captures that pretty well!)


	25. Punishment, Bailing, and Needles

Hugo sighed, rubbing his temples while shutting his eyes. "I told you to kill Wayne, Jester-- not torture him," He opened his eyes, meeting the copycat's gaze as the other gave a cross between a scoff and a bitter laugh. "if you had just hurried up and driven the knife through his chest, he'd be dead by now," His arms crossed, evident disappointment clearly both in his body language and tone. "but you didn't, and due to you dilly dallying, Jerome managed to save him before the deed could be done, correct?" 

Jester smirked sourly. "Yeah," He glanced at the quiet Mr. Freeze. "but MAYBE if this jackass had actually tried to help, then the little twerp would be dead by now." He chuckled a bit grudgingly. 

"I did attempt to help," Fries argued calmly. "I went after Jerome to find out where Wayne was located after YOU made ME go to Alfred's doorstep to ask for him." He adjusted the cold, slim, metal machine that was wrapped around his torso underneath his long sleeved shirt made of light fabric, small U.V.s connected to that machine littering all the covered up parts of his body and pumping a cycled cold substance below thirty degrees into his veins in order to keep him alive. "I'm surprised the butler didn't call the police on us with your brilliant plan you insisted would work when you wouldn't shut up until I- some middle aged man with bright white hair and neon blue eyes- should go up to the butler and act like I was the kid's damn teacher needing to talk with him." 

"Well my plan worked more than your's did at least!" Jester laughed in annoyance. "So what if the old man was a little suspicious? It's not like he called the cops on us; if we had just broken inside then we would've gotten caught a lot sooner, and it wouldn't of been worth it at all since that little brat was hanging out with that gutter trash girlfriend of his elsewhere at the time in any case!" Jester snickered at his nickname for Selina, as though he's just made a wonderful joke, Fries only narrowing his eyes in distaste. "All your plan did was manage to get your ass kicked by Gordon after Jerome didn't tell you shit about where the little bastard was at!" 

"Yes, and your plan managed to get a seventeen year old teenager to kick your ass." Fries smoothly spoke with a shrug and icy tone. 

Jester barked out a laugh. "You know what? I'm not even sure you were really putting your all into killing the billionaire snob considering you let him get away the first time we caught sight of him!" He snickered aggravated, referring to when they were going to murder Wayne as he walked home alone after parting ways with Selina when they'd been searching for Jerome... before Fries got cold feet and wouldn't let Jester go after him. 

"I didn't let him out of our sights purposefully," Fries defended stiffly. "I just didn't kill him because I wanted to make sure Dr. Strange wanted him dead rather than taken in alive." 

"Oh bullshit! You knew we were supposed to kill him off, but noooo-- you had to get cold feet, and force me to wait as you called Hugo to 'just make sure', and you oh so mysteriously broke your damn phone by 'accidentally' dropping it on the ground, and by dropping I mean doing something that made it look like you conveniently slammed it into the asphalt." 

"My new condition causes me to have hand spasms whenever I get too hot," Fries countered, earning a tight lipped smirk from Jester. "it's not my fault I had one occur when I was trying to dial in the doctor's number." 

"Ah yes, and then your freeze ray just so happened to malfunction and freeze the tops of my jeans so I couldn't grab my phone, right?" Jester was still sore about that-- his waist had felt numb for the rest of the night. 

"I was having an unlucky day-" 

"You were buying time for the little prick!" Jester laughed irked, looking about ready to lunge at the argumentative Fries. 

"I'm simply getting used to the adaptions my body is experiencing, and until I'm familiar with those adaptions I'm afraid my body will likely malfunction regularly-- even at undesired times." Fries persisted without faltering. "I have no reason to spare Wayne that would benefit me, so I don't exactly see where the logic behind your accusations-" 

Hugo had heard enough. "Jester, would you mind going to get miss-" Oh what was the name again..? 

"Scratches?" Jester guessed, crooked grin meeting his own lips at his oh so "creative" nickname for the worker Hugo was referring to, Fries giving Jester another look of disapproval. 

"Yes, 'Scratches', as you call them," Hugo exhaled strained, rubbing the bridge of his nose after adjusting his glasses. "Fries and I need to have a long talk alone." 

Fries' expression fell, Jester's lips breaking into a wide grin while giving a cheeky nod. "No problemo, docto." He snickered, Hugo having to keep from rolling his eyes as his patient left. 

Hugo glanced at Fries, the doctor pondering for a brief while before saying, "I had Mooney follow you two, and she reported in exactly what you did to Jerome," He noted the way Fries swallowed thickly. "she said you were purposefully missing Jerome when aiming your shards of ice at him, and Jester has valid points-" 

"I don't-" Fries started, going quiet as Hugo held up his hand to hush him. 

"All I want you to do is answer me truthfully-" Hugo began, hand lowering. "-did you, or did you not, attempt to fake your 'attack' on Jerome to make it seem like you were genuinely trying to find and kill Wayne?" Fries didn't say a word. "Because that is certainly what it sounds like, and I cannot afford you sparing those who I send you on a mission to kill and bring back here." 

"I wasn't-" Fries denied at that, yet he didn't meet Hugo's eyes. 

"So you didn't break away from Jim Gordon, go to Wayne Mansion, and save Jester JUST because you knew I'd be upset if he'd been lost?" Hugo interrogated knowingly. "You never arrived at Wayne's home to save Jester... only to leave without killing Wayne as well? You didn't purposefully miss that opportunity because you wanted to show mercy?" Fries was tense. "You didn't do any of that? Didn't spare a child due to morals over science?" Silence. "Because it truly does sound like you did." 

Fries hesitated, and just the way he said, "I-", was confirmation enough. 

"If I do not know we can work together without these sort of bumps in the roads arising, then I cannot give you what we agreed on." Hugo warned, and the way he sounded sympathetic- the way he guilt tripped Fries into making it sound like not freezing a poor kid was a bad thing- made it all the worse. "If you want to continue our partnership, then you need to kill Wayne and bring him here, and in return I'll give you what you need." Hugo offered, Fries HATING the oh so "kind" smile he offered to make it seem like any of this was okay. "It's not as though Wayne will stay dead, you know-- I will bring him back before he's too far gone." 

Hugo was trying to make it sound like Fries wasn't going to commit murder to ease his uncomfortableness with this task, but Fries KNEW that while Hugo would bring Wayne back before he was truly gone, it would be in a way in which Hugo would attempt to change the poor kid into becoming like a new person that did Hugo's bidding the same way Jester, Mooney, along with all the others did, and Fries wasn't okay with doing that-- not to a kid. 

But Fries also needed what Hugo was offering, so he was facing a dilemma. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome stared up at the ceiling as he laid alone in bed, wondering if Wayne was all right or not. 

He also wondered if Selina was okay, even if it was more vaguely than he wondered about Wayne; just because the catty girl was growing on him a little didn't mean he gave a shit about her nearly as much as he did about Wayne. 

Sure, Jerome would probably risk his life trying to save her if she ever needed help, but ONLY if doing so would be fun, and ONLY if he got something out of it; not to mention he'd possibly feel a tad bit of something ALMOST along the lines of sympathy if something bad happened to her, although he wasn't quite to having more than a EXTREMELY slight fondness for the amusing gal that he wouldn't mind keeping around more for how entertaining she could be, rather than anything else. 

It was a start, though. 

Jerome's smirk that was more often than not always permanently on his lips fell at that. 

Oh hells-- that's how things had started out with Wayne, and for the love of all that was good... it was already way too damn stressful to give a damn about one person, and just one was enough for him; he really didn't need- much less want- to begin caring for another with how difficult it was to just look out for one kid- 

"You okay?" Wayne asked while entering the room as he gave a yawn, noticing through the dim moonlight filtering in through the window that Jerome's usual smirk was replaced with a rather unsure frown which made it look like the poor ginger was having an midlife crisis at the age of seventeen. 

Jerome snapped out of his fretting, sitting up on the younger boy's bed with a barrier of pillows going down the middle and giving a nod. "You?" 

"I'm fine." Wayne waved off nonchalantly while laying on his side of the bed, earning a quirked brow and adding, "I just went downstairs to get some water is all." 

"You kinda' jumped awake." Jerome informed, referring to how he'd been dozing off when Wayne had suddenly yanked into an upright position, that being what caused the ginger to blink out of his dream-like state and eye the smaller boy who had obviously been having a nightmare. 

"I was just thirsty." Wayne insisted casually, and while he'd gotten quite good at lying... Jerome could still tell when he was fibbing. "Night." He yawned while shimmying around in the blankets, getting comfortable again. 

Jerome decided to not pry, simply muttering, "Night.", back and going to sleep. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne was a natural cuddler, and Jerome found this out whence the younger teenager managed to subconsciously maneuver over the barrier of pillows lined up between them, instinctively snuggling up to Jerome by nuzzling against the ginger's neck and throwing a leg over one of the taller one's legs, Jerome letting out a quiet cross between an amused and uncomfortable snicker, the seventeen year old rather tense at how the other was unintentionally curled up against him. 

Jerome couldn't sleep with how awkward this was beginning to get on his end, so he just laid there as still as possible, not wanting to wake Wayne, but not particularly wanting the kiddo laying all over him at the same time. 

For at least half an hour Jerome stayed still... 

... 

... and then Wayne's muscles starting to tense up, Jerome arching a brow as the younger one shrunk into himself and let out a quiet upset mutter, small shivers that Jerome could barely feel beginning to run throughout Wayne's body, fingers grasping the other's arm, and oh- 

Oh. 

Wayne was having another nightmare. 

Jerome hesitated before letting out a sigh, turning to face Wayne while draping an arm over the raven haired one's hip and pulling him closer, clearing his throat as Wayne subconsciously scooted up to him and pressed his forehead against the ginger's neck. 

Wayne gradually stilled and quieted at least. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Where are you going?" Wayne asked groggily, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand as Jerome buttoned up his long sleeved maroon-red shirt, causing the ginger to halt. 

Jerome had planned to sneak out before Wayne woke up, but that plan had obviously failed. "I'm just getting dressed," He answered, and he had to leave as far as he was concerned; he couldn't stay there and act all buddy-buddy with Wayne when there was a risk that he could be a bad influence on the kiddo. "go back to sleep." He'd made a mistake agreeing to stay, and he should've just left and made it clear Wayne's home wasn't his home anymore. 

"You could just tell me you're leaving, ya' know," Wayne murmured knowingly, Jerome's fingers pausing at the comment, shirt halfway buttoned up. "it's kinda' crappy for you to try to sneak out." He added in a grumble. "I mean, I told you it was fine with me if you wanted to go, but a proper goodbye would be nice." Wayne didn't want Jerome to leave, although he would understand if he did, and he of course wasn't going to attempt forcing the other to stay. 

Jerome stayed quiet until he fixed the last button on his shirt, finally letting out a long breath and saying, "Look-" He knew just up and leaving without another word was a pretty shite move, but at least he had been planning to leave a note, if that helped at all. 

"I'm not going to torture Malone," Wayne informed, sitting up and running a hand through his uncombed hair. "I've been going over what you said to me, and I know made an agreement to listen to your advice in return for you training me, which means I've decided I'm going to stay true to my word and listen to your advice-" He paused, meeting Jerome's eyes and making it clear he was sincere as he once more clarified, "-I'm not going to torture Malone." 

Jerome rubbed the side of his neck, relieved to hear that, but... "I'm not... exactly bailing on you because of ya' wanting to give Malone more than just a quick death-- I don't blame you for wanting to give that jackass as little mercy as possible, even though it's-" He paused. "-relieving to hear you're not going to do more than kill him." 

Wayne stared at Jerome confused. "Then what-" 

Considering Jerome was beginning to feel like a real asshole with how he'd almost just walked out without giving a goodbye, he decided the least he could give the kiddo was the truth. "Long story short? I've been influencing you a little to much, and-" He cleared his throat, eyes looking to the side. "-and I don't exactly feel like accidentally going and having too much of an effect on you to where you'll go and do something like break any major laws, all right? I'm not exactly the best role model, ya' know." 

"You're not a bad influence," Wayne argued, not angrily though, because he wasn't mad-- he was just a bit taken aback at the revelation. "you've gone from wanting me to break the law with you, to making sure I don't go too far down a dangerous road." Wayne persisted, Jerome keeping his gaze averted. "You're not a bad influence on me-- not anymore," A pause was what caused Jerome to hesitantly glance at Wayne. "you're a good person now." 

Yeah, sure-- a good person. 

A "good" person who had murdered several men recently. Men who were Theo's men, yet still men he'd taken the lives of. Men who Alfred had asked Jerome to kill, but men Jerome had agreed to off, nonetheless. 

Jerome wasn't a good person now, as far as he was concerned; Jerome was simply a bad person keeping a bad secret and acting like he was a good person, all so Wayne wouldn't find out he wasn't getting better. 

Guilt wasn't something Jerome was used to feeling, and what made it even more complicated was he didn't even feel any guilt for the men he'd killed; the only thing he felt guilt for was not telling Wayne rather than murdering human beings. 

That meant Jerome wasn't getting better, because he wasn't feeling remorse nor bad for his actions and instead only for their effects, which meant if Jerome wasn't getting better then he was still a bad person, and if he was still a bad person... then he was still a bad influence. 

If Jerome was a bad influence, he couldn't risk sticking around and rubbing off on Wayne. 

Whatever Jerome was feeling- guilt, responsibility... caring- didn't feel very fun. 

"I'll visit sometime, all right?" Jerome finally sighed, mind being made. "I'll come around to check up on you every holiday, yeah?" He bargained, that being the most he was willing to offer. 

Wayne had said it would be all right if Jerome left, and he meant it... "Okay," ... but that didn't mean Wayne wanted him to leave... "that's fair." ... yet a deal was a deal, and Wayne knew that as he offered a slight smile despite feeling rather awful at the other's decision. "See you around." 

Jerome nodded, reaching out to ruffle up Wayne's hair. "I'll find a place to stay and then come tell you where it is if you ever need anything, all right?" He drew his hand back. "When I come to do that we can go get Malone afterwards, all right?" Jerome still wanted to be present when Wayne murdered Malone to be sure the kiddo didn't get hurt or do anything over the top. 

Wayne nodded again. "Sure." 

Jerome paused, and for a second Wayne hoped he would stay. 

That hope went out the door with Jerome. 

~*~*~*~ 

Selina glanced around anxiously before returning her gaze to Wayne, noting the way he patted his coat pocket after slipping the firearm into it, the fourteen year old frowning at the peculiar feeling of having such a tiny, yet deadly, weapon resting at your side. 

"Malone deserves this." Selina assured, earning a nod, Wayne not verbally replying. "So where's Strawberry-Shortcake?" She asked, skimming their surroundings nervously. 

"He left." Wayne answered with a long exhale. 

Selina raised a brow. "Left?" She questioned, her eyes afterwards scanning back and forth in an antsy fashion. 

"It's a long story," Wayne confirmed, rubbing his upper arm. "he was worried he was being a bad influence; he probably went back to staying at Lee's or something..." He noticed how Selina kept darting her eyes around, her muscles visibly tense. "Are you okay?" 

"What?" Selina snapped her gaze to Wayne. "Oh. Yeah." She assured in an unconvincing tone, forcing on a quick smile that almost instantly fell. "I'm great." 

Wayne stared at her quizzically. "You sure?" He still couldn't figure out what the hell was Selina trying to hide. 

"Yep! I gotta' go though-- see you around!" She didn't allow any further questions, swiftly speeding off before another word could be given. 

Weird... 

Wayne took out his gifted weapon, staring down at the firearm in his hand before abruptly feeling a wave of bitterness hit, sourly clenching his jaw as a sudden decision came into place as he remembered he'd agreed to let Jerome accompany him to Malone's. 

So Jerome wanted to walk out on their promise to stick together without even considering a different solution, all while using what- Wayne saw- was a bullshit excuse when (Wayne was convinced) Jerome was getting better and had just used said bullshit excuse to simply walk away for some petty reason he wouldn't even reveal? 

Fine-- Wayne could walk out on agreements, too. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Thanks for letting me stay here," Jerome chuckled with a nearly sheepish grin. "uh, ya' know... again 'n all." 

"Of course." Lee replied, giving the other a gentle smile and soft nod. "Although- if I may ask, that is- are things between you and Wayne doing okay?" She couldn't help but wonder if a fallout between the fourteen year old or his butler had occurred with the ginger. 

"Better than ever!" Jerome blatantly lied with a grin, Lee catching the fib but not being able to question it as Jerome changed the subject by adding, "What about you? How's things with Jimbo?" 

"He's a bit freaked out by that incident with Fries," Lee answered, setting a cup of coffee atop an area near him on the table's surface, sitting across from him at the opposite end of said table. "we were convinced Victor had died after freezing himself, but..." 

"Any idea on how he faked dying?" 

"Perhaps I should be asking you that," Lee teased in a friendly fashion. "I mean, you ARE the one that had us all convinced you were dead before escaping Nygma's autopsy." 

Jerome gave a cheeky smile. "What can I say? I love acting." 

Lee chuckled, taking a sip of her hot tea. "In any case, Nygma's guessing there's a chance Fries had grown immune to the ice formulas through exposure of handling them for so long, although Barnes is having Jim look into making sure Victor didn't have a twin or something." 

Jerome nodded, a brief silence lingering in between them until he cleared his throat and mused, "So how's the baby?" Small talk wasn't his thing, and it made him antsy, but it was a small price to pay for the opportunity to have shelter and food. 

~*~*~*~ 

Hells, this was awkward. 

"Thank you for driving us to the hospital, Mr.-" Wayne paused. "-Cupcake." 

Cupcake gave a laugh, glancing over at the fourteen year old in the driver's seat before returning his eyes to the road. "Thanks for the fifty grand, billionaire-boy." 

Wayne briefly looked over his shoulder at the butler laying down in the backseat a bit concerned. "Do you reckon he'll be all right?" 

"He'll probably be a bit dizzy for a while, but he should be right as rain in a week at the most." Cupcake assured with a chuckle, pulling into the the hospital's gated entrance. "You've got a strong little butler," A grin met his lips. "he sure does care about you quite a bit as well-- not sure I'd ever risk going up against someone twice my size for any child." 

Wayne felt a tinge of guilt at that; he knew he should've listened to Alfred, and did wrong by not doing so... not that his stubborn self would ever admit it to the guardian. 

"You said I should speak to Jeri at the address you gave me, correct?" Wayne asked just to be sure. 

"Yep, good ol' Jeri will know exactly where to find Matches!" Cupcake confirmed, parking in front of the medical building's doors. "I should probably warn you though... the club she's at is not a place for children." 

"I'm not a child." Wayne replied a bit stiffly, choosing to ignore the laughter that followed while instead politely thanking, "I really am grateful you drove us here." 

"It was no problem at all," Cupcake shrugged off as Wayne hopped out of the car. "besides, anyone who is a friend of Penguin is a friend of mine." 

Wayne tensed up, staring at Cupcake taken aback, hand frozen on he car door he'd started to close. "How-" 

"I saw you and that little ginger boy at Penguin's fight club a while back," Cupcake chuckled, amused at Wayne's wide eyes. "I'm fairly sure it was on Halloween night, but I could be mistaken." 

Wayne swallowed thickly. "Oh-" 

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you work for the King of Gotham-- he and I were on good terms." He paused. "Well, the used-to-be King in any case." 

Wayne's eyebrows quirked upwards. "What do you mean by 'used-to-be'?" 

Cupcake blinked in surprise. "What? Did you not hear?" Wayne's brow furrowed in confusion. "Penguin was thrown into Arkham for murdering Galavan." 

~*~*~*~ 

Lee answered the door, surprised to see an out of breath Selina at the other side of the threshold. "Sweetie, are you okay?" She asked concerned, reaching out to place a comforting hand on the curly haired girl's shoulder. 

Selina felt relief wash over her when seeing the older woman open the door, glad to see the little address she'd (rather easily) stolen from the GCPD records was right. 

"Is- is Jerome here?" Selina panted, leaning on the threshold, and oh Ra she hoped Jerome was there- 

Lee nodded, ushering the smaller girl inside. "What's wrong-" 

"No time to talk." Selina breathed, rushing over to the curious Jerome lounging on the couch. "Get up." 

Jerome tossed his magazine beside him, but didn't stand. "What's up, sweet-cakes?" 

"Wayne's-" Selina tried to catch her breath, throat and tongue dry. "Wayne's in trouble." 

Jerome's grin fell. "What?" Oh great, what had the little trouble maker gotten himself into this time? 

"Come on," Selina practically begged, Jerome knowing this had to be serious with the desperate plea. "Alfred told me what's going on, and we need to go-- now." 

~*~*~*~ 

"Wait." Jeri instructed, Wayne halting at the threshold. "I told you where Malone was, so you give me somethi'n back." 

Wayne hesitated before turning to face the woman. "You said you didn't want money-" 

"I don't," Jeri confirmed, lounging back in her chair. "I wanna' know what exactly you and Jerome are." 

Wayne's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?" 

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I not speaking loud enough?" Jeri mused, voice overflowing with sarcasm as Wayne rolled his eyes. "I said I want to know what exactly you and Jerome are." 

Wayne stared at her unsurely. "What do you mean?" 

"I mean that word's gotten out you two are buddies, and I wanna' know why kinda' relations you guys have." Jeri informed, Wayne's expression falling at that. "Hey, kid, chin up, yeah? Seriously, no worries-- we know and respect that if Valeska keeps his mouth shut about something, then he doesn't want it getting out, and considering he's kept your little... 'friendship'- or whatever it is- private, we know he wants it to stay private," Her arms crossed. "it's not like we've told any outsiders about whatever the hell is going on between you two, but practically everyone here knows about it." 

Wayne frowned. "How do you all even know about it though?" 

"Jester." Jeri answered, Wayne's eyes going wide. "Relax-- he's not with us anymore," Jeri assured, legs crossing while she got comfortable in her chair. "we all agreed he went over the top with messing with you 'n all since you're obviously Jerome's." She cracked a grin. "Hell, you're practically the forbidden fruit here! The gem with the whole 'look but don't touch' rule!" 

Wayne wasn't sure he liked what she was implying here. "I'm not Jerome's property." He stated firmly. 

"I was gonna' use the word 'possession'-" 

"I'm not his possession or toy, either," Wayne snapped, earning an intrigued smirk. "I'm his friend." 

"Is this a one sided friendship thing where you're convinced you're besties and he just keeps you around for shits and grins, or..?" 

"It was, but it's currently a mutual friendship." Wayne was done talking here. "Now if you don't mind-" 

"Didn't he kidnap you? Is this a Stockholm thing going on here-" 

Wayne scoffed. "No, I agreed to hang out with him for personal gain, and I eventually began to hang out with him due to enjoying his company over time is all, if you must know." Wayne answered, turning towards the exit. "I really have to get-" 

"Aw come on-" 

"Goodbye, Jeri." Wayne sighed, continuing through the door without stopping. 

Wayne had better things to do. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome and Selina had jogged a few blocks away from Lee's apartment when the younger girl's temperature spiked, arms throbbing in pain and mind becoming dizzy, stomach nauseous as her tingling legs were forced to halt and kneel, the poor girl feeling like she was going to be sick. 

"Are you all right?" Jerome asked taken aback, kneeling next to the curly haired female in so much pain she was trembling. 

These flashes of being overwhelmed by waves of sudden pain were worsening. 

"I'm- I'm fine." Selina choked out, Jerome picking her up and setting her against the side of a building a few feet away. 

"What's wrong?" Jerome questioned, not knowing if she'd twisted her ankle or gotten a cramp in her side from running or something. 

"Nothing." Selina answered through clenched teeth, black dots in her vision. "I'm just-" She nearly blacked out. "A stomachache came on all of a sudden, that's-" She lied, arms aching. "-that's all." 

Jerome noticed the way Selina was clenching her arms tightly, catching the way she squeezed and rubbed at them. "What's wrong with your arms?" 

Selina felt her heart skip a beat, stomach falling and blood going cold, muscles visibly tensing even more. "Nothing-" Jerome was having none of that as he grabbed her right wrist firmly but carefully. "No! Stop-" She protested, trying to swat his hands away while attempting to pull back as he pulled up her sleeves. "Don't-" 

Jerome hadn't expected to see needle marks littering the younger girl's arms. "What the hell is this?" 

~*~*~*~ 

Jim stared at Malone's lifeless body, glancing back at the threshold whence hearing the floorboards creak behind him, expression falling at the sight of a wide eyed fourteen year old. "Wayne-" 

"He killed himself?" Wayne spoke in disbelief, not knowing what to feel. 

In fact, Wayne felt a mixture of things. 

Numb. Wayne felt a wave of numbness wash over him, lacking empathy for the dead killer. 

Surprise. He felt a shock of surprise hit him at the sight of a man he'd just seen alive all of a sudden dead. 

Anger. A burst of anger exploded in him for the fact this bastard had taken his own life rather than taking Wayne's punishment of having to live with what he'd done. 

Relief. Relief this man couldn't do to anyone else what he'd done to Wayne. 

Utter annoyance at just the sight of the murderer. 

Brief sadness at all too strongly recalling that night in the alleyway. 

Wayne didn't feel happiness, though. Didn't feel peace. Didn't feel achieved. 

"Wayne-" Jim repeated concerned, taking a step towards the shocked boy. 

"He killed himself?!" Wayne also repeated, the anger taking over more than anything. 

"Listen-" Jim started, reaching out towards the raven haired boy in an attempt to comfort, cussing under his breath as Wayne sprinted off. "Wayne!" 

Wayne ran. 

Wayne ran away from Jim. 

Ran down the apartment's stairs. 

Through the front door's of the killer's building. 

Wayne ran and ran and ran. 

He ran as though he could run away from what had just happened now. 

As though he could run away from what had happened in the alleyway. 

Away from his problems. 

Wayne kept running. 

Wayne ran hard, as though the harder he ran the harder he could make it for his problems to catch him. 

He ran quick, as though he could outrun his problems. 

Without looking back, as though he could make his problems lose sight of him. 

Yes, Wayne ran... 

... 

... but he didn't run very far. 

Wayne ran until he got halfway through the parking lot with shut down cars. 

Until he was forced to stop in the middle of the space for vehicles. 

Until suddenly Jerome was there, and Jerome was looking at him concerned, and Jerome wasn't smiling. 

Wayne stopped running when he saw Jerome. 

Wayne didn't stop being angry though. 

I'm fact, Wayne's anger grew at the sight of the other. 

The sight of the one who left right before Wayne went and did this-- went after Malone. 

"Wayne-" Jerome started, stepping forward and halting as soon as Wayne glared at him and backed up. 

"Go away!" Wayne shouted, and he'd done so well with not crying at all since the holidays. "Just- just screw off!" So well with learning to be tough. "Okay? Leave me alone!" Yet there Wayne was not even caring about the water brimming in his glossed over eyes rimmed with red, the salty liquid streaming down his cheeks. "Go away!" 

"Wayne-" Jerome tried to calm, and knew he shouldn't of left Wayne the way he had, but he'd realized that a bit late. 

"Go away!" Wayne repeated, glaring at the ground, just wanting Jerome to move out of his way so he could keep running. 

Jerome shouldn't of walked out on Wayne right before the kiddo was going to go after the murderer that had ruined his life. 

"Listen-" Jerome spoke, not stepping forward as he stayed in place and just raised his hands in a non-threatening manner. 

He shouldn't of expected Wayne to keep true to their agreement of informing Jerome of when he was going to go after Malone, when Jerome hadn't even kept true to their agreement of him promising to stick by Wayne's side, and Wayne doing the same. 

"Move!" Wayne interjected again, and he contemplated on just going around Jerome, but SOMETHING was keeping him from doing that, and instead he found himself waiting to see whether or not the other would move. 

Should've at least stuck with Wayne until this was done. 

"I'm sorry." Jerome finally said, Wayne blinking a few droplets of water out of his eyes at that. "I'm sorry." Jerome repeated, Wayne's hands going into fists. 

It was understandable that Wayne was upset. 

"Shut up." Wayne choked out, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand. 

Understandable that Wayne was feeling betrayed. 

"Are you okay?" Jerome asked, and he knew it was a silly question all things considered, but he asked it in any case. 

Understandable that he wasn't wanting to act like Jerome walking out so easily- without even considering coming up with a different solution- was okay. 

Wayne scoffed, failing to rub the tears out of his eyes. "No." 

Understandable he was acting purely out of anger for once without considering what he was saying. 

"I'm here, all right?" Jerome said at that, Wayne giving another scoff, yet he insisted again, "I'm here." 

Jerome and Wayne had both acted out poorly without intentionally being a bit inconsiderate, and for just this one time that was... okay. 

"Stop being a cheesy sap all of a sudden." Wayne replied hoarsely, trying to get rid of the continuing tears with his palms, earning a slight smile, the younger one clearly calming. 

Jerome patiently waited for Wayne to calm down a bit more before stepping forward, making sure the other didn't shy away, afterwards moving to wrap his arms around the smaller one. 

At least a minute of just that went by. 

"I'm sorry-" Wayne finally choked out, burying his face against Jerome's neck. "I'm sorry," He repeated in a cracking voice. "I- I should've told you I was coming here-" 

Jerome's arms instinctively tightened, letting Wayne clench at the back of his shirt while assuring, "It's okay," He glanced up, catching sight of Jim as the detective eyed them over broodingly. "it's all right." 

Jim would let Jerome take it from there. 

~*~*~*~ 

"You don't have to stay," Wayne assured, curled up next to Jerome on the ginger's bed at the younger one's mansion. "you can go if you want-" The raven haired male went quiet and closed his eyes, feeling assuring fingers run through his hair a bit absentmindedly as Jerome read a magazine. "-it was... REALLY childish of me to act like you should've stayed here, and..." Wayne trailed off. 

"No it wasn't," Jerome assured, eyes skimming over the magazine articles. "and I want to stay here, all right?" 

Wayne nodded, placing his cheek against Jerome's lap and staring up at the other with huge, bluish gray, puppy-like eyes. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" Jerome smirked, lowering his magazine. "Just for tonight?" 

Jerome contemplated, snickering at Wayne's rather unfair pleading stare. "Fine-- just for tonight." It was the least he could agree to all things considered, and Wayne had obviously had a hard day. 

Wayne took the acceptance as an invitation to snuggle up against Jerome, earning an eye roll. 

Jerome went back to reading his magazine, and he couldn't help but vaguely wonder if Selina- who he'd rushed to the hospital before going to where she said Malone was located at- was doing any better... 

"Jerome?" Wayne yawned as the other set the magazine down and turned off the light. 

"Yeah?" Jerome hummed, shimmying under the sheets as Wayne cuddled closer to him. 

"I have a club I wanna' show you sometime." Wayne informed, referring to the place he'd met Jeri and all the other Jerome fans at. "It may give you an ego boost, though." 

Jerome grinned intrigued. "Ooh, an ego boost?" He chuckled, Wayne nuzzling against his neck. "Sounds fun." 

~*~*~*~ 

Hugo examined Fish Mooney as she was put back into a glass cylinder case, the doctor letting out a long exhale; he needed to perfect Fries' serum to where his test subjects didn't end up having their bodily functions fail within three to twelve hours... it got tiring having to constantly restart them. 

"I would hate to have to see you end up in one of these tanks," Hugo spoke after the workers who placed Fish into the tank left. "you have so much potential that I can use without being forced to throw you in one." He straightened up, keeping his eyes on Mooney. "Although I'm afraid if you persist with this routine of disobeying my orders, then I may have no other choice," He closed his eyes briefly. "which means I'd risk losing your promising potential if something went wrong with how easily that can occur in newly explored scientific matters like this, and you'd lose the one thing you've been taking the risk of sneaking here to receive-" Hugo turned, facing the one he was talking to-- the one Jester called 'Scratches' and had forced back here. "-isn't that right, Selina?" 

Selina kept her eyes averted, fresh needle wounds on her arms from the tests Hugo had permitted his scientists to give her in order to test her 'potential' aching as she nodded a bit dazed from whatever the hell they'd injected her with that time; Selina couldn't risk losing what- no... who- she'd been coming here for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so the chapter lengths changed lol! I'm still not quite sure how many chapters this fic will have, but I put up 36 instead of the previous 26 since I'm counting on it having at least that many now :)


	26. Traits of a Villain

"Well what kind of club is it?" Jerome questioned with a smirk, eying Wayne over intrigued. 

"A stripper club." Wayne answered, earning a stare. "Joking." 

Jerome scoffed, nonetheless giving a snicker at that. "What do I need to wear? I don't want to go in a t-shirt with jeans and see everyone wearing tuxedos, ya' know." 

"Oh, believe me, whatever you want to wear will definitely fit the standard." Wayne assured, glancing at the clothes in a brown suitcase that Jerome was rummaging through. "The purple shirt and crimson pants would look good." 

Jerome quirked a brow. "Oh?" That was odd-- usually such unmatched attire was frowned upon in most places. 

Wayne nodded, buttoning up the last button on his long sleeved black shirt. "It'll actually be rather-" He paused. "-suiting for the place we're going." 

Jerome gave a curious grin. "You're really not going to tell me where we're going, are you?" 

Wayne straightened up the cuffs on his shirt while answering, "Nope." 

"Not even a hint?" Jerome huffed, continue to wear his wide smile nonetheless. 

Wayne pondered, smoothing out a few wrinkles on his shirt; considering they were living with Selina now, Wayne no longer had a butler to iron his clothing. "All I'm saying is it's definitely your kind of club." 

That was both a bit worrying and thrilling to Jerome. "Is it now?" 

"Yep." Wayne confirmed simply, otherwise keeping his lips sealed. "You ready?" 

"Fine fine, let me get dressed." Jerome snickered, it being clear Wayne wasn't going to elaborate on where they were going... but that just made it all the more fun and exciting. 

Jerome threw on his button-up, long sleeved, dark purple shirt and deeply shaded blood red jeans, deciding to go with Wayne's recommendation before following the younger one to where Selina was lounging on a tattered up sofa. 

"You sure you don't want to tag along?" Wayne piped up, Selina's eyes moving from the page she was on and towards the raven haired boy. 

"I'm good," Selina answered, sights returning to the article she'd been reading. "I have somewhere I need to be later on," She flipped the page, refusing to meet Jerome's questioning gaze. "but have fun or whatever." 

Wayne gave a nod, walking off while saying, "Okay, see ya' around." 

Selina kept her eyes glued to the magazine for a few lengthy seconds before eventually looking up a bit hesitantly, Jerome staring her over quizzically. 

Jerome hadn't been able to interrogate Selina about the needle marks on her arms due to Wayne constantly being around them, but she was beginning to worry he'd lose his patience and bring it up around the kiddo rather than just waiting to get some alone time to discuss what was going on with the gal. 

Before Jerome could speak though, Wayne said, "Jerome?" The ginger glanced over at the awaiting male. "You coming?" 

Jerome paused, briefly looking back at Selina broodingly, causing a breath to catch in her throat as the older teen studied her for a long, long while. 

Selina didn't want Jerome to question her at all about what he'd seen, but she particularly didn't want him to bring up the needle scars around Wayne. 

"Yeah," Jerome finally spoke, Selina's muscles visibly relaxing in relief as he murmured, "let's go." 

Jerome could wait to have a conversation about whatever the hell Selina had been hiding. 

When the pair arrived at the seemingly normal night club at seven P.M., Jerome felt a nervous smile meet his lips as the two bodyguards blinked and stared taken aback at the sight of the ginger a few yards away. 

"Uh, Wayne... not sure this is exactly the best idea," Jerome laughed anxiously. "it kinda' looks like these guys may or may not possibly recognize me." He muttered, stopping in his tracks. 

"It's fine," Wayne casually waved off, continuing forward before coming to a halt afterwards, realizing Jerome wasn't following as the other stayed frozen in place. "seriously, it's fine," Wayne reassured, gesturing for Jerome to continue. "trust me." 

Jerome gave an antsy chuckle, hesitantly walking forward. "Sure..." What the hell was Wayne hiding here? Seriously, what exactly was this place..? 

The bodyguards glanced at one another before instantly moving to the side without question, giving a suspiciously respectful nod to the pair, Jerome eying them over taken aback while following the younger teen inside. 

"All right, come on Wayne, what is this-" Jerome started, pausing at the sight he was met with inside. "-place..." The walls were screens displaying projected footage of the Maniax, yet mostly showed Jerome, and the people... oh, the people definitely had Jerome's taste in style, even if some of them were over the top, but he LOVED over the top, and it didn't take Jerome very long to realize this crowd was consisting of his little fan bases of copycats. 

Wayne had expected Jerome to break into a wide amused grin when seeing the club, but instead the older teenager gave more of a wary smirk and cautious laugh, causing Wayne to arch a brow. 

"What's wrong?" Wayne shouted over the noise of the crowd. 

Jerome parted his lips to answer, but was interrupted by one of the many fans gasping, "Jerome?" Oh hells- "Jerome Valeska?" 

"Jerome?" Another fan questioned at hearing that, glancing over at the seventeen year old. Shit. "Seriously?" Shit shit shit. 

"Wait, what?" Yet another fan spoke up. "Did you say Jerome?" Damnit- 

"Jerome?" Aaand another fan. "As in Jerome Valeska?" Oh for the love of- 

It didn't take long at all for murmurs of Jerome's name to fill the room, eyes moving to look at him. 

Jerome forced on a smile, ushering Wayne behind him uncertainly as the music quite quickly screeched to a stop, an unsavory silence filling the room while he spoke in a quiet voice through clenched teeth, "Wayne?" 

"Yeah?" Wayne answered, not sure why the guy that loved to have an audience was so tense at the sight of fans. 

"How exactly do you know which of these guys are like Jester and which aren't?" Jerome inquired with a strained chuckle, tension filling the air. 

"Jeri told me anyone that acts out like Jester is thrown out of here." Wayne said calmly, not seeing a reason to distrust an audience that had helped him escape from Jim when he'd been there to speak with Jeri about Wayne going after Malone; these people weren't like Jester-- they actually liked him. 

"Who the hell is-" Jerome started, and as if on cue a short haired blonde woman managed to shimmy her way through the shocked crowd, instantly holding out a hand towards the unsettled red haired male. 

"Welcome to the club." Jeri greeted, Jerome glancing down at her hand uneasily, shifting so he was in front of Wayne more so. "Oh, hey, no worries-- we love the kid," Jeri assured, Jerome's smirk remaining uncertain. "really, he's great." The ginger still didn't take her offered hand. "Yeesh, never figured a guy like you could be this tense... seriously, come on buddy, relax; we're as far from Jester as it gets." 

Jerome glanced over his shoulder at Wayne, scoffing as the smaller one gave a confident nod, as if he really knew these sort of peoples attentions, the red haired teen uneasily returning his gaze to Jeri's, pausing briefly before reluctantly reaching out to take her offered palm. "Right..." He flashed a forced grin. "nice to meet cha'!" 

Jeri smirked, giving Jerome a shake before bringing her hand back and signaling for the band to start back up, music blaring and the crowd going back to dancing despite obviously keeping their intrigued eyes on Jerome and Wayne as she yelled over the music, "Come on, I'll give you two the full tour; heck, you can even check out the V.I.P. room 'n all that good stuff." 

Jerome kept his grin on until Jeri turned around, the ginger turning to Wayne and gripping the other's upper arm while leaning down and muttering against his ear, "Stay next to me." After meeting a copycat like Jester, Jerome didn't particularly want to risk letting Wayne get too close to any of these guys. 

Wayne nodded, the pair following Jeri through the crowd, managing to get halfway through before one of the audience members just had to go and grab Wayne's arm, Jerome halting after a few steps whence realizing Wayne was no longer beside him as Jeri looked over her shoulder and paused. 

"Heeey, it's Brucie or somethi'n, right?" The stranger spoke, giving a ruffle to Wayne's combed hair, making it look a bit more disheveled. "Man, I remember seeing Valeska hold that knife up to your throat!" He laughed, Wayne putting on a polite smile, vaguely uncomfortable by the way the other wouldn't release the almost bruising grip on his arm. "Must of been a real thrill, ami'right?" He chuckled, Jerome narrowing his eyes when spotting where Wayne was. "So I got a question about when you guys met-" 

"Hands off of the kiddo." Jeri knowingly warned in a shout over the blasting song playing. 

The copycat gave a laugh. "Aw come on, I'm just-" 

Jerome pushed through the crowd, gripping Wayne's wrist and tugging the other away from the copycat, arm wrapping around the raven haired boy's hip, a dangerous smirk meeting the older teen's lips as he said, "Go on?" 

It had been a while since Jerome made it clear Wayne was HIS, and while he didn't quite see the boy as just a possession anymore, he still knew when and where he needed to make it clear that anyone who as much as looked at Wayne the wrong way needed to back the hell off if they ever wanted to see the sun rise again. 

Before the copycat could finish, Jeri gestured for Jerome to follow, Wayne giving a polite goodbye to the copycat as Jerome didn't bother even muttering a farewell and simply walked off, more or less tugging Wayne with him, the pair continuing to walk after the blonde woman. 

The V.I.P. room consisted of twelve individuals in all when Jeri, Jerome, and Wayne joined in. 

"Shite, Valeska?" A female copycat with lush, forestry shaded, dyed hair gasped, tossing the questionably red stained cloth she'd been ringing out to the side. 

A man smoking a cigarette in a long holder coughed, letting it fall to the floor along with its fancy holder as he stomped it out. "Oh my, Valeska, you say?" He waved the lingering smoke out of his face with a white gloved hand. "As in THE Jerome Valeska?" 

"Huh. This is certainly a pleasant surprise." A young lady with a purple dress containing red designs hummed with a smirk, knife twirling in her right hand as her left one ran against the emeralds littering her dress collar. "Looks like the best magician in town and his little volunteer finally decided to pay us a visit." She looked the pair over the same way a hyena would look at a pair of cub lions. "Tonight sure will be a pleasure with such... unexpected entertainment." 

A man gave a chuckle at that, one half of his lips wearing an old scar that curved upwards. "Glad I decided to come to this shithole club today." 

"Ooh, either I'm high as hell, or this is the best day of my life!" A lass smoking weed chimed, Jerome moving in front of Wayne ever so protectively with the grin she was giving the fourteen year old. "You've really outdone yourself this time, Jeri-dearest~" She purred, her bright red lipstick going just barely by the corners of her mouths with a slight curve upwards, black mascara and eyeshadow heavily applied, foundation a skin tone too pale. 

"Uh-" Jerome laughed unsurely before anyone else could comment. "-hey there..." 

"Well don't just stand there!" The drugged up lass with poor makeup skills giggled. "Take a seat~" 

Oh boy... What had Wayne gotten them into? 

"Thanks." Jerome chuckled with a tight smile, reluctantly sitting on the sofa no one was sitting on, smirking irked as the high girl that had urged them to sit practically skipped over to their couch, sitting much to close to Jerome. 

"Give him some space, War-Paint." Jeri scolded, pouring a few cans of cheap beer into fancy wine glasses. "So, carrot-top-" She glanced at Jerome. "You good with the name carrot-top?" Jerome nodded despite his irritated smirk at the nickname. "-how you liking the club?" 

"It's-" Jerome wondered if there was an appropriate word in the English dictionary for his opinion. "-interesting." He answered while cracking a smile, remaining wary-- particularly when 'War Paint' maneuvered her way beside Wayne instead. 

"What about you, little guy?" War Paint mused, arm going behind Wayne and resting on the sofa cushions. "Enjoying the party?" She giggled, poking his cheek a bit too fondly. 

"Lay off the kid, War Paint." The man with a faded scar curved upwards on the right side of his lips scolded, he being the only one not grinning in the room. 

"Oh hush, Smiles!" War Paint huffed, ruffling up Wayne's hair. "Him and I are just having some fun and getting aquatinted, right cutie-pie?" 

"Um..." Wayne murmured a bit uncomfortably, gladly scooting closer to Jerome when the older teen nudged him over rather protectively. "Yeah, sure..." Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. 

"You're going to scare Valeska off if you don't contain yourself." The girl with hair dyed a greenish shade sighed, wearing an annoyed smirk. 

"Bite me, Wigs~" War Paint rang out with a carefree smile, voice and tone cheery despite her disrespectful words of challenge. 

"Wigs" grinned, leaning forward on the sofa opposite from War Paint and Jerome as well as Wayne, meeting War Paint's gaze. "Bite you?" She gave a snicker. "By all means, I'll rip your damn throat out!" 

"Um..." Wayne piped up, taken aback at the sudden snappiness and trying to diffuse the possible fight about to arise. 

"You ladies mind not scaring Wayne-boy?" The gloved man who'd been smoking a posh long cigarette scolded. "I'd hate to see these two handsome gentlemen leave right after getting here." 

Wayne frowned at how the gloved man looked Jerome up and down, the younger boy leaning on Jerome perhaps a bit jealously. 

"Aw come on, Mittens~" War Paint giggled, elbowing Wayne lightly. "I'm not scari'n ya', are I, little guy?" 

Before Wayne could answer, "Mittens"- who had noticed the way that Wayne had cozied on up to Jerome whence seeing the copycat look the ginger over- chuckled and said to the fourteen year old, "Oh don't worry, sweet-thing," He gave a wink at the smaller boy that got Jerome to wrap a protective arm around the raven haired male. "I can definitely share." 

"What do you mean by 'share?'" Wayne interrogated in confusion. 

"So you guys knew Jester?" Jerome spoke up before Mittens could have the chance to answer, not particularly sure he wanted the older guy to elaborate on what he'd meant by "share." 

"Sure did," A man confirmed, Jerome noting this guy looked particularly normal despite his somewhat raggedy clothes, and other than that he didn't have much stand out about him. "he used to be a V.I.P. member." The male gave a nod of greeting. "I'm Jack by the way-- Jack Napier." 

"Nice to meetcha', Jack." Jerome replied with a charming smile, not letting onto the fact he was doubting he'd remember any of these names. "So he used to be one of you guys, huh?" 

"Regrettably, yes." Answered a man who also looked relatively normal, although this one also wore a bit fancier attire than Jack... and pretty much fancier attire than everyone in the room, in fact. "Pleased to finally have the pleasure of meeting you by the way," Wow; he was almost as charismatic as Jerome-- almost. "Joe-- Joe Carr." He introduced with a hint of pride, as though Jerome should recognize his name. This guy was probably a self-absorbed doctor or something. 

"Pleasure's all mine, Joe." Jerome chuckled, beginning to relax a little with how this place was actually turning out to not be so bad, yet staying alert just in case. "Any idea on why he went awol?" 

"You." Now this guy... this guy would've looked normal if he wasn't wearing such a questionable smirk. "This whole club IS dedicated to YOU, after all." His smirk grew ever so slightly. "He wanted to impress you," He glanced at Wayne. "but the majority of us- unlike Jester- know laying a finger on the kiddo is the last thing that would make you grin." His smirk stopped spreading across his face, going back to being a normal quirk of the lips. "In any case, the name's Sirius." 

A red haired fifteen year old quietly excused himself from the room at that, Jerome arching an intrigued brow as the woman in the purple dress with red patterns and emerald jewels along her dress collar said, "That was Rome, and I'm Jokester." 

Jerome nodded, glancing over at the remaining copycat that probably looked the most normal of them all. "What about you?" 

The sixteen year old had light dyed brown hair combed into a façon style, bright blue eye contacts, and a dark turtleneck sweater with worn out black jeans. 

"I'm Mayne." He answered, being the only one who hadn't offered a smile at the greeting, instead just giving a slight nod with the introduction... although he did dare to keep his gaze locked with Jerome's after the greeting. 

Jerome found this one most intriguing, and Wayne knew that the second Jerome mused, "It's certainly a pleasure meeting you." 

Wayne decided he didn't like Mayne very much when the copycat allowed the left corner of his lips to quirk upwards ever so slightly, the fan even giving Jerome a look up and down that you'd have to squint to catch, afterwards politely replying, "Oh, believe me-" Mayne briefly bit down on his lower lip, Wayne wanting to scoff at the pretentious flirtatious gesture. "-the pleasure's all mine." 

It didn't take long at all for Mayne to stir up a conversation with Jerome, the rest of the copycats eventually going back to talking amongst themselves as well. 

Wayne was beginning to regret bringing Jerome to this place. 

At least War Paint tried to be nice by offering Wayne some candy in any case, though. 

Wayne's nose scrunched as the tiny, pink, round tablet rested on his tastebuds. "This tastes sort of bitter." He commented as it began to dissolve on his tongue. 

"Don't worry hun, it grows on you~" War Paint assured, tossing one of the tablets into her mouth. "Plus the effects are SO good~" 

Wayne sucked on the tablet, head tilting. "The effects?" 

"Long story short?" War Paint lounged back. "Euphoria in a pill~" 

"Oh." It took Wayne a few seconds. "Wait, pill?" 

"Yeah, you know-- bliss~" 

The "pill" was almost all the way dissolved on Wayne's tongue. "Did you give me a drug?" 

War Paint glanced at Wayne with a raised brow. "Yeah?" Hadn't that been obvious? "What's wrong? Never had ecstasy before?" 

Wayne's jaw dropped, the pill already gone. "I've never even smoked a cigarette before!" 

War Paint bursted out laughing, having to hold her stomach as she doubled over, Wayne glaring at her unamused. 

"How-" War Paint crackled, having to wipe a few tears out of her eyes, smudging a bit of black mascara and eyeshadow. "-how are you such a goody-two-shoes and best friends with the baddest guy in Gotham?" 

Wayne didn't find this funny. "Jerome?" He grumbled, nudging the ginger conversing with Mayne (who had made his way over to sit the sofa armrest right next to the seventeen year old red haired teen. The bastard looked just about ready to cozy up on the entertained Jerome's lap. Jackass.) 

Jerome glanced at Wayne, clearly having a good time talking about whatever the hell he and Mayne had been talking about judging by the grin on his face. 

"Yeah?" Jerome chuckled, wondering why Wayne looked so upset. "What's up?" 

As much as Wayne was beginning to dislike Mayne more and more... he couldn't help but notice Jerome was having a good time. Like, a REALLY good time, and honestly the whole reason Wayne had brought Jerome out here was so Jerome would be able to loosen up a little and have fun with his kind of people. 

Wayne didn't want to be the cause of them having to leave and end Jerome's refreshing indulgence of fun when they had been there for less than half an hour. 

So Wayne acted like nothing was wrong, and Jerome went back to talking with Mayne. 

This was fine; Wayne could totally keep calm and just play it cool. If he just stayed quiet and didn't move around too much, he wouldn't show any effects of the drugs. 

Besides, how bad could a tiny sample of ecstasy really be? It was just one little pill. 

Ten minutes later Wayne found that out. 

At first Wayne just felt anxious. His heartbeat had accelerated, and his mind began to race, and his leg began to tap up and down quickly in an antsy fashion- 

"You okay?" Jerome inquired, acknowledging the anxious behavior and placing a hand on Wayne's bouncing knee, giving the younger one a concerned look. 

Wayne had to play it cool. Wait, why did he have to play it cool again? It had something to do with Jerome... oh, right-- he didn't want to ruin Jerome's night. So how was Wayne supposed to not ruin Jerome's night? Um... Oh! By acting chilled out. Okay, easy enough. Wow, Jerome had beautiful eyes... they looked like emeralds! Jerome had a nice jawline as well. Hair, too-- Jerome had a handsome hairstyle. Wayne liked how two strands of Jerome's hair refused to stay in place... And Jerome's lips were definitely nice, too; Jerome's lips we VERY nice, in fact. Wayne got the urge to lean forward and- no, Wayne shouldn't do that... Why shouldn't Wayne do that, again? Were they- no, they weren't dating... dangit. Maybe Wayne should ask Jerome to date! Had Wayne already done that? He was pretty sure he'd already done something LIKE that. Maybe Jerome wasn't gay. Pft, yeah right! Jerome was rather gay, if Wayne remembered correctly. Obviously, Wayne was somewhat gay as well. Wait, what was Wayne supposed to be doing again? Acting cool and kissing Jerome? Yeah, that sounded about right- no! Playing it cool. Kissing Jerome was a no-no... sadly. Why was it a no-no? Something to do with advantage... would kissing Wayne be a disadvantage to Jerome? Nah, that wasn't- oh! Right-- Jerome didn't want to kiss Wayne and take advantage of Wayne. That was sweet. Jerome was sweet. Kissing Jerome would be pretty sweet- no, stop, act cool... kissing Jerome would be cool- 

Wayne abruptly stood off, ignoring the tingling in his limbs and stumbling off to the bathroom, having trouble walking with said tingling sensation spreading through his body as he seemed to move faster than his surroundings, the voices of the copycats around him muffled and vision blurred vaguely, not used to how being dizzy actually felt kinda'... good. 

Wayne had never had so much trouble making his way to a bathroom with how it had been much more difficult to find one than usual, and when he FINALLY got there he considered it a huge success. 

Okay, calm down-- Wayne needed to calm down. Focus. Focus on what? Focus on who he was. Where he was. Why he was there. What was happening. Concentration should calm him down. 

Wayne. He was billionaire Wayne. He didn't usually do drugs, but there's always a first for everything. He was at a club. A club for a friend. A club for Jerome. 

Jerome. 

The guy Wayne had wanted to kiss. His friend. Bodyguard. Jerome looked out for him. He'd kissed Jerome before... so why couldn't they kiss now? Age? Something about age? Sort of? About ethics. 

Jerome wasn't ethical though... but he still had some morals. 

That's why he wouldn't kiss Wayne, right? 

Morals. 

What were Jerome's morals? He had, like, two... maybe less. Right? No kissing? No-- no taking advantage of... Oh. He didn't want to take advantage of Wayne. Right. What else? Didn't abuse kids... that was always good. Anything else? 

"Hey," A familiar voice spoke concerned, Wayne blinking at the somewhat distorted sound. "you all right?" 

Who? Who was that? Who? Sounded familiar. A friend? Pretty sure it was a friend-- Wayne hoped it was. A guy's voice probably. 

Red hair. Emerald colored eyes. Concerned looked weird... should've been a- a smile? Oh! Yeah, Jerome. This was Jerome. Wayne knew it had been Jerome, and he'd known it had been a friend, but it had taken him a minute to recall how good of friends they were. Jerome locked the bathroom door? That was weird, wasn't it? Jerome was a- a murderer... Shit, was Jerome going to murder him? Wait, no-- Jerome wouldn't hurt him. Kiss? They could be about to kiss. Probably not, Wayne felt like- 

"Hi." Wayne laughed, trying to move towards Jerome since that seemed like a good idea at the time according to his gut feeling, yet tripping over his own feet, the taller one managing to move forward and grab him by his hips before he could hit the floor. 

"Are you okay?" Jerome questioned concerned, trying to move Wayne into an upright standing position. 

Wayne nodded, nuzzling against Jerome's chest, leaning heavily on the other. "Mhm," Wow, he felt great. "I got-" Jerome felt great to Wayne. "-candy, from- um... War Paint." He explained, burying his face against Jerome's neck as the other gripped his waist a bit tighter, attempting to see if Wayne could support himself. 

Oh great. "Candy?" Jerome sighed, deciding he disliked War Paint most at that. 

Wayne was getting so many ideas on what to say! But he had to say them quickly, because they didn't stay around for long; if he didn't hurry up and say what was on his mind, then it seemed to leave rather fast. The same went for his actions. 

So, Wayne didn't bother on risking losing the words that came to mind by pondering on their meanings- much less whether or not he should keep them to himself- as he confirmed, "Mhm," He let Jerome lean his back against the wall, not realizing the other was just trying to prop him up against something to keep him upright as he draped his arms around the older one's neck and offered with an out-of-it smile, "I could be your candy." 

Oh hells. "What?" Jerome scoffed, trying to pry Wayne off of him. "No." He figured Wayne probably didn't even know what that could mean taken either out of context or the wrong way. "I'm going to go ask War Paint what she gave you-" 

"No," Wayne whined, not caring about being childish as he usually would, seeing no reason to compose himself since he had better things to try and linger on as they ran through his mind. "she just gave me-" Oh, what was it... "-euphoria or something." 

Euphoria? What- oh. Oh shit. 

"Ecstasy?" Jerome sighed, Wayne perking up at the familiar word and giving a nod. "How many did she give you?" 

"Um..." Wayne contemplated briefly. "Just one." 

"You sure?" Jerome questioned, Wayne pausing before giving a nod of certainty. "How do you feel?" 

Huh. That was a good question-- how DID Wayne feel? He definitely felt good, but what kind of good? He felt excited... wasn't sure what he was so excited for, but he felt it nonetheless; Wayne felt like he was anticipating something, but there was nothing to anticipate as far as he could remember. 

Okay, so Wayne would tell Jerome he felt good- wait, no... excited! 

"Excited." Wayne answered, wanting to move around and constantly shifting from foot to foot. "Hey, let's go jogging!" 

Wayne had just taken his first drug, and it had been ecstasy... this was certainly going to be interesting. 

If Wayne was feeling excited, that meant he was at least over the anxiety ridden part, and if Jerome wasn't mistaken Wayne would begin to calm down and be a bit more conscious of his actions while still being a bit too impulsively outgoing nonetheless, until his mind relaxed to its natural state completely, and then have his crash where he'd feel absolutely awful. 

Jerome decided it would be best to get Wayne back to Selina's place before the crash. "Okay, let's go-" 

"Where?" Wayne asked, Jerome parting his lips to answer. "Can I kiss you?" The easiest thing would be to just ask rather than bothering with remembering anything or attempting to catch quick social cues when the world seemed to be going by faster than usual, right? 

"To Selina's, and no-- you can't." Jerome answered, making sure Wayne was against the wall sturdily before taking a step back, gesturing the smaller boy forward. "Try to walk." 

"I like you." 

No shit, Sherlock. "I know, you've already told me that," Jerome murmured, understanding people usually didn't live in the moment to the point they forgot THIS much about the past and nearly instantly used such basic vocabulary while conversing on instinct rather than risking losing what they were trying to convey by taking a second longer to come up with a better way to phrase something as people usually did, but this had been Wayne's first time doing any sort of drug, so... "now come on." Jerome ushered, knowing the single one-time drug most likely wouldn't affect Wayne too bad, and any of those one-time effects would more than likely just be temporary, so the baddest thing that could happen would probably be a hopefully unlikely addiction, which was... somewhat reassuring. 

Wayne nodded, stepping forward and feeling a bit dizzy, pausing briefly and waiting for the sickening feeling in his stomach to decrease before continuing towards the observing ginger, being a bit wobbly here and there, but otherwise fine. 

Jerome let out a sigh of relief when seeing Wayne could more or less walk, grabbing ahold of his upper arm just to be sure he didn't fall over or get distracted and run off somewhere, the older one afterwards walking towards the bathroom door, glancing down at Wayne to check up on him before continuing out, tightening his grip on the boy's arm while they made their way towards the crowd. 

Wayne wasn't much of a dancer, but considering he was feeling incredibly energetic and there were two lovely older fifteen year old dancing girls with prints of smiling lipstick stained mouths flashing off their fangs tattooed on varying areas of their skin waving him over, he of course paused. 

"No." Jerome instantly scoffed, already knowing what Wayne was looking at and trying to tug him along, smirking irritatedly as Wayne practically pouted up at him. "We're leaving before someone else can slip you any more pills." 

"But-" 

"No buts," Jerome interjected, gently tugging on Wayne's arm again. "we're leaving." 

"Make me." Wayne challenged, Jerome narrowing his eyes with how he couldn't quite tell if said challenge was just stubborn or possibly a tad bit flirtatious. 

"Fine." Jerome chuckled in annoyance, more or less yanking on Wayne's arm while taking a step forward, being firm yet sure to not bruise, jaw clenching as Wayne leaned his body weight away from the direction Jerome was trying to go, causing Jerome to turn towards the smaller one while sighing, "Wayne I swear to-" 

Wayne stood on the tips of his toes, planting one against Jerome's lips while pulling his arm back at the same time, managing to get loose and pull away into the crowd as Jerome registered the kiss. 

Oh for the love of- 

Fun was the only reason Wayne had done that, and things made purely of fun often lacked common sense. 

Jerome ignored the urge to leave Wayne to fend for himself in the questionable club, giving a stressed laugh and weaving through the crowd in attempts to find the raven haired boy before he got his ass in more trouble or met another 'Jester.' 

Wayne, meanwhile, couldn't quite remember what he'd even wanted to break away from Jerome to get to as he wandered around the dance floor aimlessly, also realizing he had no idea which way he'd come from, which meant he had no idea where Jerome was, and that meant he was very, VERY alone on the dance floor... it was unsettling to say the least considering he was in a club idolizing a serial killer, even if he was that killer's friend. 

The wariness in Wayne raised considerably when he noticed a projection of him at the charity being held at knifepoint by Jerome flickered on the walls, shrinking into himself as people cheered at the sight and the music volume encouragingly raised. 

Jerome. Wayne should try to find Jerome. This had been a bad idea. 

Wayne tried to push his way through the crowd, the hyped energy relentlessly building up in the pit of his gut not helping out with his frustration as he struggled to barely even move more than a few inches through the dancing people, finding it was much too difficult to weave through with how small he felt compared to all the copycats as he finally just came to a halt, looking for a way out of the crowd a bit desperately, hopes diminishing at the sight of absolutely zero available gaps he could possibly get through. 

The ecstasy was making him anxious again, and he debated on simply ignoring his worries to try and have fun in the dancing crowd to stop the sickening nervousness rising, deciding that seemed like a rather good idea and not seeing a reason not to- 

Wayne jumped as a hand grabbed his arm, pulse racing faster than the strobing lights flashed as he struggled to see who was helping him through the crowd while pulling him along, perking up at recognizing the color of red hair. 

The pair got outside, Wayne's antsy emotions being replaced with energy once more, his ears adjusting to the silence as his eyes adjusted to not seeing neon colors flashing everywhere. 

"Um, thanks-" Wayne started, placing an apologetic hand on the ginger's arm, knowing he'd just been a load of trouble somehow- 

"No problem." 

Wayne jerked his hand back at the unfamiliar voice, squinting through the darkness and realizing the red haired teen wasn't Jerome despite how familiar he looked. 

"Do I know you?" Wayne questioned quizzically, brow furrowing and head tilting. 

"Nope." The other answered, Wayne glancing down at his pocket on edge as the ginger reached into it, the raven haired boy visibly relaxing whence seeing all the other pulled out was a bag of some sort of green plant mush and a sheet of thin paper. "I noticed you were kinda' freaking out in there and figured you needed some fresh air to cool down." 

Wayne knew he'd met this guy somewhere. Possibly recently. Probably recently, actually. Tonight? Yeah, maybe tonight. Where tonight? Most likely at the club he guessed. On the dance floor, maybe? Had they just shared a glance or something before being on their way? That didn't sound quite right. Where else in the club could he of seen him? He was too young to be a bodyguard-- he looked fifteen. 

So where- oh! The V.I.P. room? That seemed about right! Which one was he? Which one had dyed red hair? Wayne didn't recall talking to him at all, much less being introduced to him. Wait, was there anyone Wayne hadn't been introduced to? Anyone that hadn't greeted Wayne? He was pretty sure there was... Hey, this was the guy that had left before anyone had a chance to say anything to him, wasn't it? The one that one of the female copycats told Jerome and him the name of; what was his name? It began with a J- no, an R. It was a place... 

"You're Rome!" Wayne practically gasped, the ginger's eyebrows arching. 

"Yeah," Rome chuckled, smirk tugging at his lips as he rolled up the green plant in the small sheet of paper. "you always this excited about meeting new people?" 

In all honesty Wayne had just been excited about remembering the name and managing to figure out who this guy was; just about anything could excite Wayne when he was like this. 

"I'm on ecstasy." Wayne explained, not minding his bluntness as he instead decided it was more important to smile back at the other, not remembering the last time just smiling had felt so good with the way doing so made a warmth spread through his chest. 

Wow, either Wayne really liked this stranger, or drugs felt amazing. Wayne guessed it was the second option with how he wasn't typically overly fond of strangers, and was usually quite the opposite. 

Rome stared at Wayne taken aback. "You do ecstasy?" 

"Once. Tonight, I mean. First time doing ecstasy. Actually, first time doing any sort of drug. Paint War- I mean... Battle Paint- War Colors-" Wayne paused. "War Paint gave a pill to me." 

Rome snickered amused at the words stumbling out of Wayne's lips oh so quickly. "Glad I got you outta' there before someone tried to slip you molly or acid." He mused, placing the folded paper in between his lips while bringing out a lighter. 

"Yeah. Same, I guess? Thank you?" Wayne would usually want to face palm himself for using a vocabulary style he'd normally never use with how odd it felt on his tongue to where he felt like he was saying word wrong, but when so many things were rushing through your mind and you felt a strange new GOOD emotion flowing through you like artificial happiness that you didn't care was artificial... well, let's just say most people didn't boohoo over such things. "Why'd you take me out here anyhow? You're not going to murder me, are you?" 

Rome couldn't tell if Wayne was trying to joke around or was being serious, but laughed in any case. "I assure you that Jerome, yourself, and Mayne are the only three people I don't have on my to-stab list." He replied, lighting up the blunt. 

Wayne would normally not feel like someone saying the didn't want to murder him was a way of being given an award by them, but he was certainly not in his normal state of mind for the time being, which made him perk up and even beam a little, not catching the way the Rome looked him up and down curiously as the raven haired boy's beaming expression fell while he said, "Wait, so you know Mayne?" 

Rome nodded, drawing in one breath of the blunt before trapping the sliver of paper in between his middle and pointer finger, pulling it away from his mouth, holding it up to Wayne's lips. "Here, this'll calm you down." 

Wayne eyed the offered blunt before moving his gaze up to Rome's, already forgetting about Mayne with his new curiosity. "What is it?" 

Rome snickered. "You don't know what a blunt is?" He pressed it against Wayne's lips, cracking a smile as the smaller one kept his mouth sealed shut. "Relax, it's a legal drug... in some places." Wayne stared up at him cautiously. "Seriously, doctors and shit use this." Wayne looked unconvinced, causing Rome to shrug and add, "Hey, this stuff is a hell of a lot better for you than cigs are at least." 

Wayne turned his cheek to the taller one. "You put your mouth on it." 

"It's not like I'm asking to kiss you." Rome scoffed, Wayne knowing he'd usually get dissed off about a stranger saying that to him, yet feeling his cheeks heat up more shyly than angrily at that. 

Half of Wayne strongly adored the effects of ecstasy, while the other half was vaguely hoping this drug in his system wouldn't make him go and do something regrettable. 

If Wayne took the drug it could knock him out. Rome could be wanting to knock him out. Wayne didn't know shit about drugs, so he didn't know if this would really calm him down. It could kill him. Or make him faint. Or make his pulse race even more. Then again, it could really calm him down and get him in his right mind. As much as Wayne was having fun, he wasn't completely gone to where he didn't realize he was acting abnormally, and he knew that could prove to be a bad thing. 

Wayne usually would've pondered more in a situation like this, but Wayne wasn't his usual self as he parted his lips. 

The right corner of Rome's mouth curved upwards, Wayne not knowing why he hadn't just taken the blunt out of the fifteen year old's hand and fixing to reach for it instead, but before he could Rome set the paper against Wayne's lips, the pads of his fingers resting on the younger one's mouth, patiently waiting for the other to hesitantly shut his lips before allowing his digits to linger on Wayne's mouth briefly to be sure the drug didn't fall out, afterwards drawing his hand back. 

Was that supposed to be a suggestive gesture? Wayne felt like Rome was being suggestive. Then again, everything anyone was doing seemed immensely amplified to Wayne considering everything Wayne was feeling was immensely amplified. 

Rome's eyes flickered around the empty alleyway they were in, noting no bodyguards were around with how they'd taken the backdoor and glancing down at Wayne before gesturing the other back inside the club with a nod. "Come on," He held the door open for the smaller one. "a lot of creeps come around this area." 

Wayne was taken aback at how... strangely nice this guy was being-- he was the complete opposite of Jester. 

Wayne nodded, following Rome back inside. 

By the time they reached Rome's room Wayne's mind was already calming, although now it was becoming much too calm. 

"The blunt will make your crash come on early," Rome informed, Wayne's feeling a relaxing numbness take over his limbs rather than an energetic tingling sensation like the one the ecstasy had given him. "you can lay down and relax so you don't crash standing up and fall or something." 

Wayne nodded, letting Rome take the almost burnt out blunt away from his lips, trying to not over analyze the way the fifteen year old's fingertips brushed against his lower lip. "Can you-" Oh great, now instead of having too many things rush to his mind, Wayne had too little. "Um, can you... find Jerome? For me or whatever? Please?" 

Rome gave a nod as Wayne laid on his mattress, looking the fourteen year old over broodingly before replying, "Sure; I'll lock the door to make sure no one comes in the room, yeah?" 

Wayne nodded and forced his eyes to stay open as the other walked towards the threshold, sitting up despite how his relaxed limbs just wanted to stay down. "Hey, um- can I ask you something?" 

Rome paused at the threshold, glancing over his shoulder. "What's up?" 

"Why are you being so oddly nice? It's sorta' weird." Good job Wayne, sound like a little bit of an asshole... even if that wasn't your intentions. 

Rome snickered amused, and Wayne knew he'd answered him, but he hadn't quite caught what he said, and he wasn't able to ask the other to repeat himself as Rome left the room. 

Wayne fell back onto the mattress, eyes sliding shut as he began to feel more and more sleepy. 

When Wayne woke back up it was on his bed at Selina's place. 

Wayne groaned, throat parched and tongue dry, a strong migraine making the sunlight streaming through his window feel like he was staring right at the center of the sun itself. 

Obviously, Wayne would not make a good drug consumer with how shitty just taking one pill of ecstasy and a single blunt was making him feel, but in his defense those were his first drugs... and his last from the feels of it considering Wayne didn't want to ever feel this awful for a brief good feeling. 

Wayne reluctantly got up, stomach churning sickeningly as he made his way to the "kitchen" AKA Selina's huge-ass cooler to get some water. 

"What happened last night?" Wayne asked groggily, unable to recall the blurry events the same way many people have trouble recalling a dream more than a few minutes old, Jerome getting up from his place on the couch and ushering Wayne over to sit down on the cushions. 

"Long story short?" Jerome scoffed, letting Wayne lay down on the cushions as he went to grab a bottle of water from the cooler. "War Paint gave you ecstasy, you suck at taking drugs with how out of it you were, which means the drugs made you act like a little shite who ran off when I was trying to get you out of the club so we could come back her, you met a questionable copycat named Rome- who I have some mixed feelings about considering he gave you a blunt even though he did at least come to find me afterwards when I'd been worrying my ass off about finding you- but I guess he was all right since Mayne, who had been helping me look for you for at least a solid fifteen minutes, said Rome was cool or whatever-" 

"You sure are liking Mayne." Wayne grumbled under his breath. 

Jerome stood, water in his hand. "Huh?" He questioned, turning to face Wayne with raised eyebrows, not catching what the other had said. 

"Nothing." 

Jerome shrugged, tossing Wayne the water bottle, deciding to not press the matter on whatever Wayne had murmured. "So I woke you up, but I doubt you remember that considering you were out of it as I tried to maneuver you through the club... which wasn't necessarily a bad thing considering we went by a red area where people were doing things I ended up having to cover your eyes for-" 

"Oh yeah, I remember going by that place when I first went to meet Jeri-" 

"I'm never going to get that shit out of my mind." Jerome snickered while grabbing a bottle of excedrin, earning a regrettable nod of agreement. "In any case, you ended up passing out, so I had to carry you the rest of the way here, and you sorta' woke up when I laid you down-- it kinda' seemed like you were half asleep... or just drugged up." Jerome continued, shaking a pill from the bottle into his palm. "You decided it would be a good idea to try and kiss me again- and F.Y.I. you're a terrible flirt when you're sleepy- until finally I told you to stop and you did... even if you were a bit of a pout, and you fell back asleep with your arms locked around my neck, which made me have to sleep in an incredibly awkward position for the whole night." 

Oh hells, Wayne felt embarrassed. "I'm so sorry-" 

"It's fine, I'll probably just have this horrible crick in my neck for the rest of the week." Jerome teased, smirking at how pink Wayne's cheeks were. "Joking. But uh-" He cleared his throat, deciding this would be a good time to add with a smile in order to make sure he didn't seem too stern, "-on a more serious note, no more kissing, yeah? The last time we agreed to do that was on Valentine's Day, and you've tried a few times since-" 

Wayne instantly nodded, wanting to drop the matter and still feeling embarrassed as he covered up his face with his hands. "Um, yeah, sorry-" That was fair enough. 

"Lighten up some, kiddo," Jerome snickered amused, nudging Wayne gently in both an assuring fashion and as a gesture to get the other to hold his hand out, dropping the pill for Wayne's migraine into the boy's hand. "no need to get all shy over-" 

"Shut up." Wayne huffed even more embarrassedly, swallowing the pill down with a gulp of water and earning a smirk. 

"Selina and I are going to go get Jonathan and Ivy," Jerome informed at that, deciding to let what was said be done and left behind, not seeing a reason to linger on it... even if he enjoyed flustering up Wayne. "you feeling well enough to tag along?" 

Wayne perked up, embarrassment being replaced with interest. "Aren't they in trouble?" 

"Why else would I be going?" Jerome mused with a grin. "There's not any use going anywhere if trouble isn't involved." He mused cheekily. "We're meeting up with some chicks named Harley and Jen to help us." 

As excited as Wayne was about going to help out Ivy and Jonathan... Jerome did love getting them into a bit TOO much trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> diana-the-peacemaker and I have discussed incubus!jerome imagines and she drew some art of incubus!jerome and I love it as usual! Her art's always so lovely! Check out the piece below :) 
> 
> http://diana-the-peacemaker.tumblr.com/post/143144575001/fantasy-valeyne-au-incubusjerome


	27. The Acquaintances of a Feline

"Shut up." Selina snapped in a hushed voice, earning a scoff. 

"How about you shut up and listen-" Jerome snapped back quietly, grin tight. 

"Zip it-" Selina persisted irritatedly in a low tone. 

"Don't tell me to zip it-" 

"Just-" Selina sighed, keeping her voice soft despite the annoyance laced in her words. 

"Listen-" Jerome interjected irked, having half a mind to raise his tone, lips itching to twitch from a smile to a frown as he forced the corners of his mouth to stay curved upwards. 

"Don't tell me to listen!" Selina argued through clenched teeth, slapping Jerome's arm. "You listen!" 

Jerome debated on shoving her away in return. "Don't interrupt me-" 

"I'll stop interrupting you when you stop interrupting me!" 

"Selina, I swear to-" 

"You guys ready to go?" Wayne's voice spoke up as he turned the corner, the curly haired girl and ginger going silent while moving their sights towards the raven haired boy, the previously bickering pair glancing at one another broodingly before looking back at Wayne and nodding. 

Wayne didn't realize anything was going on between the criminals, simply taking the lead as Jerome and Selina gave each other looks of warnings before following, the girl punching the male's shoulder, Jerome giving her a shove. 

"Jackass." Selina muttered, being sure Wayne couldn't hear her. 

"Asshole." Jerome murmured back, flashing her a cheeky grin. 

"Prick." 

"Bitch." 

Selina's lips pursed. "Jerk-face." 

"Stick-up." 

"Psycho." 

Jerome's smile tightened. "Kleptomaniac." 

"What are you guys talking about?" Wayne asked curiously, looking over his shoulder when noticing the pair were uttering things under their breath to one another. 

Jerome swung an arm around Selina. "Just how much we adore one another's company." 

"Screw off." Selina scoffed, slapping Jerome's arm away, eyes rolling as Jerome swung an arm around Wayne's shoulders instead. 

"Ah, déjà vu." Jerome mused, referring to how Selina shrugged him off like Wayne used to when they had only been acquainted for business reasons pertaining to exchanging favors for information. 

"Bite me." Selina grumbled, Wayne frowning as Jerome snickered. 

"You're the real-life example of Grumpy Cat, aren't you?" The red haired teen mused, Wayne giving him a look as Selina glowered at the ginger. 

"At least I'm not an obnoxious jackass that doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut!" Selina replied snappily, Wayne sighing and rolling his eyes. 

"Oh ho ho, so your saying I can't keep my mouth shut?" Jerome challenged right back, Selina's expression falling as he added, "If you ask me, I'm able to keep my mouth shut pretty well," She knew he was referring to not telling Wayne about the needle scars on her arms, which is what they'd been arguing about before Wayne popped up in the first place. "but sometimes my patience wears a little thin, sweet-cakes." The older teenager warned with an all too friendly grin. 

Selina needed to get out of here before Jerome decided to let their little secret spill, the younger one anxiously adjusting her sleeves over her sore arms. "I'm going on ahead," She murmured, Wayne's brow quirking at the sudden lack of snappiness in her tone. "I have some things to do really quick, so just meet me there." She lied, gaze averted. 

"What was the address again?" Wayne called out as Selina sprinted off. 

"I remember the directions." Jerome assured with a cheeky smile, the curly haired girl already disappearing into a nearby alleyway. 

Maybe Jerome shouldn't of given her such a rough time... he nearly felt along the lines of bad for it. 

Wayne glared at Jerome disapprovingly. "Why aren't you and Selina getting along anymore?" 

"I get along with her pretty well," Jerome said with a shrug as he shoved his hands into his pockets, grinning at Wayne while adding, "I mean... I haven't killed her yet, so-" 

"Haha." Wayne scoffed sarcastically, giving a light and harmless shove to Jerome, earning a snicker, things going quiet for a few lengthy seconds before Wayne hesitantly asked, "Do you ever get any urges to kill anymore?" 

Jerome recalled the robed men he'd recently murdered for Alfred. "I haven't wanted to snap your neck or anything you since you helped get me away from Penguin's rogue men that had taken over." He answered vaguely, referring to when Wayne had realized Silver was lying and actually admitted he gave a shit for the ginger after refusing to give up Wayne's location. 

"What about Selina?" Wayne continued to interrogate. 

"Eh..." Jerome gave a so-so gesture. "Torture maybe, but I haven't gotten to wanting to straight up murder her." 

Wayne didn't know whether to find Jerome's honesty relieving or disturbing, although in any case he didn't find it all that surprising considering he'd gotten to the point almost nothing Jerome said or did surprised him anymore. 

Besides... it wasn't as though Jerome was going to act on his impulses. 

"Ivy?" Wayne continued, studying Jerome's expression as they walked. 

"I wouldn't mind killing her, but it's not as though I'd go out of my way to." 

"Jonathan?" 

Jerome smirked at that. "There's been a few times I've wanted to drive a knife through his throat." He confirmed honestly. 

"Alfred?" 

Jerome paused, Wayne arching a brow as he pondered before casually answering, "No." 

Wayne observed Jerome's forced smile. "No?" 

Shit-- Wayne had caught his lie. "Well, I mean... maybe a few times." Silence. "I've wanted to kill Gordon more though." He attempted to defend, not daring to meet Wayne's questioning gaze. 

Jerome was hiding something. "I know you and Alfred don't get along, but I hadn't realized you hated him." 

"Never said I hated him." Jerome countered. 

"Do you?" 

Dangit. 

Jerome swallowed dryly. "A little, yeah." He needed to change the subject. "My throat's parched, wanna' get something to drink?" 

"Sure. So why do you hate him?" 

Jerome sighed at Wayne's usual persistence. "I hate a lot of people." He chuckled, trying to wave this whole thing off, looking around for a shop to get some water. 

"You hate Jim for catching you before throwing you in jail, Theo for using you, and Jester for attacking us," Wayne stubbornly reminded. "so what's your reason for hating Alfred?" 

"Why do you care so much? It's not like I'm gonna' kill him." Jerome snapped with a laugh. "I just don't like old prudes is all." He could feel Wayne's eyes on him. "I know he's your guardian, so I'm not trying to bad-mouth him or anything-" 

"It's fine if you hate him," Wayne shrugged off. "Selina hates him, too, and I'm fine with that, but you're acting weirder about hating him than you do with Jim and the others-" 

"It's complicated." Jerome interjected, smile growing annoyed. 

"I don't mind complicated." 

For the love of- "Yeah, well... it's a long story." 

"We have plenty of time to talk," Wayne insisted, the corners of Jerome's lips curled upwards twitching at that. "the warehouse Selina referred us to is twelve blocks away." 

"What do you want to drink?" Jerome asked, earning a raised brow and giving a nod towards the shop a few yards away from them. 

Wayne frowned, arms crossing as he sighed, "Red Bull." 

Jerome snorted out a laugh. "Since when the hell do you drink Red Bull?" 

"It's for my training." Wayne grumbled, earning an amused grin. 

"All right, I'll be out in a bit." Jerome snickered, Wayne nodding and following him up until the entrance of the store, deciding to lean against the outer wall and wait for the other to return-- it was obvious Jerome wanted some space- and as curious as Wayne was about what was going on between the teenager and his butler- he decided to give him that. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne realized he probably should've gone inside the store when some males ranging from ages eighteen to twenty-three pulled up beside him in a rather expensive looking vintage vehicle. 

For a second, Wayne grew wary from figuring they were going to roll down their windows to say something rather vulgar to him from the looks of it with how they gave questionable smirks his way, or perhaps even stop and get out of their car in an attempt to kidnap him for all he knew when it came to how they were eying him over. The possibilities were endless, so maybe they were even some of Theo's men who were going to try to finish him off then and there. 

Thankfully, they didn't. 

Wayne felt relief wash over him as they continued driving on, realizing surviving on his own on the streets probably was just making him overly wary. 

Not so thankfully, however, they ended up pulling over in a parking lot across the street from Wayne before getting out and turning their gazes his way. 

Wayne felt dread wash over him, realizing he'd been rationally wary. 

It was when the group of those five adults began to make their way over to Wayne while clearly getting ready to say something inappropriate that Wayne decided it was time for him to go inside the shop with how much taller they were than him, although before he got the chance to someone stepped in front of the fourteen year old teen and slammed their forearm against the wall above him, Wayne jumping somewhat as the person practically blocked the raven haired boy off from the approaching adults with their body. 

Jerome gripped Wayne's chin to tilt it upwards, and for a second Wayne could've sworn Jerome was about to actually kiss him, the smaller one's whole face heating up as the older one leaned down and instead pressed his lips against Wayne's ear while murmuring, "You okay?" 

Wayne had to clear his throat to manage to get out, "Mh-hm." 

Jerome nodded, releasing Wayne's chin as the younger one couldn't will himself to embarrassedly look up at the other while Jerome kept Wayne blocked off in between him and the shop wall, the red haired teen glancing over his shoulder and flashing a dangerously wicked smirk at the frozen up group of college men staring at them with rather wide eyes. 

When the adults unsurely lingered rather than getting back in their car Jerome decided to not take a chance of them gathering themselves and continuing forward, wrapping his arm around Wayne's hip while walking off with the suddenly very quiet raven haired boy. 

Jerome waited until they turned the corner to let Wayne go, looking over his shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed before grabbing the plastic back draped over his arm and taking out Wayne's red bull, tossing it to the smaller one keeping his eyes averted as Jerome said, "You all right?" 

Wayne nodded, hands fiddling with the energy drink rather than opening it was he finally stuttered, "What- um- what were you- why did- uh-" 

Jerome opened his water bottle, knowing it was definitely going to take a sheltered kiddo like Wayne a long time to get used to the streets. 

"Those were frats," Jerome explained, Wayne looking up at him confused before he elaborated, "college guys that usually mean trouble for women, but I guess these ones were more into-" He cleared his throat, not knowing quite how to put this. "-males." 

Wayne didn't get it. "Why are they usually trouble for women? I mean... what kind of trouble?" This kid was way too innocent to be a Gotham citizen. "Robbery?" 

Jerome felt like he was giving the damn birds and the bees talk. "No, not- it's more of- well they're known for- uh-" He decided the best thing to do would be just spit out the truth and keep the smaller one more alert than risk sugar coating a lie that would make him careless. "Frats are known for assaulting college girls," He sighed, unable to keep his uncomfortable smile up. "in this case I guess they were more interested in younger guys." 

Wayne's expression fell, gut dropping. "Oh." 

"Usually they go after single people without any buddies around, so I was just-" 

"Trying to make it look like you and I were..." Wayne trailed off. 

Jerome nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah." 

"I see." 

Hells, this felt awkward. "Just steer clear of college aged guys in packs on weekends and nighttime," Jerome added, deciding he may as well give a tip to make sure the boy didn't go and get himself in trouble. "chances are- if they're not looking for a college girl- they're probably looking for a twink or something." 

"A what?" 

Shit. "Nothing." Nope, Jerome wasn't about to explain what that was. 

Wayne frowned. "What's a-" 

"It's nothing." Jerome interjected, chugging his water a bit anxiously, hoping Wayne would just drop the subject. 

"Are you talking about the pastry?" 

Jerome choked on his water, coughing and laughing at that before clearing his throat. "No, that's not- twink, not Twinkie." 

"Well am I one or something?" 

Oh hells, Jerome had made this conversation ten times worse. "You're not exactly- you're just- I mean, you're a kid, so you're not really- most younger guys would be called- your build just resembles- I wouldn't say you're-" 

"I can just look it up on the Internet in a local library." Wayne huffed, wanting to know what Jerome was talking about but knowing he wouldn't have the chance to look it up at the manor since he didn't plan on going back there until he was done learning how to live on the streets of Gotham city. 

"No, don't-" Jerome gave a snicker, just imagining to look of the horrified librarian's face when hearing whatever the hell THAT search would bring up on the computer's speakers. "Don't refer to yourself as that, all right? It's a sexual term." 

"Well what's it mean?" 

Jerome wondered if Wayne had ever even taken a damn class on sexual education before. "Smaller younger looking guys, all all right?" He tried to come up with a subject changer. 

"What would you be called then?" 

"No more questions." Jerome scoffed, deciding he'd told Wayne enough of what he needed to know. 

Needless to say the rest of the walk was awkward, and neither of the two said anything for a long while... 

... 

... and then SHE showed up. 

~*~*~*~ 

A blonde curly haired girl stumbled smack into Jerome, nearly knocking them both over. 

"What the hell-" Jerome snickered in irritation, lightly shoving away the younger gal that had practically showed up out of nowhere as she regained her balance, his eyes rolling as Wayne rushed to her side. 

"Are you okay?" Wayne asked concerned, the girl whimpering and gripping his arms for support as she swayed. "What's wrong-" 

She pointed behind her, Jerome and Wayne glancing to where she was gesturing and quirking their eyebrows as she pushed by them and continued running off from whatever had been after her. 

"Well that was-" Jerome started, smile almost falling as he realized what had very possibly just happened. "-weird..." He reached down to check his pockets, smirk twitching at the empty feeling. "She stole our wallets." 

Wayne blinked at that. "What? Are you-" He reached down, patting his own pockets. "-sure..." 

The pair looked at one another briefly. 

"Hey!" Jerome shouted, he and Wayne running the way the thief had gone, turning around the building's corner and halting whence realizing she'd of course gone into the crowded Chinatown. 

People. People everywhere. 

"Where-" Wayne started, the pair aimlessly walking around as they looked around for wherever she'd snuck off to. 

"Come on!" Jerome snickered irked, catching a glimpse of familiar golden hair as the girl weaved her way out of the groups of people and ran into an alleyway, the two following and letting out frustrated sighs as they were met with a brick wall and no sight of the little kleptomaniac. 

Dead end. 

"Up the fire escape!" Wayne exclaimed, hearing said fire escape rattle above them. 

Jerome nodded, quickly making his way up the fire escape with Wayne following closely behind, sprinting up the steps whence reaching them and nearly slipping as a piece of clothing the girl had ripped from a nearby clothesline slid from under his foot. "Shit-" He laughed, ticked off, yet still having a good adrenaline rush that wasn't at all boring if anything. 

When they got to the roof of the apartments Wayne was already out of breath, nonetheless continuing after the blondie running towards the building edge. "She doesn't have anywhere to-" He watched as the girl jumped. "-go." 

The buildings were at least eight meters apart. 

"Oh you've gotta' be kidding me." Jerome scoffed as she landed on the edge of a nearby building roof, watching as she summersaulted forward to avoid falling backwards, the blonde girl hopping up after balancing herself while looking over her shoulder at the impressed Wayne and annoyedly smirking Jerome before giving a cheeky wave to the pair of males as she proudly flashed off their stolen wallets and promptly running to the roof of the next building. 

Defeat. 

Wayne noticed Jerome was giving him a sour grin, causing the smaller one to question, "What?" 

"Where's all your training Red Bull's been helping you with?" Jerome scoffed sarcastically, earning an eye roll. "Go on, show me your training-- jump. Red Bull's supposed to give you wings, right?" 

"Oh hardy-har-har, aren't you hilarious." Wayne grumbled, Jerome snickering as they settled for climbing back down the fire escape, the robber already long gone. 

First Jerome had gotten into an argument with Selina about whatever the hell those needles scars on her arms were from, then he'd risked getting Wayne and him stalked by some creepy-ass frats, and now he had his wallet stolen. Lovely, just lovely. 

Of course, things got even better when Jerome and Wayne reached the bottom of the fire escape, and by better I mean absolutely terrible in every utter way possible. 

~*~*~*~ 

"What were you kids doing on the roof?" The cop that had noticed them climbing down interrogated, Jerome trying to keep his face turned away somewhat and in the shadows the best he could so the officer wouldn't recognize him. 

Wayne didn't see a reason to lie. "A girl stole our wallets." He did, however, see a reason to get out of there ASAP considering he'd rather not have the policeman realize who Jerome was. "We got them back though, and my curfew's up, so-" 

"Where's the girl that stole your wallet?" The cop questioned, eyes narrowing as Jerome stayed quiet and turned his face away more so. 

"She's still on the roof," Wayne fibbed, moving in front of Jerome ever so slightly to block off the officer's sights of the ginger the best he could. "she's fine, but a bit scared of height's, so she's having some trouble climbing back down if you want to go help her-" 

"May I see your wallets?" The officer requested, although it sounded more like a command than anything. 

Shit. "I'm already really late," Wayne evaded, subtly looking around for a good exit route. "I'm afraid we both have to get home before-" 

"I can give you two a ride home." The cop offered knowingly, moving in front of Wayne as the teen attempted to make his way around him, the policeman's eyes landing on the antsy red haired teenager anxiously glancing around while shifting from foot to foot nervously. "Have I seen you somewhere before?" 

Oh great. 

Time to improvise... improvising was always fun, and something Jerome did best at least. 

"I'm Falcone's grandson," Jerome lied while staying in the shadows, the policeman's eyes going wide. "and frankly he's going to be pretty pissed someone's holding me up, but I'm sure he'll probably understand you're just doing your job." The officer swallowed thickly as Jerome smirked and daringly looked right at him. "I mean, it's not like you have a choice when it comes to who you gotta' question and whatnot, right officer? It's not your fault I'm going to be late for his birthday dinner, so I'm sure he won't mind that-" He glanced down at the other's name tag. "-Mr. Flass." 

'Flass' gave a rather high pitched chuckle, hesitating briefly before moving out of their way quickly and gesturing for the pair to continue forward. "I- uh-" Wayne tried to not smirk admittedly impressed by the bluff as Jerome eyed the stuttering officer amusedly. "You know what? I'll go check up on the roof for that gal you two were talking about." Even if this kid was lying... Flass wasn't about to risk even the smallest chance of ticking off Falcone; besides, it's not like two kids could've done much harm with whatever they'd been doing on the roof, right? They'd probably just been fooling around and spray painting or something harmless... nothing serious, right..? 

Jerome gave a charming wink, walking off with Wayne before the policeman could change his name. "Thanks, officer." 

The two waited until they'd gone around the block to look at one another, Wayne letting the corners of his lips twitch upwards just barely as Jerome straightened up cockily. 

"I'm surprised that worked." Wayne admitted, earning a cheeky grin. 

"Surprised?" Jerome mocked a gasp, hand dramatically raising to rest against his chest. "Doubting my brilliance, are you?" He teased, smile widening as Wayne gave a cross between a scoff and laugh. 

"If you call risking a bluff like that 'brilliance'." 

"You're just jealous I'm such a smooth talker." Jerome mused, elbowing Wayne lightly, earning a half-assed shove as Wayne smirked. 

"Oh, right, and I suppose you reckon I want your help with smooth talking?" Wayne scoffed, still smiling nonetheless. 

"Well, I mean... if you're asking." Jerome hummed while noticing some familiar looking frat boys on the other side of the street, deciding he had no reason to fret over the college students with how it was clearly by accident they'd run into each other again considering they hadn't even noticed the pair of teenagers. "I could always give you a few pointers on how to sweet-talk cute girls for fun and what to say to get handsome guys working for ya'." He offered, turning his attention back to Wayne as he nonetheless instinctively moved closer to the smaller one a bit protectively. 

Wayne considered giving a flirty reply, but decided he'd rather not make the older one uncomfortable, instead jesting, "How much will those tutor sessions cost?" 

Jerome was still getting used to serious ol' Wayne joking back whenever they were alone. "For my favorite volunteer?" He chuckled, swinging an arm around the other's shoulders. "How about-" The taller one noticed the college men crossing the street. "-a one hundred percent discount..."" Crap-- they were looking their way. 

Wayne tensed up as Jerome moved his arm from his shoulders to his waist, letting the other pull him closer but looking up at Jerome to question what he was doing before staying quiet at the sight of the frats. 

Jerome still wanted to stab a lot of people in complete honesty, and those frats were making their way to the top of his list with each step they took towards the pair, Jerome contemplating on crossing the street yet deciding against that with how many cars continuously zoomed by, resorting to moving towards the right side of the sidewalk with Wayne to try and avoid the approachers, smile going tight as the jackasses took up the whole damn walkway and didn't bother moving as the group of frats and the two teens came to a halt in front of each other. 

"Can I help you?" Jerome questioned with an irked grin, Wayne not knowing whether to puff his chest out bravely or settle for hiding behind the ginger. 

"We're having a party tonight," The prick with sunglasses that probably had cost him two hundred dollars answered, Jerome resisting the urge to make fun of his knee high socks that nearly reached his beige kakis which had a baby blue shirt tucked in them. "you two interested in coming?" 

Jerome didn't particularly like the way the twenty-four year old made a point of smirking at the fourteen year old Wayne, growing even more ticked off as the posh leader adjusted his glasses and made it more than obvious his gaze was on the clearly uncomfortable Wayne. 

"Sorry, but we have a high school event we have to attend tonight." Jerome lied, making it clear they were both minors in hopes that would get this asshole to back the hell off. "You mind moving? You're taking up the whole sidewalk." 

"High school?" One of the frats murmured taken aback, the others seeming nonchalant. 

"What's your name?" The leader of the group asked, eying Wayne over and giving a much too sweet smile, Jerome resisting the urge to take out his pocketknife and drive it through this guy's jugular. 

"Screw off." Wayne grumbled, Jerome feeling both proud at Wayne's defiance and dread at the same time; these sorts of guys didn't take rejections well... 

The leader's eyebrows raised. "You're a bit of a firecracker, aren't you?" 

"We don't have time for small talk," Wayne informed, ignoring the way Jerome cleared his throat and gave a slight squeeze to Wayne's waist in attempts to signal the other to be careful. "now stop hogging the sidewalk and move so we can get by." 

Jerome smiled anxiously. Perfect, just perfect. Wayne was going to get their asses kicked. 

It was then that Jerome felt nervous. 

The leader of the group was all so evidently more than dissed off by Wayne's reply despite his smile, that much being clear as he stepped forward while saying, "I asked you what your name was," He stared down at the boy with Jerome's arm wrapped around his waist. "it's not very polite to not introduce yourself, you know." He reached out, and Jerome wasn't sure what he was reaching for. Wayne's arm? Chin? Cheek? Hip? Jerome didn't know what the jackass planned to grip. 

Jerome didn't get to find out considering he suddenly wasn't very nervous anymore. 

More than anything, Jerome was of course pissed off as he pushed Wayne behind him before the frat could lay a finger on the glaring younger teen, gripping the college boy's wrist while warning with a forced grin, "I really would move if I were you." Don't stab him-- Jerome had to remind himself to not stab this guy... remind himself to not yank out his pocket knife and give the perv a nice permanent little smile. 

If it wasn't broad daylight Jerome doubted the rather tall jerk would've moved out of the way as easily as he did, even if it was done in a bitter fashion. 

Jerome gripped Wayne's wrist, tugging the other with him as he walked by the group, forcing on a smile and annoyedly choosing to ignore the comment, "Man, if I was just a few years younger..." 

Creeps. 

Now, Jerome wasn't a moral guy. In fact, Jerome had an extremely limited amount of ethics which he could count on one hand without even using all those fingers. In all honesty, he only had three morals: Don't beat on kids, don't try to get in a kid's pants, and don't bang anyone that doesn't want to bang you in their right mind. The fact that Jerome- of all people- had any ethics meant anyone who didn't share those very few ethics were pretty bad, which was really saying something considering how much of an asshole Jerome could be. 

Jerome was bad. Jerome was immoral. Jerome was a jackass. But even Jerome knew where to draw the line. 

This day was giving Jerome a real migraine. 

~*~*~*~ 

The pair (finally) got to the warehouse, and Jerome was guessing the day had finished throwing surprises at him, but (of course) that guess just had to go and be wrong. 

"Hello?" Wayne called out as they warily entered the seemingly abandoned warehouse, looking around uncertainly when not receiving a reply. "Selina?" 

"This is like those horror movies where you piss off your friend and she ends up sending you to Saw's warehouse." Jerome muttered, Wayne shaking his head and sighing. 

"How'd you piss Selina off?" Wayne grumbled, keeping his voice low just to be sure they didn't attract any potential dangers... such as a possible axe murderer- no, this wasn't a horror movie-- Jerome had just freaked him out and now he was getting paranoid; they were fine... probably. "And who's Saw?" 

"Seriously? You don't know who Saw is?" 

"Would I be asking if I did?" Wayne snapped under his breath. 

"Have you ever even watched a scary movie?" 

"Yes!" Wayne huffed defensively. 

"Oh yeah? What?" 

"Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Creature of the Black Lagoon." 

Jerome gave a hoot of laughter, Wayne hushing him timidly. "Lemme' guess, all the black and white originals." Wayne grumbled something under his breath, prompting Jerome to snicker, "What was that?" 

"If you must know, yes!" Wayne huffed, storming away from Jerome and only getting a few feet away when someone jumped out from behind a stack of crates, hammer in their hand. "Shit!" Wayne exclaimed, nearly having freaking cardiac arrest as he stumbled back into the crackling Jerome. 

"Wow Wayne, you okay? Pigtails there sure gave you a scare." Jerome chuckled, referring to the brown haired tiny girl that was holding out a small wooden mallet defensively, her pigtails dramatically decreasing her chance at being menacing. 

Wayne shoved away from Jerome, giving him a glare before turning his attention towards the brunette, the fourteen year old teenage boy glancing down at the defensive girl's hands wrapped tightly around the mallet handle as she said in a thick Brooklyn accent, "Who are you two jerk-faces?" 

Jerome scoffed. "Charming little thing, isn't she?" 

"Answer the question!" 'Pigtails' directed, voice raising and glower going sterner. 

"I'm Wayne, and this is Jerome," The raven haired boy answered before Jerome could provoke her more. "we're supposed to meet Selina here, but we could have the wrong address or somethi-" 

"Wayne 'n Jerome?" The girl questioned taken aback, blinking as she lowered her mallet, stern expression going from surprised to excited, grin meeting her lips. "Wow, I've been waiting to meetcha' forever!" She gasped, practically invading their personal space as she skipped over to them, Wayne shuffling behind Jerome while she stood on the tips of her toes to examine the pair. "Huh. You sure do look different than I imagined. Handsome 'n all, but still kinda' different." 

Jerome leaned back somewhat as she didn't bother leaving his personal bubble, giving an uncomfortable grin while she examined his face intrigued. "And you are..?" He snickered, resisting the impulse to threaten the girl so she'd take a step back. 

"Harleen!" She answered, palm stretching out. "Harleen Quinzel! My friends call me Harley though!" She gave a wink. "Nice to meetcha'!" She glanced at the boy keeping behind Jerome while eying her over as the ginger unsurely gave a shake to her hand. "Hey, come on, what's wrong? Ya' ain't got anything to worry about-- I don't bite, rich-boy." 

Wayne cleared his throat, giving a polite nod to greet the blonde while moving back beside Jerome. "I take it you're a acquaintance of Selina?" 

"Sure am! Ivy introduced us not too long ago!" Harley confirmed, hands resting on her hips. "Jen!" She screamed, Wayne jumping somewhat as Jerome winced from the high pitched tone. "Come on out; they're not here for ya'-- they're here for Cat!" 

"Jen..?" Wayne inquired with a furrowed brow, blinking as a familiar curly haired blonde girl hesitantly came out of her hiding place from behind a pile of rubble. "You!" 

'Jen'- AKA the wallet thief- crossed her arms, looking Jerome and Wayne up and down to size them up. "You're Selina's friends, too?" She murmured, earning nods and contemplating before reaching into her brown leather jacket's pockets, tossing the stolen wallets back towards the pair while informing, "I spent ten bucks on food.", as she curled a strand of hair around her pointer finger. "I'm Holly- Holly Jen Robinson. You can call me Jen, though." 

Ten bucks? "It's fine if it was Wayne's money." Jerome jested, Wayne elbowing him at that and earning a snicker. "So either of you seen Selina?" 

"Nope," Harley answered, tucking the mallet into her belt. "didn't even know she was gonna' be swinging by here today." 

Wayne looked around, scanning the tattered warehouse interior. "Where is 'here' in any case?" 

"Falcone owns this place." Jen spoke up, hands shoving into her pockets.

Wayne's brow arched. "Wait, Falcone?" 

Jen's gaze averted, Harley explaining, "Yeah! He owed her a favor or somethi'n and is letting her and us friends of her's stay here, right Jen?" 

Jen didn't raise her gaze, only giving a nod. 

Jerome noted the strange behavior, but before he could say anything Wayne sighed, "Let's go look for her." Selina had taken a shortcut, which meant she should've gotten to the warehouse way before they had with how many obstacles had stalled them along the way. 

"We'll help!" Harley offered, Jen nodding as Jerome and Wayne shared unsure glances. "Don't bother saying no, we're tagging along." Harley added knowingly before either could object. 

Well... that settled that. 

~*~*~*~ 

"We should split up," Jen suggested after leaving the warehouse, not leaving room for any arguments or agreements to be made as she added, "if she was coming here from her crib, then we at least know what direction to look." 

"I'll check the crowds!" Harley offered, Jen giving a nod. "It's eight A.M. now... how about we all meet up at seven tonight? That'll give us plenty of time to search!" 

"Sounds good to me; I'll check the rooftops." Jen stated, she and Harley glancing at Wayne and Jerome to see where they'd go. 

"I've got the alleyways?" Jerome decided with a shrug. 

"Well what do I have then?" Wayne inquired, not sure where else there was to- 

"The underground drains." Jen answered, kneeling down to a nearby grate and popping it off with ease. "Don't worry, it's safe-- we use this route all the time," She added in assurance as Wayne eyed the entrance uneasily. "just watch your step down the ladder, okay? It's a bit slippery." 

Wayne let out a long exhale, it being more than clear he wasn't about to get a say in this. "Okay." 

"Make sure ya' don't slip and fall into the water," Harley warned as Wayne began climbing down. "it's got a super strong current!" 

Wayne kept himself from scoffing. "Thanks." 

"Oh! Don't forget to make sure you look out for any sign of people down there, and if you see someone you gotta' get out of their sighs before they see you back," Harley shouted, Wayne halfway down. "a lot of bad drug lords go down there to do business!" 

That wasn't reassuring in the least. Nonetheless, Wayne grumbled, "Got it." 

"And look out for alligators!" 

Wayne halted, staring upwards. "Wait, what-" The lid closed, causing him to let out an antsy breath; had she said alligators, or had he misheard? 

This would certainly be interesting. 

Harley skipped off to go search for Selina in the crowds, Jerome looking at Jen while saying, "Ya' know... maybe I should scope out the drains and just let Wayne check the alleyways-" His brow raised, Jen grabbing his shirt collar and yanking him down to her eyesight with surprisingly impressive strength. 

"Selina told me you found out about her needle scars," Jen informed, glaring at Jerome threateningly. "stop investigating and acting like you're going to tell Wayne, got it?" She instructed, grip tightening. "Just leave it alone and keep your mouth shut about it." 

Jerome shooed her hands off of his shirt. "I take it you and Harley know what those scars are from?" He questioned with an intrigued grin, certainly not expecting the relatively quiet girl that seemed to keep to herself to be such a little firecracker. 

"I do, but Harley and Ivy don't, so you'd better not going yapping about it to either of them." Jen informed, it being rather entertaining such a tiny girl with barely any muscle honestly believed she could intimidate Jerome. 

"How about you tell me what exactly those needle scars are from?" Jerome offered with a smirk. "Then I'll stay quiet." 

"How about you mind your own business?" 

"Are Selina and you little friends of her's all this sassy?" Jerome snickered, arms crossing. "So what is it, huh? I mean, I'm assuming drugs, but-" 

"It's not drugs," Jen interrupted, Jerome's eyebrows quirking. "but it is something I promised to keep a secret, and the last thing Selina needs is you going and drawing attention just because you have a habit of sticking your nose in other people's business-" Jen stepped forward, trying to meet Jerome's height by straightening up. "-so back off." 

"Not drugs?" Jerome scoffed unconvinced. "Then what the hell is it?" What else could they be from? Was she sick? 

"Why do you care?" Jen interrogated, eyes narrowing. "I know who you are, Jerome Valeska, and as far as I'm concerned you're more concerned about having your curiosity satisfied than actually wanting to help Selina, so you can just screw right on off." 

"Oh come on, I'm not THAT much of an asshole." 

"So you care more about Selina's well being than her being means of occasional entertainment?" 

Jerome made a so-so gesture. "Eh..." Okay, maybe he sort of was THAT much of an asshole. 

Jen crossed her arms. "If you keep bothering Selina, then I'm calling the police." She turned on her heel, walking off while adding, "Now go check the alleyways to see if you can find her." Jen wasn't about to waste anymore time arguing when Selina could be having another episode those shots had been causing her... 

Jerome was finding it more difficult each day to push down the impulse to stab annoyances, but he managed while scoffing under his breath, "Aye-aye, captain." 

~*~*~*~ 

Searching for Selina was a real doozy. 

Wayne had slipped at least a dozen times on the questionably slimy walkways in the drains, Jen had twisted her ankle after parkour-ing her way from one roof to another after her seventh jump, Harley ended up having her feet trampled on repeatedly almost every time she tried to step in front of someone to ask them if they'd seen Selina while attempting to describe her, and after four hours of searching it was Jerome- who had nearly gotten mugged eight times by jackasses hiding out in the alleyways- that FINALLY found Selina curled up against a wall as she clenched onto her arms. 

Selina had taken her black leather jacket off, the fabric causing the throbbing in her skin to worsen, and she was as pale as a ghost, the shaking girl in a cold sweat as she kept dazing in and out. 

"Hey," Selina heard a muffled male's voice mutter, her vision blurring a someone knelt in front of her. "are you all right?" She saw black dots, unable to focus on whoever was in front of her, ears ringing. "Selina?" Oh hells, she felt like she was going to throw up again. "Can you hear me?" Sudden jolts of pain hit her arms again, causing her to whimper and shy away from the blurry person. "Nod if you can understand me." 

Selina swallowed dryly, giving a nod and forcing her gaze to linger on the person in front of her, managing to clear her vision up somewhat and realizing the stranger had red hair and hoarsely murmuring in a groggy voice, "Jerome?" 

A doctor. She needed a doctor. "C'mere," Jerome sighed, gathering up the trembling girl in his arms, managing to pick the smaller one up bridal style with ease. "we need to get you to the hospital." 

Selina's glossy eyes widened. "No-" She choked out, trying to push away from the other to no avail, much too weak. 

"I know you don't have insurance," Jerome interjected, standing while starting to walk off. "Wayne can pay, all right? He's rich as hell." 

"Arkham," Selina objected, Jerome halting at that. "you have to take me to Arkham." 

"What?" Jerome questioned both intrigued and taken aback, Selina going quiet as he gave a skeptical smirk. "Why Arkham?" 

~*~*~*~ 

It was four in the afternoon when the search party all met back up at the warehouse. 

"Did ya' guys find Cat?" Harley asked hopefully, shoulders slumping as Jen and Wayne shook their heads before perking up as Jerome nodded. "Well where is she?" 

"She wants to be left alone," Jerome informed casually, Wayne and Harley frowning concerned as Jen narrowed her eyes. "she's kinda' bummed out about missing that Bridgit gal and decided she wants some time to herself." 

"We should go check up on her." Wayne spoke up, Harley nodding in agreement as Jen eyed Jerome over. 

"She wants to be left alone." Jerome repeated, trying to ignore the way Jen seemed to be looking right through him. 

"But-" Harley piped up worriedly. 

"No," Jen interjected, Jerome's eyebrows arching. "we should give her some space." Jen locked her gaze with Jerome's knowingly, causing him to force on a smile. 

Jerome hoped sticking his neck out for Selina wouldn't make him regret it considering just telling the other's the truth about what the curly haired brunette had revealed to him about Arkham before Harley said, "Why did she wanna' meet up with you two guys anyway so?" 

"She told us Jonathan and Ivy were in trouble, so we were going to try and come up with a plan to-" Wayne started to explain. 

"Harley, would you mind helping them out with Ivy and Jonathan?" Jen spoke up, Jerome realizing what the blonde was trying to do. "I'll wait her for Selina." 

Jerome smirked-- Jen had caught his bluff, and wanted to go check up on Selina in Arkham without letting on that something was up to Wayne and Harley. 

Harley gave an enthusiastic no and salute at that. "You got it!" 

Jerome couldn't help but wonder just how much Jen knew about what exactly was going on with Selina at Arkham compared to what she'd revealed to him... 

... 

... and Jen couldn't help but wonder just what Selina had revealed to Jerome. 

The ginger and curly haired blonde didn't have time to question one another as the brunette in pigtails went skipping off, Jerome and Wayne following the happy-go-lucky Harley. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Who are we going to see first?" Wayne inquired, noting how Harley covered up the mallet in her belt with her white leather jacket. 

"Helping Jonathan out should be easiest, so we'll start with him," Harley answered, looking over her shoulder with a cheery smile. "that way we'll have more people to help us out with Ivy!" She turned her gaze forward. "What all do you two know about Jonathan and Ivy's cases anyhow?" 

"She just told us Jonathan is under his grandma's care but she's abusive or... something, and Ivy's being forced to grow illegal products for some family called the Gilzeans." Wayne informed, hoping the pair of friends he hadn't seen since he'd left for Switzerland were okay, feeling a tinge of guilt at the fact he hadn't even realized they were in trouble until Selina told him about their situations. 

"That's the gist of it," Harley confirmed while turning the corner, Wayne and Jerome following. "ya' should probably know Jonathan's ma' is a real religious person though, so if we wanna' sneak Jonathan out then we gotta' act super Christian to get on her good side before she shuts the door in our faces or somethi'n." She adjusted her pigtails, fluffing them up with her fingers. "Plus, the Gilzeans are part of Butch's family," She revealed, patting stray strands of hair down. "and he has a soft spot for you two and Selina, so that's always an advantage." 

"Butch has a soft spot for us?" Wayne inquired taken aback. 

"Yep, don't tell 'em I told ya' that though." Harley confirmed, leading the way down an alley shortcut. "the big guy's actually pretty sentimental." She gave a stretch, popping her knuckles. "Johnny's house is on the outskirts of town, so it's a few minutes away-- hope ya' don't mind walking!" 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne and Jerome found that by "a few minutes" Harley really meant around fifty when they finally arrived at Jonathan's house. 

"Of course Crane would have a creepy-ass house." Jerome commented with a cautious smirk while coming to a stop as Harley continued forward, eying over said house with torn off roof shackles split in half, spider webbed cracks in the walkway leading to the front door, and chipped off paint which laid crumbled on the sour ground where nothing seemed to grow and only rotted to pitch black dried up slivers of what was once supposedly plant life. To top it all off, Harley hadn't been joking when she said this place was on the outskirts of town considering they'd had to spend a good fifteen minutes to get through a large cornfield in order to get there. 

Wayne hesitated, staying near Jerome while taking in a deep breath before bravely continuing forward towards the small home that looked like an abandoned building ready to collapse in on itself, causing Jerome to reluctantly follow. 

Harley knocked on the door before glancing over her shoulder at the wary Wayne and forcefully smiling Jerome while whispering, "Just play along." 

Wayne's eyebrows raised. "What do you mean play-" Before he could finish the door cracked open. 

An elderly woman so tall she towered over the minors looked out from behind the sliver of the opening she allowed in the door, a rusted chained lock not allowing much room for it to be open. "Who are you?" She questioned in a raspy breath that sounded more like wheezing than a voice. "Salesmen? Scouts? Surveyors?" Her pupils were unsettlingly small, eyelids remaining lifted so her bulging eyeballs looked abnormally wide. "I don't like solicitors!" She snapped in a hiss that reminded the trio of a snake, Wayne jumping and Jerome's grin unsurely tightening, Harley wincing at the overly harsh tone of the woman whiter than newly bought sheets. "Visitors aren't welcome here, now go on and leave me alone before I put holes through the chests of all you trespassers to send you to Kingdom Come!" 

Jerome just wanted to get out of there, but Wayne just wanted to rescue Jonathan. Harley though? Harley just wanted to be convincing. 

"We're Jonathan's friends." Harley introduced, not heeding the warning. 

"What?" The elder questioned, her voice so sharp it could cut someone. "Jonathan's friends?" She scoffed, foggy eyes narrowing dangerously. "Are you all the ones that have been influencing him to act out through disobedient sins and become an unrighteous rebel?" 

Jerome and Wayne glanced at each other uncertainly, Harley replying, "Oh no, of course not; we're from his bible study group!"

Silence eerie which made chills run up and down the trio's bodies lingered, the woman eventually muttering in a voice so low they had to strain to hear, "He never told me of any bible study group..." 

"Oh yes, we study together all the time!" Harley lied, Jerome and Wayne freezing up as the elder's skeptical gaze snapped towards them, the pair gulping and nodding. "He's actually the leader of our group, and probably follows the practice of being-" Harley briefly paused, quickly trying to find the right word. "-pure better than any of us do!" She kept on her cheerful smile while continuing, "You're Ms. Keeny, aren't you?" 

The woman with calloused wrinkles hesitantly nodded, scratching her clenched jaw with long yellow fingernails, lips pursed so tightly it looked as though she was constantly sucking on a lemon parting to say, "I am.", before brushing strands of thin and oily pale hair away from her eyes that wouldn't stop darting from minor to minor. 

Harley fake gasped, giving a squeal of false joy while effortlessly giggling. "Oh yay! Jonathan's told us so, so, SO much about you! He absolutely adores you and your ways of always taking the high road!" She fibbed, hands clasping together to portray excitement. "He was going to introduce us to you today, but we haven't seen him for a while," Harley explained, keeping her warm smile up. "he'd told us where he lived though, so I figured we should check here to see if this is where he's been off at." 

A pause made the trio catch their breaths, Ms. Keeny eventually confirming what they already knew. "Yes... Jonathan is here." 

"Oh! I'm so glad he's all right," Harley laughed, giving her best exhale of relief she could. "we were all so worried about him!" Here it came... the big question. "Is now a bad time, or would it be okay if we came inside? We really have missed him and his guidance of how to live lives without sin and whatnot." 

Ms. Keeny only stared, and for a minute Wayne was worried the old lady had gone and died standing up, yet then the door shut before anymore could be said; maybe Harley overdid it. 

The trio stared at the door in disbelief and disappointment. 

Well, so much for that- 

A click was heard, the door gradually being opened as Ms. Keeny permitted, "Come inside." 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome waited for Ms. Keeny to walk off to get Jonathan before spitting the dry cookie that tasted like burnt charcoal out into a nearby vase, the nasty dessert- if anyone would even call it that- about as hard as a diamond, Wayne and Harley doing the same, the three taking sips of lemonade to wash it down before spitting that out as well when the sugarless bitter juice acid touched their tongues. 

"She's going to kill us with food before we manage to get out of here." Jerome snickered with a scrunched nose at the lingering taste, Wayne coughing as Harley gagged. "Remind me why we don't just push the hag over, take Jonathan, and run?" 

"Whatever you do, don't do that." Harley warned with a serious expression, Jerome's brow quirking as Wayne blinked taken aback by the suddenly stern tone, Harley explaining, "Jen and Ivy already tried that, and it didn't go well since-" 

Before Harley could finish Ms. Keeny returned with Jonathan, and Harley went quiet while having to avert her gaze as she felt sick, Wayne's eyes widening while his gut dropped, even Jerome's stomach flipping a little as his smile briefly faltered. 

Jonathan froze when he saw his friends staring at him just as shocked as he was, the sixteen year old looking to the side while quietly saying in a hoarse voice, "Oh. Hey guys." 

Bruises from a ruler littered Jonathan's upper and lower arms to the point almost every inch of his skin looked black and blue. 

Ms. Keeny seemed to care a whole lot more about her image than Jonathan's pained arms as she said, "Don't mind the markings, please-- I'm afraid Jonathan has been acting rather sinful lately.", as though her punishment was fit for ANYTHING the sixteen year old boy had been doing. 

Jerome stood, quickly excusing himself to the restroom. 

~*~*~*~ 

When Jerome returned from the restroom after throwing up he felt Wayne gently nudge him as he sat down by the fourteen year old, causing the ginger to give the boy a reassuring smile despite not being fine in the least. 

There weren't many things that could make Jerome sick nowadays, but child abuse was one of the few that could-- it brought back too many memories of the circus. 

The subject Ms. Keeny talked about didn't help calm Jerome much either. 

"Jonathan let it slip he had a heathen for a friend," Ms. Keeny spoke, Jerome forcing on a smile to make it look like he gave a shit about what this bitch said. "told me about how his friend was interested in a man, but forgot to keep out his friend was also a man," Oh for the love of- "I only hope you all will do a better job of making sure he doesn't stray towards such abominations of ungrateful people-- I don't want him being influenced by sinful promoters of lust." She continued, wearing a look of disgust. 

Jerome was going to have a difficult time not stabbing this woman. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jonathan looked dazed, remaining quiet the whole conversation, the only time he showed any sign of emotion being when his jaw clenched as Ms. Keeny said, "My daughter and Jonathan's mother ended up straying from the right path when she met his father all those years ago, and to be frank I never liked that man." Jonathan's teeth gritted at that. "Gerald knocked my Karel up before they even wedded, and my poor Johnny was the result of that immoral indulgence," She sighed, Jonathan swallowing thickly. "of course Karel paid dearly for her mistake she never asked forgiveness for, and I can only hope she decided being saved by asking for acceptance and admitting her wrongs by realizing the afterlife was more important than refusing to admit Johnny was a materialistic mistake, because as much as I love Johnny... the love for a loved one should never exceed the love for the higher power." 

Jonathan inhaled deeply, lips pursing, that being the last piece of emotion he showed for the visit. 

It was more than clear Jonathan was heavily medicated. 

~*~*~*~ 

Harley had finally asked if Jonathan could hang out with them after listening to Ms. Keeny began too unbearable, and the elder had refused, revealing Jonathan was still being punished for unrighteous acts. 

Wayne was ready to argue, and Jerome was ready to push the old hag down with ease before throwing Jonathan over his shoulder to leave, but neither of them did so when Harley politely thanked Ms. Keeny for letting them visit with Jonathan, Jerome and Wayne reluctantly following as she left, not knowing why she did so with such ease. 

When Jerome and Wayne questioned Harley about it the second they were outside, she answered, "Jen and Ivy already tried that," She felt exhausted from having to play nice with Ms. Keeny. "the medication Ms. Keeny has Jonathan on confuses him, and it's the one thing that gets him to believe she's not an abusive bitch that he hates." Harley swallowed dryly. "The medication made him mistaken Jen and Ivy's attempt to rescue him as an attempt to hurt his grandma or kidnap him or something, and- and he ended up attacking them." She let out a shaky breath. "Trying to help him when he's not in his right mind is too dangerous." 

~*~*~*~ 

Harley's gut fell sickeningly, her eyes widening in fear, the poor girl freezing up. "I'm going to miss curfew." She murmured when realizing what time it was, Jerome noting the peculiar way her eyes glossed up, her voice shakily saying, "I- um- I have to go!" 

"What about Ivy?" Wayne called out surprised, Harley already dashing off. 

"I really can't miss curfew, sorry!" Harley shouted back, sprinting as hard and as fast as she could down the sidewalk. "See if Jen will help you!" 

~*~*~*~ 

Jen wasn't at the warehouse when Wayne and Jerome went to check up on her, Wayne having no clue where she was at as Jerome decided it would be best to not reveal she was probably at Arkham with Selina considering Wayne didn't know anything about that. 

Sadly, Wayne didn't have any idea on where Ivy was since he didn't know who the Gilzeans were, so it wasn't like he and Jerome could go help her on their own. 

Nonetheless, Selina showed up at her crib the next day, her, Wayne, as well as Jerome going off to help Ivy. 

~*~*~*~ 

Ivy's situation was one in which she was allowed to have friends visit as long as the Gilzeans approved, although she wasn't allowed to leave the room they were forcing her to grow shrooms in. 

All Jerome had to do was kick the ass of Ivy's bodyguard, which frankly wasn't that difficult; the Gilzeans should've hired a bigger guy, because while the guard had been big, he was big enough to where a twelve year old wouldn't be able to take him down, but for a seventeen year old it was thankfully a piece of cake. 

It could've been left at that, but it was decided some payback was needed, so Jerome agreed to take Ivy back to Selina's crib as he let the curly haired girl take Wayne along to see how breaking and entering worked when it came to being a thief. 

For science, of course. AKA Wayne's training. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome had regretted his decision to let the thief take Wayne to the Gilzeans upstairs room when Selina came back with a bloodied up Wayne, both she and the ginger helping patch the poor kiddo up, even Ivy offering some healing herbs that worked wonders. 

Wayne felt better after the aid of his friends... 

... 

... until news about Jim Gordon being arrested came on. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne had ranted and rambled about how upset he was with what had happened to Jim and how unfair it was as well as how they had to make up a plan to get him back until finally getting tired and going to sleep irked, Jerome checking him over to make sure he was wasn't awake before walking over to Selina's room and giving a knock, waiting for her to permit him inside, causing him to enter and shut the door behind home, his chin inclining and arms crossing. 

"What the hell is going on with you and Arkham?" Jerome interrogated, Selina hesitantly meeting his questioning gaze. "I'm not leaving until you answer." Selina's lips parted. "And I mean answer truthfully." Her mouth shut, the girl staring him down before shutting her eyes and giving a sigh. 

"Fine," Selina finally spoke after several lengthy seconds dragged by. "I'll tell you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's what I imagine Harley and Jen would look like! 
> 
> Harley's actress is Margot Robbie from upcoming DC (Batman) movie "Suicide Squad" and Jen's actress is Juno Temple who played Jen (Selina's roommate and partner in crime) from "The Dark Knight Rises" who was based off of the character Holly Robinson :) 
> 
> These are the youngest versions I could find of the actresses so far that weren't where they were, like, five haha. 
> 
> Jen~  
> http://images.fandango.com/r100.4/ImageRenderer/1040/650/redesign/static/img/noxsquare.jpg/p484164/images/masterrepository/performer%20images/p484164/junotemple-filmfestival-16.jpg 
> 
> Harley~  
> http://cdn.skim.gs/image/upload/v1456339061/msi/Z-for-Zachariah-photo-2_vngvqn.jpg


	28. Easter Bonus

"Is there a reason I woke up with an egg in my bed?" Jerome scoffed with an annoyed smirk, shaking the yoke off of his arm. 

"Maybe you laid one in your sleep." Selina answered, earning an irritated sarcastic laugh from the ginger. 

"It's Easter." Wayne explained, helping the curly haired brunette and Ivy color the batch of eggs on the table they sat at. 

"Last I checked you all weren't twelve." Jerome muttered under his breath, Ivy giving him a glower. "Well, except for you." 

"Easter egg hunts can improve your street skills," Selina defended, earning an eye roll from the red haired teen as she continued, "they give you a sharper eye, can help your thieving skills if you decide to cheat, lets you practice being more aware of your actions to make sure your eggs don't crack, helps you with being alert in your surroundings, and competition to be the best at finding resources is always going on when you're homeless." 

"Amusing excuse, but I'm pretty sure you just like Easter egg hunts, sweetheart." Jerome mused, earning a quick glare from Selina. 

"Oh yeah, because you're so mature." Selina grumbled to herself. 

"We're going with to try and rescue Jonathan again after we finish the eggs," Wayne spoke up before Jerome could react to Selina's comment, trying to cease their bickering by changing the subject. "would you want to come?" 

"Sure," Jerome replied, gathering up his towel and washcloth along with shampoo. "but I'm going to the gym to take a shower first," He glanced down at the dried yoke irked. "since SOMEONE put an egg in my bunk." Wayne shrunk into himself sheepishly at that, Jerome smirking and continuing towards the exit. 

Jerome took a cold shower, and ever day he missed the warm water at Wayne's mansion more and more. In complete honesty he frankly just wanted to return to the kiddo's home that had been like paradise since he'd already been plenty used to this sort of shit when it came to living on the streets considering that was practically the same thing as living in a struggling circus that moved around constantly. Nonetheless, Jerome wasn't about to just leave Wayne to fend for himself, as tempting as returning to hot water and hot meals sounded, because- as much as he trusted Selina- he wasn't about to risk letting Wayne go and get himself in more trouble like the little shite usually did whenever Jerome wasn't around; plus, Jerome didn't particularly feel like awkwardly living in the mansion with only Alfred-- that would surely make him feel much more than just uninvited. 

"Can I borrow your soap?" Asked some jackass who had decided to stand under the faucet right next to Jerome when the whole fricking shower room had absolutely no one but them in it. 

Jerome's smile twitched, trying to ignore the creep that apparently didn't know what personal space was, nor how staring was impolite. "Sure." 

Wayne was lucky Jerome didn't just call Alfred and reveal where they were hiding to the butler so they could be ushered back home, much less kill the man beside him. 

When Jerome returned from the shower he saw Jen has awoken and Harley had arrived, noticing Wayne along with Selina were done with the eggs and inquiring, "What exactly is the plan for getting ol' Johnny back this time?" 

"Ivy and Jen are going to stay here so they can hide the eggs," Selina informed, hands resting on her hips. "they were the first ones to try and rescue Johnny by force, and we can't risk Ms. Keeny recognizing them." 

"The rest of us will continue to try to get on Ms. Keeny's good side to see if she'll let Jonathan come outside to 'teach us the righteous path' or whatever, and then we'll wait until we've got him back here to try and explain we're rescuing him," Wayne added, arms crossing. "if the medication confuses him like it did when Jen and Ivy tried to help, then at least he'll be here where we can all safely restrain him until he calms down without having to risk Ms. Keeny interfering." 

"Same plan?" Jerome smirked a bit unimpressed. "What makes you reckon it'll work this time?" 

"It may not," Selina admitted, giving a shrug. "we'll just keep going back until it does work-- sometimes things take time." 

Jerome sighed, still smiling nonetheless. "All right, let's go." 

Ivy and Jen got started on deciding how to hide the eggs as Wayne, Jerome, Selina, and Harley set out to go attempt rescuing Jonathan, the four hoping this visit wouldn't be as gut wrenching as the first. 

Sadly, their hopes diminished after being let inside by Ms. Keeny and seeing what condition Jonathan was in when she brought him to the living room. 

Jonathan had fresh bruises from a ruler over older bruises, his eyes more glazed over as it was made clear he was obviously even more heavily medicated, the brown haired sixteen year old not even seeming to recognize his friends in the least, it being obvious Ms. Keeny had punished him by sending him to bed without a few meals with how much thinner he was. 

Wayne realized Jerome probably should've stayed with Jen and Ivy when noting how the ginger's grin faltered and he looked sick at the sight, the raven haired boy frowning and hesitating before placing his hand over Jerome's. 

It wasn't a flirtatious gesture-- just comforting... Jerome was relieved at that, and gave Wayne's hand a squeeze of thanks; it was assuring to know that the younger one had stopped his advances a while back when asked to and was just trying to be a good friend then and there considering the last thing Jerome needed when seeing shit like this that he'd experienced and known all too well from the circus was a fourteen year old being flirty. 

Selina knew it wasn't romantic. Jerome knew it wasn't romantic. Hells, even Harley knew it wasn't romantic, and she barely knew the pair. Jonathan probably would've known it wasn't romantic if he wasn't so heavily medicated and was actually paying attention. 

Ms. Keeny though? She did not know that-- all she knew was one boy was holding another boy's hand, and that alone made her eyes bulge oh so dramatically as her nose scrunched in disgust, jaw dropping as though she'd just witnessed a horrific horror movie scene in real life, pasty skin going as red as a batch of overly ripe tomatoes. 

The four minors already knew what was coming, all of them trying to not groan. 

"If this is an act of heresy being brought into my home I allowed you all to enter-" Ms. Keeny started in distaste, face scrunched up in absolute rage. 

"They're brothers," Harley lied, trying to keep afloat the plan they'd had to already go through too much for with all the awful things they'd had to hear and see, gesturing towards Jerome and adding, "he has a bit of a stomachache, and his little bro is just very touchy feely to those he cares about when in pain." 

Now, here's the thing... that would've worked. 

Did Ms. Keeny stare at them quizzically? Yes. Did she hesitate when it came to deciding on whether or not she believed the lie? Yes. Did she end up eventually giving a nod and taking the bluff? Also yes. 

Did she realize this was a lie? Not at first, but eventually... yes. 

"Let it be known if any of you do turn out to be heathens who do such impure things, you will have a ruler whacking since you are in my home, and I do not let such things go unnoticed without punishment." Ms. Keeny warned, Wayne, Selina, and Harley nodding. 

Jerome though? Jerome didn't nod. 

Did Ms. Keeny finally cross the line by saying that? Yes-- yes she did. 

Wayne blinked as Jerome wrapped an arm around his hips, feeling the other pull him closer and about to ask the other what the hell he was doing before Jerome gave a wicked grin towards Ms. Keeny and said, "Brothers? My friend's a real kidder, isn't she?" Wayne's eyes went wide at that. "Truth is me and him-" He began, gesturing towards the uncertain Wayne. "-are two homosexual twenty-one year old men that just look young for our ages, and we met in a gay strip club a while back where we had a wild night in the club's dungeon of toys together before deciding we liked how the other banged and ended up going out the next day. We've been screwing- sorry, I mean 'dating'- for a while now, and in our spare time we hold atheist rallies literally right outside your cornfield, which we steal corn from all the time to sell in order to raise money for the transgender community. As for them?" He gestured towards Selina and Harley. "They're both eighteen year old lesbians who cast spells." He fake gasped, giving a cheeky grin and wink. "Witchcraft! In any case, my boyfriend-" He gave a nod towards Wayne. "-and I have a make out session scheduled for a few minutes from now, which means I'm afraid we're going to have to wrap this up so we can go do scandalous things involving whip cream and rope under some lovely silk sheets we admittedly stole from your closet." Jerome pressed his lips against Wayne's ear, purring teasingly, "Ready to go have some fun, darling?" 

Wayne wasn't sure his face had ever been so heated up in his entire life, Selina face palming herself while letting out a long exhale, Harley staring at Jerome with a shocked but gleeful grin at the entertaining lie, Jonathan not reacting considering he was too dazed to listen, Ms. Keeny's jaw dropped, eyes bulging, and brows raised upwards in absolute horror as well as disgust. 

"How dare-" Ms. Keeny gasped after finally regaining herself, grabbing her ruler resting on the coffee table and clenching it so tightly her hand shook. "How dare you come into my house and let such filth leave your mouth?" She scolded furiously, ready to swat the ruler at Jerome and blinking as the teen easily got her back into her chair with a light push. 

"Jerome-" Wayne objected, still regaining himself from the red haired one's risqué fib. 

"Oh relax, it's not like I shoved the old hag down," Jerome scoffed, yanking the ruler out of the appalled Ms. Keeny's fist. "she's fine, and sure as hell lucky I'm not stabbing her." He snickered, snapping the ruler in half before tossing it to the side and carelessly letting it hit the floor. "Now then, who's ready to leave this shithole?" 

Needless to say it was... certainly a peculiar sight to see Jerome carrying a kicking and objecting hysterical Jonathan over his shoulder as they made their way back to Selina's place while being sure to take a discreet route in the drains so they didn't attract attention, the poor overly medicated boy passing out less than halfway there, that at least making it easier for Jerome to carry him nonetheless. 

"I like this guy," Harley whispered to Selina with a grin. "we've been needing some muscle around to help us with this sorta' stuff!" A pause. "Plus, he's kinda' handsome, too... is he really gay, or was that just an act back there?" Selina's eyes rolled, staying quiet. "What? I'm just asking is all! For a friend... asking for a friend..." Selina scoffed, earning a pout from the pigtailed brunette. 

They finally arrived back at the warehouse, Jerome more or less dropping Jonathan onto a tattered mattress Jen had found for him, Selina giving him a look at the way he'd carelessly tossed the other down as Jerome defended, "What? I hauled his ass here." 

"Which is why you shouldn't break his collarbone or something, because then you'll have to haul him to the hospital." Selina warned, kneeling beside Jonathan and adjusting him so he was on his side rather than having his face smushed in a pillow, allowing him to breathe better; plus, if he ended up being sick and didn't wake up thanks to his medications, he could possibly choke if he was laying on his back, so laying on his side was the safest position to go with. 

Selina set up some pillows against Jonathan's back and torso along with stomach to help make sure he didn't switch positions, checking his pulse and and heartbeat to make sure they were still beating, but not too gradually or rapidly. Afterwards, she wrote a note briefly summarizing where he was as well as what had happened and left it taped beside his mattress, not very well wanting him to wake up and freak out about being in a completely new place without explanation. 

After Selina finished taking bandages coated in healing herbs Ivy had mixed together and wrapping them around Jonathan's bruised arms as well as leaving a glass of water and plate of canned foods that wouldn't go bad beside the mattress, she went to check on Jen to see if anything exciting had happened while they were gone. 

Wayne, meanwhile, wouldn't let Jerome live down what he'd said at Ms. Keeny's as they painted some leftover eggs. 

"What stripper club did we meet at again, sweetums?" Wayne teased, Jerome scoffing and ignoring the question, the ginger keeping his eyes on the egg. "Didn't you say we needed to go buy whipped cream for something?" 

"Hardy-har-har, aren't you hilarious?" Jerome mock laughed, nonetheless glancing up from his egg and returning Wayne's cheeky little grin. 

"Can't wait to tell Alfred what we talked about while learning how to survive on the streets," Wayne began, dabbing a few decorations on one of the eggs. "twinks, banging, and-" 

"I hope you're joking; I'd really prefer to not have your butler sending my ass back to the GCPD." Jerome interjected with a snicker. 

"I am." Wayne assured, it briefly going quiet before he continued to joke, "So how long have you and I been going out again-" 

"I'll throw this egg at you." Jerome warned with a smirk, Wayne giving what nearly looked like a pout at that, but stopping nonetheless. 

Jerome, Wayne, Selina, Ivy, Harley, and Jen decided to not go Easter egg hunting until Jonathan woke up, which was around six P.M. 

"You told my gran what?" Jonathan questioned in disbelief as Ivy changed the bandages around his bruised arms with cloths dripping from fresher herbs. 

"Relax, it's not like you're ever going back there," Jerome nonchalantly assured. "you can just hideout here with the rest of us." 

"Whether or not I end back up in that hellish house isn't particularly a choice when it comes to the very likely chance of law enforcers finding me and pursuing my return by force." Jonathan sighed annoyedly, voice hoarse from how dry his throat was-- the medications had dehydrated him quite a bit. "Now if I end up being ushered back in that house, I'll get twice the beatings for what YOU decided would be a grand idea to let spill from your mouth without considering the consequences." He muttered, taking a chug of water. 

"The only reason you got caught before was because we were all split up." Wayne reassured, Jonathan glancing at him. "I was in Switzerland, Jerome was at the mansion, Selina was in her crib, and I'm assuming Harley and Jen were at the warehouse," He continued, noting the dark circles under Jonathan's groggy eyes. "if we'd been together it would've been a lot harder for one policeman to collect you, and Ivy would've never been snatched by the Gilzeans; now that we're all here it'll be a lot easier for at least one of us to come up with a plan quick enough that will allow us to get out of situations like that." 

Jonathan moved his shoulders in circles, attempting to make a steady blood flow return to his throbbing arms colored black and blue. "As admirable I find your persistence to make sure we all stay a nice little family, I'm afraid the GCPD could very well do what they reckon is best for us if it comes down to it considering they certainly outnumber us, and I strongly assume what they reckon is best will more than likely be throwing us crime-committing minors into either Juvy, foster care, adoption, an household with a relative which they turn a blind eye to when abuse is involved, or even Arkham," He kept his eyes on Wayne. "you'll probably be thrown in Juvy if you get caught fostering us criminals." 

"That won't happen if we don't draw attention to ourselves," Wayne countered, Harley nodding in agreement. "as long as we stay low-" 

"I've found it's rather difficult to stay low in our little group." Jonathan reminded, trying to ignore the sting in his arms. 

"Then we try to stay low harder." Wayne persisted stubbornly. 

"Staying low isn't precisely the easiest thing to do when the ones trying to stay low range from things such as a billionaire, serial killer, well known thief, Gotham's number one illegal plant grower, and-" He turned his sights to Harley and Jen. "-well, I don't know much about you pair, but I'm willing to bet you have some sort of record." 

"You guys do remember this is Gotham, don't you?" Jerome mused, nudging Wayne with his elbow. "Wayne's the richest kiddo here! If worse comes to worst, he can just wave a few green Benjamin's around and get any nosy cops to look the other way-- it's how everyone else gets away with the shit they do here." 

Harley swung an arm around Jonathan, having to stand on to tips of her toes to do so, earning a somewhat a non-approving glance from the taller sixteen year old as she chimed, "See? Ya' ain't got anything to worry about!" 

Jonathan stayed quiet, studying Jerome and Wayne broodingly before eventually giving a sigh and finally saying, "As much as I still wish you hadn't chosen to risk saying such things to the woman I may end back up with in any case, I am nonetheless grateful for your assurance." 

"Just a 'thank you' would've been fine." Jerome snickered when hearing the other's wording. 

"You're welcome." Wayne said before Jonathan could reply to Jerome's comment, Wayne giving the ginger a look signaling him to stop giving the poor brunet a hard time. 

"When are we gonna' go egg hunting?" Ivy piped up bored, cheek resting against Harley's lap. 

Jonathan stared at the red haired girl for a few seconds before arching a brow. "Egg... hunting..?" 

"It's Easter!" Harley explained, knowing Jonathan probably hadn't been able to keep up with the days he'd been trapped in that awful house with how loopy the medications had made him. 

"Not sure any egg hunting would be fair here," Jerome objected, really not in the mood for doing something he hadn't done since he was eight. "it'd be rigged considering Ivy and Jen hid the eggs and all that." He gave a obviously fake grin and mocking shrug while sarcastically adding, "Too bad it's not a fair game-- I was really looking forward to it." 

"We paid a homeless lady a hundred bucks to hide the eggs for us." Ivy countered, Jerome's smile twitching annoyedly. 

"Where exactly did you two get that sort of money?" Jerome scoffed in irritation. 

"I grow marijuana and Jen knows how to be a gold digger." Ivy answered nonchalantly. 

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting all of you kiddos are practically felons." Jerome sighed with an eye roll. 

"Says the guy who murdered people." Selina retorted under her breath. 

"I heard that." Jerome snickered irked. 

"Good." Selina snapped carelessly, meeting his aggravated smirk with a glare. 

"How about you all have fun looking for eggs that have probably spoiled by now and I go take a nap?" Jerome murmured, feeling a migraine come on, already turning his back towards the fellow minors to go towards his room. 

"Whoever finds the golden egg gets to choose any object they want that we'd have to get for them, whatever activity they want to do whether it's legal or not, and can make each of us do a single thing no matter what it is." Ivy informed, Jerome halting at that. 

"What?" Wayne questioned warily. "I never agreed to this." 

"It's the Easter rules Jen, Ivy, and I have every year." Selina explained, Wayne frowning uncertainly. 

"Oh this couldn't go wrong in any way whatsoever." Jonathan muttered with sarcasm laced in his tone. 

Jerome turned to face the seven minors, staring at them broodingly while contemplating, corners of his lips turning upwards as he pondered amusedly. "All right, let's play." 

Selina decided she definitely needed to find the egg first with the smirk Jerome flashed her way, not particularly wanting to know what he had in mind. 

Each minor had their own methods for finding the golden egg. 

Jerome and Wayne teamed up, deciding four eyes were better than just two. Selina climbed up onto semi-high surfaces to get a better view of her surroundings, skimming areas for any sign of golden eggs. Jonathan used logic, coming up with the predictably of what potential hiding places the egg would be at and checking the highest probable ones first, saving the least for last. Harley had a golden retriever and dachshund from who knows where sniff a yellow egg in hopes that paint would be similar to the golden egg's paint and have a peculiar sent, following them around as they sniffed for any sign of similar eggs. As for Jen? Well, you're about to find out Jen's little method. 

Jerome grumbled something under his breath, giving an aggravated laugh. "I hate Easter..." He muttered, smirking in annoyance. More grumbles. "Making me play this silly game..." He murmured, corners of his lips curved upwards twitching. Another set of grumbles. "This shit isn't even worth it..." Aaand grumbles left his mouth once more. 

Wayne rolled his eyes, glancing over at Jerome as the ginger searched through a tree while the raven haired boy searched a bush next to it, bluish gray eyes blinking at the sight of a rabbit hole, glancing up at the seventeen year old cussing under his breath while nearly slipping off a branch before returning his attention towards the hole, reaching for it as Jerome grumbled about scraping his hand on the wood. 

The fourteen year old's hand halted, deciding he should probably get a stick considering for all he knew the rabbit hole could very possibly be a snake hole instead, scanning his surroundings and not having any luck in finding a stick. 

"Jerome, throw me a branch!" Wayne instructed, wincing as Jerome slipped and managed to just barely catch himself, one arm and one leg on a large branch while the other two hung off, only halfway on the tree. 

"I hate Easter." Jerome informed for the billionth time, pulling himself back up onto the tree and grabbing a stick, breaking it off before tossing it next to Wayne. "Did you find something, or- shit!" He snickered irked, scrambling away from the termites that had been in the branch, his back up against the tree as his legs hung off the branch. 

Wayne barely smirked at that, returning his attention to the rabbit hole and using the stick to prod around, carefully trying to feel for a few lengthy seconds, determined look falling as he gently brushed up only dirt from the hole, giving a few more defeated tries just to be sure. 

Looked like it wasn't there- hey! Maybe it was in the warehouse! 

Yeah, definitely! It was so obvious, it was un-obvious! It was the perfect hiding place! 

It was- wait- 

Wait. 

Wait... 

Wait..? 

Wait! 

Egg. Golden egg. Wayne saw a flash off an egg that was spray painted sparkly gold as he shifted some more dirt towards him, said egg rolling with the dirt he scooped up one more time from the rabbit hole. 

Finally-- it was nearly too dark to spot anything. 

Jerome continued his grumbling. "Easter AKA waste perfectly good eggs day..." 

Wayne glanced over at Jerome, returning his gaze to the egg and contemplating on reaching out before sighing, setting the stick down and allowing the egg to roll back into the hole. 

"Jerome!" Wayne called, jumping up from his place on the ground and running over to the tree. 

"What?" 

"I found the egg!" Wayne stated, pointing towards the rabbit hole under the bush less than a yard away, Jerome raising a brow and grinning. 

"Oh?" Jerome began, parting his lips to add something before feeling his expression instead fall, catching the sight of an ever so watchful Jen sprinting towards the bush. 

Jen had learned those who risk waiting rather than act often lost what those who observed and acted gained. 

Jerome had never quite jumped off of anything as quickly as he did the tree, and Wayne had never charged a lady the way he charged Jen. 

Jen was tackled to the ground by Wayne, but in his defense he shifted around and landed on his back to take the impact of the fall, and Jerome didn't even bother using the stick as he shoved his hand right down what could potentially be a snake's home, hand wrapping around the golden egg so fast it cracked. 

"Nice one, Mr. Ditzy the Ditz." Jen commented sarcastically as Jerome pulled his hand back and shook the yolk off. 

"Oh put a sock in it, sweetheart." Jerome scoffed, gathering up the remains of the shell while giving a grumble. 

The golden egg was cracked, but that didn't mean Jerome hadn't gotten it when he showed the golden shards of proof, so technically he still had his three little "prizes" that Wayne didn't mind letting him have considering the raven haired boy didn't really have any want for them. 

Selina reluctantly exhaled in a stressed and irritated tone, "What do you want?" 

"What are the three things I get again?" Jerome teased, earning a glare from the curly haired girl who knew he very well remembered what his three prizes were. 

"Any object you want is your's, even if we have to steal it!" Harley answered with a grin. "Any activity you wanna' do, we have to do with ya', even if it's illegal! 'N each of us will do one thing you want us to do, even if it's dangerous!" She crossed her arms, adding, "Everything has to be done in Gotham though!" 

"There's no doubt we're all bound to perish if we give Valeska too much time to decide on whatever mischief he's clearly already stirring up for us to face without a say." Jonathan spoke up, earning a smirk from Jerome. 

"Valeska? Ooh, so we're on a last name basis now, Crane?" Jerome mused, giving a wink. "Careful, if I didn't know better I'd say being so formal meant you have a crush on me." 

"I don't experience any sort of attraction which isn't platonic towards anyone, much less the likes of you." Jonathan retorted in distaste, nose scrunching. 

"Aw, playing hard to get, are we?" 

"One more quip and I'll fill your lungs with fear toxins."

"Oh wow, you really know how to charm a guy, don't ya'?" Jerome chuckled despite how Jonathan looked just about ready to give the jokester a few bruises of his own. "In any case, I'll get back to you three about the prizes tomorrow." 

Selina groaned at that. "Oh great, he's going to do his research and make this whole thing as difficult for us as possible." 

"Sure am, sweet-cakes." Jerome confirmed with a wink. 

Other than that, no one complained about finally being able to go off and do their own thing, which consisted of resting; after saving Jonathan from his abusive home and the Easter Egg hunt, they were all rather exhausted considering they'd had to get up early to paint eggs and hadn't eaten much in between the hectic rescue attempts and the search for the golden prize. 

Harley went home, the rest staying at Selina's crib and sleeping soundly... 

... 

... except for Selina. 

Sneaking out to Arkham to let them test on her was an absolutely lovely way to end Easter after all, wouldn't you agree? 

Selina bit down on the wood between her teeth as the needles sank into her arms one more time to pour some sort of liquid that felt like salt water mixed with Tabasco with how badly it stung before retracting, ignoring the way that the water brimming in her eyes blurred her vision, letting out a choked sob she tried to cover up with a cough, having to double over as the restraints around her were released and trying to still her trembling arms, nearly dry heaving as she barely succeeded in not throwing up, desperately gulping in deep breaths while the room seemed to spin. 

Shite, her arms felt like they were burning. 

"You may wait outside Dr. Hugo's office or visit with Fries in his room until the doctor is ready to see you." Ms. Peabody permitted, sketching something down on her clipboard before starting to exit the room along with the doctors that had been testing on Selina, the scientist pausing at the threshold and glancing over her shoulder at Selina after making sure the guards continued on their way. "Are you okay?" 

Selina let out a noise of confirmation that sounded more like a whimper than anything, it being clear she was lying as she hoarsely reassured, "I'm fine.", in a weakly cracking voice. 

If Selina didn't know better, she'd say Ms. Peabody had a flash of concern spread across her face, but she dismissed the unlikely gesture as the scientist straightened up and said in a more even tone, "You have permission to see her afterwards.", 'her' referring to the person Selina had been allowing tests to be run on her just so she could check on whoever this 'her' was. 

Selina nodded, having a bit of trouble comprehending what Ms. Peabody was saying with the ringing in her ears, migraine coming on, and fatigue washing over her. "Okay." She eventually managed to get to leave her chapped lips after figuring out what the other woman's words had meant, barely relaxing ever so slightly when Ms. Peabody hesitated before finally leaving and shutting the door behind her, the dim light that had been slightly shining through into the dark room seeming much too bright and vivid. 

Selina took about five minutes to regain herself, afterwards standing up and letting out a shaking breath before inhaling deeply, closing her eyes and running her fingers through her messy hair, throat clearing. 

This was fine... Selina was used to this, and this was worth it-- worth it to see this mysterious "her" that she'd been visiting. 

Fries glanced over at the door as Selina entered, expression falling at the sight of the pale girl who was obviously having trouble walking. "Selina-" 

"Oh relax, she's probably just cold," Jester waved off, Fries giving him a glare. "I could warm ya' up, kitten." 

Selina opened her mouth and stuck her finger towards it, making a gagging sound and earning a snicker from the creepy jokester, Fries giving her an apologetic look before glaring at Jester unamused. 

"You're hanging out with him now?" Selina questioned Fries, gesturing towards Jester in distaste, Fries parting his lips to answer and instead quickly getting up from his place at his desk as Selina stumbled over her own two feet and fell on her knees, her arms shaking as she had trouble keeping upright. 

"Jester, off the bed." Fries instructed, kneeling next to Selina as the girl threw up. 

"You look like shit," Jester commented, stretching out and continuing to lounge comfortably on Fries' bed. "I mean, really... this isn't the most flattering position for a lady, now is it?" He snickered, noting the bits of red leaving Selina's lips. "Ooh, that doesn't look good," He mused with an intrigued grin. "not to mention you're spreading your germs all over Frosty the Snowman's quarantined room-" 

"Off the bed!" Fries instructed snappily, effortlessly picking the younger girl nearly passed out up and glowering down at the copycat. 

"Putting passed out girls on your bed?" Jester gave a fake gasp and mocking wink. "Never took you for that kind of guy-" 

"One more wisecrack like that and I'll freeze you over." Fries threatened, Jester chuckling and giving a shrug as he took his time getting up. "Now leave before I drive an ice sickle into your throat." The older man warned, setting Selina down in the bed. 

"Aw come on, I was just joking around!" Jester laughed with a wide smile. "Geez, with how you're treating her I'd almost figure she was your wife or something-" 

"Make one more inappropriate joke about my wife or Selina and I will freeze you gradually so you have a long and painful death as frostbite spreads to every inch of your pathetic body." 

"Yeesh, okay okay, point taken," Jester scoffed defensively, hands raising. "I'll see ya' around, snowballs." He snickered while showing himself out the door. 

Fries glanced down at Selina, letting out a long breath and running a hand through his white hair; things were definitely worsening for the poor girl... 

Things continued to worsen when Selina was begrudgingly shaken awake by Fries, who just wanted to let her get some rest, but knew that Dr. Hugo would be displeased if she missed his appointment with the curly haired girl. 

Fries knew Hugo wasn't a bad man, of course! Hugo was a good man-- a good person, and a good doctor. Someone who genuinely wanted to help him get better, along with everyone else; talk about moral ethics! It was completely normal Hugo would be disappointed about missing a meeting with a patient he truly cared about, just as most doctors would be, and that was all! Hugo sometimes had to put his patients through hardships, and while it was saddening, it was just part of their healing-- to fix a broken bone you must fist set it into place, which is more painful than just leaving it there, but in the long run it is something you need to be done immensely. Hugo even dealt with patients who could harm him, which made him undeniably brave and proved he was a good doctor!" 

Hugo was a hero. Fries knew that. Even Jester knew that. Everyone in Arkham that had been there a while and gone under Hugo's care so far knew that. 

Fries was certain Hugo was good, and there was no way he could be wrong... right..? 

"Are you having fun with Wayne and Jerome?" Hugo inquired, setting a cup of tea in front of Selina. 

Selina didn't dare avert her gaze. "Yes sir." She pretended to take a sip of the tea. 

"What about Jonathan and Ivy, as well as those other two friends of yours?" Hugo continued, Selina finding out a long time ago that even monsters could smile. "Harley and Jen, was it?" 

Selina had known from the start that Hugo wasn't a good man, and she tried to not let him figure that out. "Yes sir, Harley and Jen are their names," She couldn't figure out whether Hugo had figured her out. "they're all doing well," The curly haired girl added, ignoring the ache in her back from spasming when those needles had been injecting who knows what into her. "we managed to rescue Jonathan from his abusive household, and we all got to go egg hunting today." 

"That's wonderful news." Hugo congratulated, Selina giving a polite nod. "Do I have any need to worry about Wayne?" 

Selina said what she always said when Hugo asked this question he'd give every visit: "No sir." 

Hugo's expression fell, studying Selina broodingly, this being the norm in which Selina would be sure to not falter, until Hugo would finally smile and say, "Good." 

The rest of the session went relatively smoothly, Selina barely able to stay awake as usual after being tested on and having to hold a conversation afterwards. 

Nonetheless, Selina went to visit "her." 

Selina gave a weak smile, glad she was able to more or less drop down into a sitting position, pressing her palm against a cylinder glass filled with liquid and looking up at who the container held, eyes landing on a familiar dark haired female with eyes slid shut as usual while she gave a soft, "Hi.", before swallowing dryly and speaking up the best she could in hopes maybe SOMETHING she'd say would get through to one of the best friend's she'd had before losing them after being promised they'd be safe. "I um- I went Easter egg hunting today." Selina revealed before telling the other what all had happened that day. 

It's needless to say Selina was pissed off when Jerome woke her up at five in the morning with how she'd barely fallen asleep considering she'd gotten home at two A.M. after she'd finished telling the person she was unsure as to whether they even heard her everything that had gone on the day before. 

"Either you're going to let me go back to sleep, or I'm going to punch you right in the throat." Selina grumbled groggily, letting out a huff as Jerome snickered and yanked the covers off of her, forcing her to sit up as she irritatedly exclaimed, "What the hell is your prob-" 

"We both know what you told me when Wayne fell asleep after finding out about what happened to Jim was bullshit." Jerome interjected with a smirk, sitting on the end of her bed. 

Selina was too tired for this shit. "What are you talking abou-" 

"I took you to Arkham after one of your arm episodes, sweet-cheeks, and I know you B.S.'d your excuse for why you wanted me to haul your ass there instead of a hospital," Jerome explained, Selina's expression falling. "so you're going to tell me the truth." 

"I didn't lie," Lied Selina. "what I told you was the truth-" 

"Oh yeah, sure, because you having inherited healthcare at a mental institution is totally believable." 

"Arkham has a hospital wing-" 

"I looked it up, and it's not a wing for the sane, which means you're either lying or insane, and I'm guessing it's the former." Jerome interjected knowingly. 

"Oh will you just drop it alread-" 

"So you admit it was a lie?" 

"I never said that!" Selina defended irked. 

"You slipped up and implied it." 

"Fine, let's say I am lying," Selina whispered heatedly under her breath, not wanting to wake anyone up. "what makes you believe I'll tell the truth a second time around?" 

"The Easter prize says I get to make each of you do one thing I want, right?" Jerome gave a knowing smirk. "I want you to tell me the full truth about why you're going to Arkham." 

Oh for the love of- "How do you know I won't lie again?" Selina challenged, attempting to get Jerome to change his mind. 

"You've been doing this tradition for a while, yeah?" Jerome gave a cocky grin. "I'm guessing you have more respect for respecting its honor code than you have respect for whether you lie to me or not." 

Selina glared at Jerome. 

If there was one thing Jerome and Wayne had in common, it was stubbornness. 

Jen was the only one Selina had ever told the truth to. The only one Selina had ever trusted to know what was really going on. The only one she was brave enough to admit her predicament to. 

Selina hadn't even told Harley or Ivy. Hadn't told her other two closest friends. Hadn't told the ones who admitted everything to her. 

Jen didn't turn Selina away and say that Selina's problems were too much of a burden to share. Jen understood Selina's reasoning, even if she didn't agree with it. Jen at least tried to help in whatever ways she could. 

If she could've, Jen would've even taken Selina's place if change for the brunette turned out to be impossible. 

Selina felt too much for Wayne. Selina even cared for Jerome in her own way. Selina would do almost anything- if not anything- to protect Ivy. Selina looked out for Harley all the time, even if it was inconvenient. Selina had risked many things- such as being caught and thrown in jail or receiving a nasty beating when saving Jonathan from his abusive household- but she would do it again, because she considered him a friend as well. 

Jen though? Selina felt a deeper connection to Jen than anyone. 

Selina greatly cared for her friends, but she absolutely adored Jen. 

That's why Jerome didn't take Selina actually telling the truth to him for granted. 

Jerome occasionally slept with Wayne whenever the poor kiddo would have a traumatic event happen- such as being attacked, which seemed to happen far too often, particularly for a fourteen year old- or there was no room for Jerome to sleep anywhere else, and even then Jerome would put a pillow fort in between them, despite Wayne often managing to shift around enough in his sleep to roll over it and next to Jerome. 

The other fellow teens, along with twelve year old Ivy and eleven year old Harley though? Jerome had never slept with them. 

Yet Jerome decided to not go back to his bed, instead setting up a pillow fort in between him and Selina, deciding it couldn't hurt to stick around the girl that had just admitted pretty much everything about who "her" at Arkham was and why she'd been going there, as well as even what the doctors were doing to her. 

It had seemed like Selina had drifted off until Jerome heard her softly say, "Thanks..." 

Jerome cleared his throat, bothering to stay by the poor gal's side for a little while being the least he could do. "No problem." 

While the pair certainly didn't have the sort of bond Jerome and Wayne had, something had definitely risen... not quite a friendship, but more than an acquaintanceship... 

... 

... an alliance, perhaps. 

Selina knew Jerome usually only stopped smiling when Wayne was in danger or hurt, so she knew him actually frowning rather than just not smiling when she gave her story was something uncommon, and Jerome knew Selina not tiptoeing around the truth with anyone other than Wayne when admitting something could result in her being at risk and instead giving the full story was rare, so her not only doing that but letting down her façade and practically sobbing as she did so was just as uncommon. 

When the pair woke up and got called to breakfast Jerome stepped in front of Selina, rubbing the side of his neck as her eyebrows quirked upwards while he said, "Uh, listen, I-" He cleared his throat, still not smiling. "I shouldn't of pushed you to tell me about-" 

"You were just curious is all," Selina shrugged off, gaze averting as she decided she was too worn out from talking about this last night to speak about it anymore. "you hadn't realized how severe this whole thing was." 

"No, I wasn't just- I mean... yeah, I kinda' was, but-" He sighed, also looking away at that. "Don't make me regret saying this, but I was honestly a little- fine, A LOT-" He had to force the next word out of his mouth. "-worried about you." 

Selina blinked, hesitantly staring up at Jerome taken aback. "... What?" 

"Look, just because I wouldn't risk my life for ya' doesn't mean I want you dead or something, okay?" Jerome admitted frankly, deciding just being honest and spitting out what he had to say would be best. "You're an annoying little thing, I'll give ya' that, and I really don't know whether or not I'm fond of you or would rather stab you, but you're a friend of Wayne's, and you mean a shit-ton to him, so I don't want him going all mopey or stressed out if you go and get your ass into trouble." Selina scoffed and parted her lips to give a retort before he interrupted, "Not to mention you're just a kid and all, even if you're a tough kid, and I know you've gone through some shit, so from one teen who had a crappy childhood to another-" He stuck out his hand, Selina's mouth shutting. "-you're not so bad." Selina went from angry back to surprised. "Besides, after what you told me last night, I guess the least I could do is stop pissing you off so much since it sounds like you already have enough crap to deal with-- as a favor for helping Wayne with this silly training stuff on surviving in the streets or whatever," A pause. "and just because I wouldn't die for you and all doesn't mean I wouldn't not risk my life in all honesty, I guess... don't repeat what I just said to anyone, though," He quickly added, "and don't act like that means you can just go get into trouble and expect me to help; I still have standards for how much I'm willing to risk anything and who I'm willing to do that for-- it's gotta' at least be kinda' fun or something, and I'm not always going to feel generous, ya' know." 

Selina felt a smirk come into place, taking Jerome's offered hand and shaking, accepting the truce. "You're growing a soft spot for me." 

Jerome brought back his hand, finally giving a grin that replaced his rather serious expression. "Watch it, toots; we're still just acquaintances." 

"Isn't that what you told Wayne at first-" 

"Screw off." Jerome snickered, gesturing for Selina to follow and earning a cheeky grin from the curly haired girl. 

Jerome still pissed Selina off, and vice versa, but it felt nice to lighten up and smile a little bit in complete honesty, particularly when there was a mutual understanding. 

"We're eating eggs?" Jerome scoffed after grabbing a plate of the cooked food, eying the questionable meal. 

"We weren't just going to waste all those eggs." Ivy replied, taking a bite. 

"So these are the Easter eggs we painted?" Jerome mused, poking at the meal with his fork. "We're probably going to get ink poisoning or something." 

Harley nearly choked, contemplating on spitting it out as she said through a mouthful, "Ink poisoning?!" 

"Relax, you're fine." Jen assured, giving Jerome a glare. 

"Probably." Selina added under her breath right as Harley swallowed, earning wide eyes from the pigtailed girl. 

"We used non-toxic paint." Wayne reassured, Harley looking like she was about to throw up. 

"Besides, if worse comes to worst, Wayne can always pay for our hospital bills." Jerome jested with a grin, gently elbowing the raven haired boy. 

"Stop frightening the poor girl." Jonathan scolded whence seeing the way Harley looked like she was going to cry. 

"We're just messing with ya'." Jerome snickered, ruffling up Harley's hair from across the table, Ivy glowering at him while comfortingly nudging the frightened eleven year old pigtailed girl. 

After managing to calm the freaking out Harley down, the minors mostly just took a break and lounged around Selina's crib until nighttime, Harley going home to be sure she didn't miss curfew and Selina waiting for everyone to go to sleep before begrudgingly doing her routine of going to sneak out to Arkham, halting at the sight of Jerome waiting at the door, eying him uncertainly. 

"You probably shouldn't be roaming the streets of Gotham alone," Jerome spoke up with a shrug, rubbing the side of his neck with a casual smirk. "creeps out there and all." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Mind if I join ya'?" 

Selina's arms crossed as she fiddled with the cuffs of her sleeves, eyes averting towards the floor. "You really don't have to do that," Jerome's surprisingly brief kindness had been relieving last night after she'd returned from Arkham, and it had genuinely even made her feel a bit better, but she was an independent gal, which meant she didn't need anymore help than the little he'd already offered the night before. "I'll be fine on my own." She didn't need Jerome's... whatever this was... it wasn't sympathy, or concern, but it certainly resembled something along the lines of such. 

"I know," Jerome replied, shoulders quirking as he gave a shrug before falling back into place. "but I felt like taking a walk anyways," He flashed a smile. "figured I may as well join you." 

Selina brought her gaze back to Jerome, looking him over quizzically, narrowing her eyes as though she was attempting to see whether or not this was some sort of trick and pondering before finally giving a nod, walking towards the other. "Fine, but I walk fast, so make sure you can keep up." 

Jerome gave a chuckle, nodding at that and following Selina outside. 

Selina ended up telling Jerome to wait for her at a street corner they stopped at which was a block away from Arkham, not particularly wanting to risk Dr. Hugo seeing him considering not even Jen was supposed to know she was visiting the mental facility, much less the best friend of the raven haired boy she had agreed to more or less spy on for Hugo. 

Most of Selina's visit at Arkham was normal. She let the doctors do tests on her, Fries allowed her to stay in his room to rest up until it was time for her session with Hugo, and she'd been dismissed to see the gal she'd been doing this whole nightmare for afterwards. 

What was abnormal in Selina's visit was when she started to leave and was pulled aside by Hugo. 

"What's up?" Selina inquired warily, knowing she had to be on her toes around everyone, but particularly Hugo. 

"I just wanted to remind you that we had a deal," Hugo answered with a sickly sweet smile, Selina swallowing thickly. "I allow you to visits, and you keep the practices which occur here confidential, correct?" He waited for Selina to nod, artificial smile falling. "So may I ask why Jerome Valeska came with you tonight?" 

Selina forced her eyes to not widen, replying in the most casual tone she could muster up, "I didn't-" 

"Now now, Miss Kyle, I do not tell you lies, and I expect you to do no differently," Hugo interjected, wagging his pointer finger from side to side disapprovingly. "surely I don't need to state something so obvious?" 

Selina felt her pulse race. "Is he here?" She interrogated, technically not lying when she added, "Because I didn't bring him here,", considering she had technically left him a block away, which meant she was technically telling the truth. "so I don't know how he would've-" 

"We both know he's not here," Hugo spoke up, studying Selina broodingly. "although he's certainly only a few buildings away." 

Selina felt her gut drop; shit-- so Hugo really did have eyes everywhere... "He caught me getting up and I just told him I was going for a walk because I couldn't sleep, so he followed," Selina lied, unable to tell what Hugo did and didn't believe with the hardened expression he was wearing. "I left him a block away from here and told him he could wait or leave since I had some private street business at a place he couldn't come, and he owed me a favor, so he stayed there without prying." 

Hugo remained quiet, clearly contemplating as he kept Selina's gaze locked with his, his posture not as easygoing as it was all those other times he'd met with Selina before, instead being much more stuff as it usually was when he disapproved of a patient's behavior, chin raised somewhat intimidatingly, arms poshly behind his back. 

Selina didn't dare look away, doing her best to not cower, having to clench her jaw to force their eyes to continue meeting, fingers digging into her palms to keep her body from twitching with nervousness, finding she was having trouble evening out her breathing and- 

"I see," Hugo mused, Selina stopping herself from sighing in relief as he gave a smile, returning to the more relaxing doctor that Selina was used to. "have a good day, Selina." 

"Thanks." Selina forced out as nonchalantly as possible, waiting until she was back where Jerome was before letting out a long exhale, taking a few seconds to lean against a brick wall while regaining herself as Jerome's eyebrows arched. 

"Everything all right?" Jerome inquired, giving a reassuring grin and placing a hand on Selina's shoulder, half expecting her to shrug him off and being a bit taken aback when she didn't. 

"Peachy." Selina waved off sarcastically, taking in a deep breath before giving a long exhale, afterwards straightening up and walking forward after saying, "Let's go." 

Jerome swung an arm around Selina's shoulders while teasing, "Aw, back to grumpy-cat?" 

"Oh screw you." Selina scoffed, giving Jerome's shoulder a punch to shoo him a few feet away, earning a snicker. 

When the pair arrived back at the warehouse Selina gave Jerome a rather sudden and tight hug, which he returned rather surprised with a slight smirk and awkward laugh before the curly haired girl gave a quiet goodnight. 

Jerome had never had any siblings, and despite being much closer to Wayne than he was Selina, the raven haired boy wasn't exactly like a brother per se, yet the seventeen year old couldn't help but wonder if perhaps Selina had some aspects he guessed a sister would contain. 

Yeesh, now Jerome had gone and had two kiddos grow on him. 

Speaking of which... 

"Where were you?" Wayne inquired intrigued, hanging over the top bunk and looking down at Jerome on the bottom. 

Dangit, Jerome had gotten caught. 

"Couldn't sleep," Jerome casually answered. "decided to take a walk and clear my mind a little is all." 

"Oh," Wayne didn't see anything peculiar about the answer. "okay." He yawned, moving back up fully into his bunk. "Well, goodnight." 

Jerome's eyes slid shut. "Night." 

That morning at breakfast Harley asked, "So have ya' decided whatcha' want for your Easter prizes?" 

Selina groaned, Jen's eyes rolling and Jonathan sighing, "Must you remind him of his winnings I'm more than sure will result in misfortune for us?" 

Harley's shoulders dropped at the scoldings, gaze averting downwards as she slumped, staring at the ground guiltily. "Sorry..." 

Ivy glared at Jonathan, patting Harley's upper arm assuringly. 

Jerome gave a cheeky smile. "Yep." 

Wayne was more glad than usual he was on Jerome's good side as he questioned, "So do you want?" 

"I get to choose any object I want, any activity I want for us all to do, and any one individual thing each of you have to do, right?" Jerome mused just to be sure, earning a reluctant nod from Selina. "All right, how about this..." Jerome smirked, arms crossing. "I want that chunk of kryptonite in Gotham's main museum, we're all going to explore Gotham's rain drains, and as for the individual things-" 

"Oh for the love of-" Jonathan sighed, this already sounding absolutely horrid. 

Jerome snickered before continuing, "Jonathan, you can teach me how to make laughing gas considering I'm assuming you can figure out how to make that if you don't already know, Harley, you can find a good disguise since I've been risking cops recognizing my ass for way too long and you seem to have good enough fashion taste-- not to mention you look a hell of a lot different with your hair dyed blonde and I'm assuming that means you know a little bit about disguises, Jen, you can show me how to do that parkour shit with how I'm willing to bet that can come in handy sometime or another or at least just looks cool honestly, Ivy, you can find some examples of a few deadly plants in Gotham... just so I don't run into them of course, and as for Selina and Wayne-" He paused briefly. "-they can both just... I dunno', steal whatever they want from wherever they want or something." He decided, not having any desire to put Wayne through too much trouble and deciding to keep what Selina had revealed to him as the one thing he wanted her to individually do a secret. 

"Laughing gas definitely won't be nearly difficult to brew as fear gas." Jonathan agreed with a shrug, not particularly having a choice in any case. 

Harley beamed at how Jerome noticed her brown hair dyed blonde. "Aw geez, I'd be more than glad to find a disguise for ya', Jerome! I'll make the concept art for your clothes 'n everything!" She gave an excited grin. "It'll be bunches of fun!" 

"Usually the individual actions the winner makes us do are embarrassingly funny, but I don't mind teaching parkour instead." Jen mused aloud. 

"I'm sure the only reason you want me to show you deadly plants is just so you don't accidentally encounter them; there's no way you're actually going to use any of them on anyone or anything." Ivy murmured sarcastically. 

"Looks like we got the easy end of the stick." Selina spoke up in relief, gently elbowing Wayne and earning a nod. "Then again, I guess we all did," She frowned. "well, other than the whole stealing Kryptonite AKA the rarest, most expensive, and most heavily protected rock on earth." 

"And the whole exploring the rain drains thing," Wayne added at that. "where most mobsters with weapons go to make illegal deals that often result in dangerous fights and policemen don't dare to enter, not to mention the possible lurking crocodiles." 

Jerome gave a grin; this was going to be fun! 

After they all finished breakfast and began to do their own daily routines, Wayne pulled Jerome aside. 

"What's up?" Jerome asked, cracking a smile as Wayne stared up at him, noticing the other looked a bit concerned. 

"Are you okay?" Wayne asked worriedly, earning raised eyebrows. "You've been acting sort of... off lately." 

Jerome blinked taken aback. "I have?" 

Wayne nodded, studying Jerome uncertainly. "I'm not trying to sound weird here, but I feel like you've been a little-" He paused, looking for the right wording. "-secretive about something." 

Jerome had a few things come to mind at that, but the main two were murdering Theo's men for Alfred and what Selina had revealed to only him and Jen. 

"Like?" Jerome evaded, forcing his smile to stay on, Wayne's eyes narrowing as he cleared his throat. "I just- well- what exactly do you mean?" 

"I mean you've been acting weirder than normal." Wayne answered while crossing his arms. 

Jerome rubbed his upper neck. "Oh?" 

"You're acting pretty weird right now." 

"Am I?" 

"Yes." Wayne confirmed impatiently, wondering what in the world Jerome was obviously hiding. 

"I've been kinda' tired I guess-" 

"You've been like this ever since I came back from Switzerland." 

Jerome gave a nervous chuckle. "Have I now?" 

"Stop replying to me with rhetorical questions." Wayne huffed in irritation. 

"Sorry." 

"Can you please give a few longer answers, too? You're being vague." 

"I could." It didn't mean Jerome would. 

Wayne's eyes rolled, Jerome snickering as the raven haired boy let out a long breath of annoyance. "Are you hiding something?" 

"Maybe." 

"Come on, Jerome, at this point you should feel comfortable telling me anything." Wayne insisted, not seeing what possibly someone he- along with all of Gotham- knew used to be a murderer could actually be wanting to hide; they trusted one another with practically everything, so why would whatever this was be any different? 

Jerome had to find a way out of this. "Yeah, well, I don't feel comfortable since it's sorta' private." 

Wayne quirked a brow; oh great, now he'd gone and made himself feel bad for seemingly trying to guilt trip the other into admitting whatever was going on to him, not realizing in the least what Jerome was trying to hide. 

"Oh." Wayne was more intrigued, yet he had been taught proper manners, and knew better than to pry when it was a matter of privacy rather than an attempt to be reassuring. "Well- um... you know, if you need to talk about... whatever... is going on, or- uh- went on, I guess, then I'd be more than glad to listen about it, but don't... you know... feel like you have to or anything like that, I guess." That sounded about right, didn't it? Just because Wayne had been taught proper manners didn't mean he wasn't someone who preferred to say as little as possible about supposedly fragile subjects. 

Jerome was set at ease by the reply, and couldn't help but smirk while leaning down somewhat and teasing, "Aw, are you stuttering?" He gave a jokingly cheeky wink as Wayne glowered at him from the jest. "And is that a blush-" 

"Why don't you come closer and find out?" Wayne challenged right back, deciding two could play this game. 

"Oh? Why? So you can give me a kiss?" Jerome jested with an amused grin, not realizing that actually was what was being implied. 

"If you're asking." Wayne retorted without missing a beat. 

Jerome's brow arched, remembering it wasn't quite as easy to tease Wayne jokingly since the other just flirted in all seriousness right back, causing the ginger to clear his throat with an anxious smile before giving a nervous laugh, Wayne smirking rather cockily as Jerome chuckled, "Right... let's uh- let's go see if Selina has any- um- training for you today-" 

"Aw, are you stuttering now?" 

"Oh haha, very funny." Jerome snickered sarcastically; he was still getting used to Wayne replying to his joking teases with very real teasing. 

Selina eyed the conversing pair from afar, knowing Jerome had been quite assuring when it came to convincing her that he'd keep his lips shut, but she couldn't help but be a bit on edge and fearing the worst. 

"You okay?" Jen inquired concerned, noting Selina's antsy expression. 

Selina nodded and swallowed thickly, giving a high pitched, "Mhm.", as Jen observed her unconvinced, causing her to sigh, "I may of told Jerome about Arkham..." 

Jen raised a brow. "What?" Selina nodded regretfully. "How much?" 

Selina shrugged, earning a look and admittedly muttering, "Everything." 

Jen let out a long exhale. "Oh boy..." 

This complicated things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for late updates, I was busy with college classes and now I rarely have Internet and phone signals despite finally being on summer break :( In any case, hopefully this chapter will make up for some of this trouble, even though it's extremely late for Easter! 
> 
> Again, I know I'm behind for schedule, but now that I'm on vacation, I should be able to write more even though it'll be a bit difficult to upload as often thanks to not having internet, but that means I may be uploading a couple more chapters together each time I update at least every once in a while, or possibly even regularly :)


	29. Frigid Envy and a Cat's Eye

"Just steal something or whatever." Jerome said. "It'll be easy." He said. 

That's what Jerome had told Wayne and Selina to do for the one individual activity they had to go through thanks to him winning the Easter prize, and that was also why Wayne and Selina were running for their lives from a man wanting the bag full of money that was over Selina's shoulder. 

Despite Jerome's attempt to give them a break by deciding on what he believed would be an easy task, it was turning out to be quite the opposite. 

Wayne just had to insist they steal from a criminal, and not just any criminal-- a mob boss. Apparently the raven haired boy wanted to study criminals to learn and understand how they worked as part of his training, which was turning out just peachy. 

Note the sarcasm. 

"This was a horrible idea!" Selina snapped, sprinting up the stairs and heaving the bag filled to the brim with hundred dollar bills with her. 

"Come on!" Wayne shouted without commenting, reaching behind him while continuing to run, giving a gesture that offered to take the bag. 

Selina glanced behind her, letting out a frustrated breath at the sight of the pissed off mob boss only a few steps behind her before returning her eyes forward. "Just keep going, I've got the it!" 

Wayne nodded, continuing upwards before ramming his way through the roof's exit. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome quirked a brow as Selina more or less slammed open her crib's door, grumbling things through a mouthful of a bit out chunk of a burger. 

"Everything all right?" Jerome mused intrigued, Wayne averting his gaze as he followed in after the irked girl and taking a bite of his own burger so he didn't have to reply. 

"No!" Selina scoffed, throwing the last bite of her burger into her mouth. "Wayne decided to try and be Robin Hood by tossing half of the money we stole into the streets." She dropped the bag on the floor, digging through it and gathering up a pile of cash with both hands before carelessly throwing it at Jerome, earning a snicker from the ginger when sheets of the leafy paper scattered as it fluttered down to the floor. "Here's your share." 

"Ooh, I get some?" Jerome mused with a pleasantly surprised grin. 

"You're the one who won the Easter prize." Selina confirmed with a shrug. 

"Did Jonathan give you the formula for that laughing gas you wanted?" Wayne asked, gulping coke through his straw. 

"Yep," Jerome hummed, digging in his pocket before holding up a sheet of paper labeled, 'Laughing Gas Recipe' on it. "but hell if I know what any of this shit is." He admitted with a shrug, referring to the chemical names. 

"You already got all your other presents, right?" Selina questioned, swiping Wayne's burger out of his hand and earning a frown, she still being sore about the whole money thing. 

"More or less," Jerome mused with a shrug. "Ivy gave me that list of poisonous native Gotham plants,, and Jen's been teaching me that parkour stuff-" 

"Attempting to teach," Jen corrected without looking up from her newspaper. "poor guy may be a lost cause." 

"-and Harley's gonna' show me the disguise she whipped up tonight." Jerome continued with an irritated smirk at Jen's interruption. "The only things left are just exploring the storm drains-" 

"-and only stealing the most heavily protected artifact in Gotham's main museum, and possibly even the most guarded object in Gotham if not the world." Jonathan finished with a sigh. "Must we try our hands at sneaking away the kryptonite, Jerome? Can't we go after something both safer and easier? Even robbing a small bank wouldn't be nearly as difficult as what you've proposed we do." 

"The harder the funner!" Jerome said with an enthusiastic grin and shrug, not heeding Jonathan's words in the least. 

"I'm fairly sure you have that backwards," Jonathan bickered with an eye roll. "things that come to you with ease are typically more preferred, and robbery is not particularly something I find all that easy as far as I know." 

"Don't knock it 'till you try it." Jerome shrugged off with a cheeky smile. 

"A risky robbery mission for a foolish purpose is something I'd rather knock than try." 

"Aw come on, Johnny! Don't ya' like a good challenge?" 

"When it's a challenge of a subject I'm interested in which I'd like to learn more about and rational things are at risk, yes. When it's a challenge of something I'd prefer straying away from with more severe consequences than I fancy, then no, it's not." Jonathan informed icily. 

"Party pooper." 

"My deepest apologies that apparently not wanting to participate in a heist as an unskilled teenager with little to no resources to help assure my escape makes me a 'party pooper.'" 

"Ya' know what? It's fine, if you're too scared-" Jerome taunted casually. 

"Reverse psychology is not something you're skilled in, Jerome, and such poor usage of an attempt at it won't work on me in the least." 

Jerome snickered at that. "Can't blame me for trying." 

"Hey-" Wayne started knowingly, being familiar enough with the other two and knowing an argument was getting ready to escalate with the way Jonathan pursed his lips and raised his chin as Jerome gave a challenging smirk while daringly meeting Jonathan's glare with a smug stare that was silently edging the other on. 

"Just kidding around some." Jerome instantly assured, not wanting to be lectured by the younger boy and earning a scoff from Jonathan and a look from Wayne. "I should probably apologize, huh?" 

Wayne knew Jerome never apologized. "No-" 

"No?" Jonathan questioned with a grumble. 

"Look, Johnny-boy, it's okay-- really, it is," Jerome started with a degrading tone. "if you're too chickenshit to take a little risk because you'd rather play it safe like a good little boy, then-" 

"Jerome." Wayne interrupted disapprovingly, that not being a proper apology in the least. 

"-you really don't have to come. Seriously, no pressure," Jerome continued nonetheless. "you can just sit here all alone and wait for us to come back, because I really don't want you to get too excited considering anything that isn't ol' and boring would probably be too much for you to handle." 

"Guilt tripping is a low tactic that's a half assed form of poor manipulation practically anyone can preform, but I wouldn't expect much else from someone who can't hold a conversation without offering crude humor that is barely even humor at that with how stale your little jests are." Jonathan replied icily, Wayne looking towards Selina for help and earning a shrug. "In any case, I'm staying here, and so is Wayne." 

Wayne arched a brow. "Wait, what?" He didn't want to be brought into this. 

"Wayne, you're not going on a dangerous 'quest' just because you along with everyone else at the time decided it would be a harmless idea for us to all agree to do whatever actions Jerome requested if he won that awful Easter egg contest, and you've already been pulled into enough risky activities thanks to this maniac dragging you like a dog on a leash through every dangerous area he stomps into without considering the consequences of what could occur to both of you." 

Wayne caught the way Jerome's eyes briefly narrowed. 

Uh oh. 

"I don't 'drag' Wayne anywhere-" Jerome laughed irked, smile holding a tad of sourness in it. 

"Oh please, you treat the poor boy like a loyal pup," Jonathan insisted with an eye roll. "frankly I'm not sure it's healthy you're so keen on having him stick by your side like a lost kitten." 

"Is he a puppy or a kitten?" Ivy murmured under her breath, earning a slight elbow in the hip from Selina, the brunette not sure she was liking the very probable way this verbal fight could become rather physical from the looks of it. 

"Just because I look out for him doesn't mean I keep a 'leash' on him," Jerome argued with a tight grin. "he's sure as hell able to go wherever he pleases and do whatever he wants without me if he ever decided he wanted to do anything solo, and he knows that." 

"Is he now?" Jonathan mused, Jerome giving an unsure nod whence realizing Jonathan was making his way up to something and wondering what- "So is he free to go on a date with Rome?" 

Jerome stared at Jonathan for a few long seconds, Wayne glaring daggers at the brunet and Selina and Ivy exchanging glances, Jen deciding to not get wrapped up in all of this nonsense and continuing to read her newspaper. 

"What?" Jerome questioned with a laugh of disbelief. 

"It's not a date-" Wayne denied, the pink on his cheeks being more thanks to the flustered anger directed at Jonathan bringing Rome up than embarrassment or shyness. 

"When a boy brings you roses and chocolates and then asks if you want to do entertaining activities- such as going out to dinner- on a Saturday night, I'm fairly certain it's because he holds a romantic attraction towards you and has the desire to see if those emotions are mutual," Jonathan reported, Wayne glowering. "just because I don't experience romantic attraction doesn't mean I don't know what the cringingly cliché signs of flirtatious gestures are." 

"It wasn't a flirtatious gesture-" Wayne reassured as Jerome gave him a look. 

"Well I suppose it could've been a sexual one considering you two have already hit puberty a while back, of course-" Jonathan admitted, Selina covering Ivy's ears. 

"It sure as hell better not be sexual!" Jerome scoffed with both a taken aback and pissed off laugh. 

"I'm not saying I approve of two minors engaging in sexual relations, I'm just saying that as far as I know many teenagers of high school age do engage in such things, so if you're being genuine about allowing Wayne his independence then perhaps you should teach him sexual education since the Gotham system in academies teach such undeniably poorly, so it's always better to be safe than sorry-" 

"Oh my gosh." Jen interjected with a groan before Jonathan could say anything else, just wanting to read the article about some kid named Clark Kent being accused of being an alien by some loopy conspiracy theorizing teens that had probably been on acid or something when claiming to of seen the fourteen year old kid lift a bus out of water. 

"The chocolate and flowers weren't like that!" Wayne persisted before Jerome could reply to Jonathan's comment. "They were an apology gift, not a romantic one! He just felt bad about what had happened at the club thanks to War Paint giving me that pill!" 

"Flowers and chocolate are not normal 'sorry you got drugged up on ecstasy' presents-" Jerome said with a strained chuckle that turned into a groan, hand running through his hair and honestly just being VERY uncomfortable about the fact that one of his copycats- which was a group he was wary of in general after what happened with Jester- was making advances on Wayne considering the fact Jerome was fairly sure most- if not all- of the copycats were more than obviously convinced Jerome figured Wayne should be looked at as a possession, when in fact that was the last thing Jerome wanted his little fan base to view the poor kiddo as. 

"Well what exactly are normal 'sorry you got drugged, but I'm glad you're okay' presents?!" Wayne huffed, arms crossing. 

"I don't know... a gift basket!" Jerome said with a more concerned smile than he would've liked to show. "Or a card! Or literally anything but flowers and chocolate!" Wayne parted his lips to argue, causing Jerome to go first and say, "Come on, Wayne, those are the most cliché gifts ever! There's no way they weren't 'hey guess what, I wanna date you!' presents!" 

"Well what's it matter if they were romantic gestures?" Jonathan spoke up calmly, Jerome clenching his jaw and really not wanting to deal with Jonathan's shit at the time. "I mean, it's not as though you'd mind if Wayne decided to go on a date, would you? After all, you were so diligent just a few seconds ago about how you'd gladly allow Wayne independence, weren't you?" 

"This is different-" Jerome denied, Wayne furrowing his brow. 

"Wait, what? Why is it different all of a sudden?" Wayne questioned, straightening up and stubbornly adding, "Even if it was a date and not just a meet up with a new friend that helped me out, I could go if I wanted to." 

"How about you just go catch a romantic movie with Jester while you're at it." Jerome sarcastically snapped with a bitter smile. 

"Oh come on, Rome is not like Jester-" Wayne defended aggravated. 

"You met him for two minutes while you were on ecstasy," Jerome reminded, arms crossing. "I'm not sure you're judgement on him is exactly the safest thing to bet on-" 

"He helped calm me down and locked me in a safe room where I could rest without being disturbed while trying to find you." 

"Well I don't have a good feeling about him-" 

"Well I don't have a good feeling about Mayne!" Wayne informed at that, referring to the only copycat that Jerome had taken an interest in at the club, although Wayne didn't know much more than that considering he hadn't gotten to know Mayne all that well thanks to War Paints little 'pill of bliss.' Nonetheless, Wayne felt like there was something off about Mayne. 

"What? Mayne? Why are we talking about him all of a sudden? You're changing the subject, aren't- Wait a sec, what's wrong with Mayne?" 

"What's wrong with Rome?" 

"I asked you first." Jerome chuckled in annoyance. 

"I just don't like him." 

"Ooh, you just don't like him? Wow, that sure does change my-" 

"Well why don't you like Rome?!" Wayne interrupted knowingly, earning silence. "What, you 'just don't like him'?" 

"You two sound like a bickering couple." Selina commented under her breath. 

"We do not!" Jerome and Wayne exclaimed at the same time. 

"Good job, Jonathan," Jen began annoyedly, focusing on the newspaper the best she could. "you successfully managed to get the two most stubborn people in the room to decide they're never going to shut the hell up ever again." 

"I simply proved the fact Jerome views Wayne as a puppy," Jonathan countered. "only pressing the button to let the leash go out a bit when it's to amusedly let Wayne have a bit of fun as a reward for staying close, but reeling him back in whenever Wayne tries to do anything without his permission because Jerome's the one in charge and Wayne's only purpose is being his friend or playmate. 

Oh for the love of- 

"That's low, Johnny-boy, even for you," Jerome scoffed sourly, smile looking a bit more dangerous than usual. "but ya' know what? By all means, Wayne, do what you want, just don't-" He didn't like speaking fondly to anyone since he preferred joking around, particularly when surrounded by other people. "-just make sure you have my number or something on speed dial-" 

"I already do, but even if I didn't then I wouldn't need to because Rome's not the asshole you're trying to make him out to-" Wayne replied in a poshly calm voice. 

"Why are you getting so defensive?" Jerome laughed annoyedly. "He's a copycat, Wayne, and my copycats aren't exactly the best people-" 

"Not the best people? Other than Jester, name one copycat that turned out to be a bad person." Wayne challenged with pursed lips. 

"Oh I dunno', maybe War Paint for drugging you up! Or Jeri for telling a kid where his parents murderer lived when knowing damn well Matches could've killed you!" Jerome instantly said with a tight grin. 

"War Paint had been mistaken and reckoned I wanted the ecstasy, and Jeri let me know what I was getting into with Malone-" 

"That doesn't make what they did right-- it still put you in danger," Jerome scoffed unconvinced. 

"I can take care of myself." 

"Bullshit-- your four foot two ass is a lot smaller than most guys that you have to look out for in this city, shorty." 

"I am not four foot two!" Wayne felt quite insulted at Jerome's take on his height-- he was very proud of being barely five foot five. 

"Yeah, he's at least four foot six." Ivy joked with a serious expression and cheery tone, earning a look from Wayne. 

"Stay out of this." Jerome exhaled through a smile of clenched teeth, more than pissed at the fact Jonathan had been the one to start this whole argument and growing even more ticked off with how this little conversation was being the opposite of private. 

"Hey!" Selina snapped at Jerome's tone towards Ivy. 

"Don't tell me what to do." Ivy grumbled, arms crossing. 

Oh great, now Jerome was getting into an argument with everyone. 

"Or what? You'll fight me?" Jerome joked in annoyance with an eye roll. 

"No, but I could suffocate you with poisonous leaves in your sleep." 

Jerome stared at Ivy for a few lengthy seconds; well that was certainly terrifying in all honesty, particularly when he couldn't tell how serious she was being. 

"Ya' know what? You're right, Johnny-boy," Jerome finally decided, absolutely done with this bullshit. "If Wayne here wants to go on a date with a guy that has me- a serial killer- as a role model while probably figuring Wayne's about as much as a toy to me because he's a fan that doesn't know shit about anything that's been going on other than what's been in the news, then fine-- Wayne can take his chances and go on a date with a potential maniac, because to you, Crane, the meaning of letting someone be independent is apparently letting them go off and do shit that could probably get them killed," Jerome gave a shrug, smile one of the most irritated ones Wayne had ever seen meet the other's lips. "so by all means, Wayne, go and get your ass- that I always end up having to go help out- in trouble by going to have dinner with the same guy that was in the group Jester was." 

"I've almost gotcha' disguise done, Jerome!" Harley exclaimed while bursting through the door and into the room, expression falling at the sight of a semi-guilt ridden Jonathan, a seething yet smirking Jerome, a Wayne with averted eyes, and an uncomfortable trio consisting of Selina, Ivy, and Jen. "Whatcha' guys talki'n 'bout?" 

"Nothing," Jerome snickered irritatedly before anyone else could answer, walking off towards the door while everyone else stayed awkwardly in place. "I'm going out to get some fresh air." 

Sometimes Jerome really, REALLY hated giving a shit about someone as reckless as Wayne, who just had to be the one person he had ended up getting a little attached to. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Over protective jackass..." Wayne grumbled under his breath, needle going through the leather cloth. "... 'ooh Wayne, look at me, I'm always right and you're always wrong, and I'm going to make you feel bad about doing something I don't want you to do so you listen to me and I get my way.'..." He uttered through clenched teeth, the black thread pulling through. "... acting like I can't look out for myself..." He continued quietly. "... calling me four foot two..." Wayne murmured, almost finished sewing. "... I've lived in Gotham my whole life, I don't need him looking out for me every single second..." He muttered, observing his handiwork on Selina's jacket. 

"Ya' talk to yourself more than I do." Harley commented, causing Wayne to jump and prick his thumb on the needle. 

"Ouch!" Wayne huffed, hand waving in the air in attempts to ease the sting. 

"Well what didja' do that for?" Harley questioned in concern. 

"I didn't mean to." Wayne grumbled, lips sealing over the sore area. 

"Oh, sorry if I startled ya'," Harley laughed apologetically. "I just wanted to check up on ya' is all." 

"Thanks," Wayne sighed, setting Selina's sewn jacket on a chair. "you- uh- you didn't hear anything I was saying, did you?" 

"Saying? Ya' were really sayi'n stuff? Not jus' jumbli'n together a buncha' words? Ya' mean you were actually talki'n about somethi'n specific? Huh, that's weird, I figured ya' were jus' babbli'n random things! Didn't know you were sayi'n any secrets or stuff ya' don't want anyone to hear of and all that... But nope! I didn't hear a word of anything! I- I mean I heard a few words, of course, but not enough of 'em together at once to make any sense! No clue whatcha' were talki'n about, none at all!" Harley gave an anxious laugh at the end and a big nervous smile. 

Wayne stared at Harley for a while. "You can tell the truth." She sucked at lying even more than he did. 

"Sorry, figured ya' would rather me not know anything about whatcha' were saying." 

"I would, but I can't exactly take away the fact you heard all of that, and as much as I appreciate the... 'act', I'd rather you just tell the truth." 

"Ya' not gonna' have to kill me now that I heard it, are ya'?" Harley kidded with as much as a serious expression as she could muster up. 

"Afraid I am," Wayne jested back in a serious tone with a slight smile you'd have to squint to see. "you've heard too much." 

Harley practically beamed. "Gee, is that a smile? Selina told me it's real hard to make ya' act like anything that's not a sour sprout!" Her smile fell. "Please don't tell her I told ya' that." 

Wayne felt slightly insulted, but chose to ignore Selina's revealed comment. "You caught me off guard I guess." 

Harley gave a shrug. "Eh, I still made ya' smile, so it counts," She sat down in a crosslegged position on the floor. "So ya' wanna' talk about it?" 

"About what?" 

"Jerome, silly-goose!" 

Wayne frowned. "Oh." His gaze averted. "Not particularly." 

"He's jus' tryi'n to look out for ya', ya' know." 

"I know that," Wayne informed calmly, yet continued to refuse to meet Harley's gaze. "but I need to figure out how to look out for myself so he doesn't always have to, and while I understand his wariness towards Rome due to what happened with Jester, I don't understand why a guy that helped me calm down from ecstasy and found Jerome for me while I was out of it is a guy that Jerome distrusts so much when he- for whatever reason- seems to trust Mayne more despite Mayne being another copycat and one that didn't show such levels of helpfulness considering Rome was the one making sure I was safe and Mayne was the one just chatting Jerome up while batting his eyelashes." 

Harley caught the venom in Wayne's tone. "Omigosh!" She gasped, making Wayne jump again. "That makes so much sense!" 

Wayne eyed her unsurely. "What does?" 

"Ya' jealous of Mayne!" 

"I am not-" 

"Oh yeah right," Harley laughed knowingly. "ya' totally mad that Jerome's taken an interest in someone right off the bat!" 

"I am not-" Wayne started to deny again. 

"Ya' are though! That's so cute!" 

"One, you're really not helping," Wayne informed irked. "two, Jerome can be friends and more with anyone he wants because that's up to him, and three, I am not jealous-" 

"Really? Are ya' REALLY not jealous? Not even a little bit?" 

Wayne clenched his jaw, pausing before sighing, "Fine, maybe I am a little... envious, but that's not why I dislike Mayne so much, all right?" 

"Well then why don't cha' like 'em?" 

"I don't know, it's just- it's a gut feeling or whatever, all right? Something about him seems off." 

Harley didn't quite get that. "A gut feeling?" Wayne nodded. "So the same kinda' feeling Jerome had about Rome?" 

Dangit. "Yes," Wayne reluctantly admitted. "but that's different." 

"Really?" Harley questioned, earning a nod. "How?" 

"It-" Wayne frowned, unsure of what to say. "It just is, okay?" 

"I dunno', it sounds the same to me..." 

"Well maybe it is the same, but I could care less because I can do what I want with who I want, and Jerome can do the same-- regardless of what the other says. 

"Doesn't sound like ya' could care less," Harley countered, earning a look. "I'm jus' sayi'n it sounds like you care a lot, and instead of getting defensive 'n arguing maybe ya' 'n Jerome should take some time to cool down and talk things through after tryi'n to see things from the other's side or somethi'n, ya' know?" 

"Sure." Wayne agreed coldly, Harley unsure as to whether the agreement was genuine or not. 

"Jerome may be a little jealous of Rome, too, yeah?" 

Wayne blinked taken aback. "Huh? What would he be jealous of?" Surprise melted into a sour expression. "Jerome doesn't exactly-" He went quiet, not sure he wanted to talk about this. 

"I know Jerome doesn't feel the same way that ya' feel for him, but he may be worryi'n that his copycat could replace him or somethi'n the same way ya' scared Mayne might get Jerome too attached to him." Harley explained, Wayne staying quiet. "Ya' two should talk about this stuff, okay? I can tell ya' both jus' tryi'n to look out for each other, but you're not exactly doing it in the best way." 

Wayne swallowed thickly. "Okay." 

Harley offered a warm smile, deciding to change the subject. "Well, I'm gonna' make some hot coco! Ya' want some?" 

"Sure, let me just make sure the place I sewed on Selina's jacket doesn't need anything else done." 

~*~*~*~ 

Selina should've brought her jacket with her-- it was freezing. Literally freezing, as in under thirty degrees freezing. 

She had gone out to look for Jerome out of genuine concern, but she was gradually getting more and more ready to murder his damn ass if he didn't freeze first... or if SHE didn't freeze first. 

Selina wasn't sure she'd ever missed anything as much as she began to miss her warm leather jacket, and she missed it even more when she stumbled and fell face first in the snow, body clenching up when trembles overtook her, the needle marks in her arms aching as it felt like fire was running through them. 

The last place Selina needed to have an episode was in four feet of snow with no one around and not nearly enough warm clothing... 

This wasn't good. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Come on, you can help me!" Nygma persisted, Jerome eying the panicking other. "You hate Gordon just as much as I do!" 

"I'm kinda' trying to turn over a new leaf here." Jerome casually shrugged off, leaning against the wall with arms crossed. 

"Don't you miss the thrill of a kill? The rush you lived for?" Nygma persisted with a weak yet encouraging smile. 

"Yeah, well, as much as I do sincerely miss driving a knife through anyone and everyone I found amusing or annoying, I'm not exactly living for the rush anymore," Jerome was smirking, but he was strangely enough not joking. "I look out for Wayne now, and I can't exactly do that if I'm locked up." 

"Then help me so you know you won't get locked up!" Nygma retorted, Jerome going quiet. "You and I both know it's just a matter of time before Jim decides letting you off the hook just because Wayne had some dirt on him was a bad idea, and then you'll be thrown in Arkham for good." Silence. "Jim may of trusted you slightly after seeing you stick your neck out for Wayne, but only slightly-- what exactly do you believe will happen when Jim realizes one wrong doesn't make a right?" Jerome averted his gaze at that. "What about when Gordon begins to worry about whether or not you have something up your sleeve? Or when he worries you'll snap with Wayne the same way you snapped with Lila?" Jerome parted his lips to answer before shutting them again while contemplating more. "Jim will turn on you eventually, even if it means costing him his job, and you know as damn well as I do that he'd choose what he believes would make Wayne safest over his career when it comes down to it." 

Jerome's jaw clenched, sour smile coming back on. "As much as I'd like to see Jim in a pool of blood, I'm not taking away one of Wayne's best source's of protection," He informed as Nygma's hopeful smile fell. "if something were to happen to me then Jim would be his best chance at making sure whatever happened to me didn't happen to Wayne." 

"Alfred could look out for him!" 

"As badass as Alfred can admittedly be, he's getting old." 

"Well how about you either help me and know Wayne will be all well and good, or don't help me and know that I certainly can't guarantee his safety!" 

Jerome narrowed his eyes at that. "Excuse me?" He stepped forward, Nygma ignoring the instinct to step back and instead straightening up. "Was that a threat?" Nygma hadn't really just threatened Wayne in front of Jerome, had he? "Are we going to have a problem here?" 

Nygma bit his tongue, not quite scared of Jerome, but certainly... uneasy; perhaps he shouldn't of had such an outburst persisting of threatening the main person that the guy he was trying to get on his side cared about. 

"I apologize," Nygma calmly said, getting desperate enough to fidget through his composed demeanor that was breaking. "I simply-" 

Jerome took a step towards Nygma, forearm pressing against the riddle lover's chest and pushing him against the wall warningly, the ginger wearing a dangerous smile. "Listen, the only reason I came over here is because I didn't feel like going back to Selina's yet since some shit is going on there that I'd rather not be a part of, and all I wanted was a little of that fondue you brought to Thanksgiving, but apparently I should've gone somewhere else considering you've managed to just piss me off even more, and frankly I'd advise you watch who the hell you threaten around me." 

"Jerome-" Nygma started disapprovingly, eyes squeezing shut and body tensing as the other pressed his arm against his torso harder, keeping the fidgety other in place. 

"I'm going back to Selina's now, and I'm going to be nice this one time and ignore the fact that you tried to blackmail me with Wayne, but if I see you look at him the wrong way, get too close to him, or try to contact him in any shady way, then you'll end up-" 

"In Arkham Asyulym?" Nygma guessed, looking anywhere but at the rather strong male keeping him cornered. 

"In Arkham's Hospital Wing." Jerome corrected, pausing to observe the other and make sure what he had said was heard before pulling back. "If you do end up killing Jimbo, tell him I say 'hi' right before he gives his last breath and all that shit though." He mused, taking his coat folded over his arm and putting it on. 

Sure, Jerome wouldn't personally kill Jim since Wayne was close to him and he didn't a pretty good job protecting Wayne, but if someone else did... Jerome certainly wouldn't object to it with how much of a pain in his side little Jimbo could be, and it wasn't like Mr. G was Wayne's only protection-- Wayne had Jerome, and Alfred, and Selina along with the other kiddos, not to mention Oswald if the ol' boss ever got back to his old self. 

Officer Gordon was just one of many guardians or whatever the hell someone would want to call it, so it's not as though him being sent to the other side would leave Wayne defenseless. 

If Nygma wanted to murder Jim, then Jerome would be thrilled if he succeeded, and the only damn reason Jerome didn't offer to do it himself was because he knew Wayne wouldn't be able to forgive him for that, and even if Jerome hadn't yet found the right reasons to not kill Jim, it was still a reason preventing him from doing such until he wanted to turn over a new leaf for the good of things rather than just trying to do it to make sure he could continue looking out for the person he gave a shit about. 

Plus, if Jim was gone then that would just leave Alfred as the only real potential threat that could get Jerome separated from Wayne. 

"Whatever problems you're having at Selina's I'll take care of," Nygma blurted out as Jerome reached for the door handle, causing Jerome to pause and Nygma to wet his lips. "listen, you don't even have to kill Gordon, all right? Just help me make it easier to kill him, and I'll take care of whatever's going on at Selina's place." 

Interesting... 

"Jim's one person, Nygma, and he's not exactly as bright as you," Jerome commented, admittedly intrigued smirk pulling at his lips. "so why do you need my help?" He turned to look at the other, arms crossing. "What's going on that's making you desperate enough to the point you're willing to do whatever the hell I tell you to do just so I help with one man?" 

"Jim's the best detective in the apartment, okay?!" Nygma hissed through clenched teeth. "He's close to finding out who I am and what I've done-- too close! I need backup to make sure I can get rid of him for good, and then no one in the GCPD will be able to figure out nearly as much as he did since everyone else in that pit of sloths can't solve a quarter of the cases he's managed to!" 

"You sure to give Jim a lot of credit." Jerome snickered with an arched brow. 

"You're making the same mistake I did by not giving him enough," Nygma warned, beginning to pace. "if you just help me make sure I can kill him, then he'll be gone and I'll be able to help you with whatever's going on at Selina's place since there won't be any cops in the GCPD left that will have enough detective skills to even consider my part in whatever you need me to do." 

"You're saying that Jim's the only cop that's been able to figure out what you've been doing, and getting rid of him will let you get away with whatever that is and more?" 

"That is correct." 

"Okay," Jerome mused, his head tilting. "what exactly have you been doing?" 

"That's not important-" 

"I'm not helping you if I don't even know what you're trying to cover up." 

Nygma's lips pursed, chin raising and teeth gritting, wanting to smack that smug and intrigued smirk off of Jerome's face. "Fine." 

~*~*~*~ 

Neither Selina nor Jerome were back yet, and everyone- including Jonathan- were beginning to worry. 

"You shouldn't of provoked Jerome like that." Jen scolded, giving Jonathan a glare and finally storming off of the couch and snatching up her heavy white jacket. "Selina wouldn't of gone out looking for him if you hadn't pissed him off in the first place." She made her way over towards the door while grumbling, "I'm going looking for her." 

"I'll help look for 'em," Harley sighed, Selina still not picking up her phone and Jerome's just going straight to voicemail. "we'll meet up back here in an hour to see if anyone's had any luck since the phone connections have been kinda' iffy thanks to the storm 'n all." 

"I'll stay here with Jonathan." Ivy offered, catching the guilt ridden expression on the other's face. 

Wayne gave a grateful nod towards Ivy before looking at Jonathan as the brunet kept his eyes averted, causing Wayne to approach him and quietly say, "I know you and Jerome don't get along, and I get he says some pretty bad stuff to you, too, but let's all just try to get along tonight, all right?" Jonathan nodded without meeting Wayne's gaze. 

It was five minutes after Wayne and the others left that Jonathan got an alert on his phone reading, 'blizzard warning.' 

Shit. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Are- al- -ight?" The words faded in and out. "Hey, kid, ar... you o...kay?" The voice questioned in a muffled tone. "Can-" A faint high buzzing noise came into place. "-you-" The buzz began to ring. "-wake-" The ringing turned into a high pitched noise. "-up?" The sound returned to ringing before stopping, everything seeming absolutely silent except for the faint noise which resembled words in the distant... and then a clear whooshing noise abruptly swept out of nowhere. "Sweetie?" Selina's eyes snapped open at the voice returned to normal. "If you can hear me, hold on," Selina's pulse raced, not knowing what was going on and body frozen from not only the cold, but fear. "an ambulance is on its-" Selina suddenly felt her body snap back to itself as if on instinct. 

In an instant, Selina's pupils shrank, her nails ached, and the only thing coming to mind was the need to escape even the possibility of a dangerous situation, and any situation in which you find yourself unable to instantly comprehend your surroundings while in a vulnerable position seems like a dangerous one at the time. 

Before the woman soothing Selina could finish her sentence and say 'way' the teenage girl yanked into an upright position, and defensively swiped. 

Selina blinked as she felt the same red liquid under her nails hit her cheek, eyes widening while the woman's eyes widened before the lady with a crimson dripping throat hit the ground. 

No no no, Selina didn't- she hadn't realized- she didn't mean to- 

Selina furrowed her brow, breath catching in her throat at the sight of blood soaked claws replacing her fingernails, not sure if she was hyperventilating from the cold or the fact she'd very possibly just murdered a woman only trying to help. 

~*~*~*~ 

"You've really gone around the bin, huh?" Jerome snickered, Nygma giving him a look. "Guess love can do that to a man, can't it?" 

"Don't joke," Nygma snapped irked. "love can do many things to a man, but being free of love can allow him the chance to do many things for himself." 

"Whatever you say, Mr. Poet." Jerome snickered with a shrug, not pondering too much on the words. 

"Will you help me or not?" 

"Maybe." 

"You are trying my patience-" 

"Well tell me how you want me to help and I'll give a more direct answer then." 

Nygma reminded himself killing Jerome would leave him and him alone against Jim, and he liked the whole two against one odds better. 

"Fine," Nygma exhaled as calmly as possible. "I want you to hide while I murder him, and if he tries to injure me or leave then I want you to come out and stop him." 

"Really? That's all you want me to do?" A grin tugged at Jerome's lips. "As in if I do that, then you'll-" 

"-kill Rome for you? Yes." As much as Nygma hated to admit it... "I need to have backup just in case with how crafty Jim can be." Gordon was almost as crafty as him-- almost. 

"Not kill Rome, per se," Jerome corrected, making sure to emphasize, "just... scare off." 

"Whatever you say. So do we have a deal or not, Valeska?" 

Jerome contemplated-- briefly. "Just give me a call when you're ready to start." 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne stared down at the phone number which had been neatly placed in between the flowers in a bouquet of roses, tulips, and orchids, reading the elegantly signed, 'Rømę~' above the numbers as he waited by a big tree in the park for the fifteen year old he'd invited to help search for Jerome and Selina. 

The wind was getting stronger, the temperature colder, and the snow heavier... Wayne worried a worsening snow storm was advancing, not knowing a full on blizzard was considering he was getting a horrible connection thanks to the current snow storm and Jonathan hadn't been able to warn him of such, the only reason Wayne had been able to get ahold of Rome being thanks to a pay phone. 

"Hey!" A voice abruptly greeted, Wayne jumping at that and tensing as hands gripped his hips from behind before realizing it was Rome as the other lifted him off the ground and spun him around with a cheeky laugh, Wayne not relaxing completely until being set back down. "Miss me?" Rome chuckled with a friendly grin, Wayne offering a polite smile and still getting used to how much the other looked more like Jerome than any copycat he'd seen. 

"Thanks for coming to help me look for my friends." Wayne murmured, earning a nod and wide smile. 

"No problemo!" Rome's smile fell. "Hey, you look cold," He noted aloud, catching how Wayne was rubbing his arms up and down while shivering ever so slightly. "Here, you should wear this." 

Wayne felt his ears heat up a bit as Rome took off his trench coat and put it on him, it being a bit too big, yet cozy nonetheless. "Uh, thanks, but you really don't have to-" 

"Wear it," Rome waved off, giving a smirk and it being too snowy for Wayne to tell whether the other looked him up and down or just blinked. "it looks good on you." Wayne parted his lips to reply, but shut them as the other threw an arm around him and began to walk off, it being unclear whether it was a flirtatious gesture or if perhaps Rome was just trying to warm him up as the other rubbed Wayne's arm that wasn't between them up and down. "Ready to find Jerome and Silvia?" 

"It's Selina, but yeah, um- sure..." 

Wayne took one more quick glance at Rome before averting his gaze to the ground. 

Rome really, REALLY looked like Jerome, even though it was vaguely obvious for anyone that knew Jerome well enough to see up close they weren't the same person, the other certainly... put effort into being a copycat. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jen had been warned by a stranger there was a blizzard coming on, but that just gave her more of a reason to continue searching for Selina, and Harley refused to listen to her when she told the other it was okay to go back. 

Jen didn't stop when the wind began to push her hard enough to make her have to push forward against it. Didn't stop when the temperature got in the negatives despite her clothes being ones that weren't made to keep her warmer in anything lower than thirty degree weather. Didn't stop when the snow made her feet and legs feel numb as she forced them to keep trudging forward. 

Even when an alarm for an upcoming blizzard went off, Jen continued. 

Jen didn't stop until she found Selina crouched in the snow with red around her and a woman's cheek against her lap, and then Jen continued after telling Harley to wait there and the wide eyed Harley listened. 

Selina looked up when seeing a faint shadow approach, tears and blood drops frozen to her cheeks and hands, eyes rimmed with red and filled with water. 

"I didn't mean to." Selina choked out in a hoarse voice. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome turned his phone on and saw twelve missed calls along with twenty unread text messages, causing him to raise a brow and skip through them before replying to Wayne and the others to assure he was okay and staying at Nygma's until the storm subsided, instructing them to stop looking for him and go on back home or to the nearest shelter, sighing when seeing his message didn't go through. 

Knowing Wayne and Selina, those two definitely wouldn't stop looking until they found him, which meant Jerome had to go out and find them before the blizzard got too bad. 

"Next week on: If Something Can Go Wrong It Will, featuring the kids of Gotham." Jerome muttered to himself, putting his phone back in his pocket and walking towards the door. "See ya' around, Nygma." 

"You're leaving?" Nygma questioned surprised. "The blizzard's just starting." 

"Which is kinda' why I gotta' go find Wayne and the others before they're up to their necks in snow." 

'Wayne: Meet us back at Selina's in an hour if you get this text.' 

Sent forty-five minutes ago... maybe Jerome could get there in time before they went out searching again.

~*~*~*~ 

"Do you really believe Jerome just looks at Wayne like that?" Ivy muttered, Jonathan staring at the fire. 

Jonathan was quiet for a few lengthy seconds. "Like what?" 

"You made it sound like Jerome tries to make Wayne too dependent on him," Ivy elaborated, poking at the fire with a stick. "do you believe that? Believe he looks at Wayne like a pet?" 

Brief silence. "Not particularly, no." 

"Then why'd you say all that mean stuff?" 

Jonathan directed his gaze from the fire to the ground. "Because I do believe Jerome unintentionally puts Wayne in harms way in an attempt to share amusement with the other by being in a thrilling situation without properly assessing how dangerous that situation may be," He explained quietly. "Jerome has a false belief in which he's convinced he can protect Wayne from anything, and he can't, no matter how much he may desire or attempt to." 

"Well then why didn't you just say that?" 

"Because speaking the truth, no matter how ruthless it may be, is in my eyes a friendlier gesture than giving a well placed lie." 

Ivy frowned. "You were trying to be unfriendly?" 

"That is correct." 

"Just because Jerome was pissing you off or whatever?" 

"I know now it was irrational despite me previously being convinced it made sense at the time, and I have learned from my mistake-- I do not plan to do this or anything along the lines of such in the future," Jonathan assured truthfully. "this particular outcome from the actions I did proved to be a potentially harmful one, and I sincerely did not mean for it to go this far in the least, but that does not excuse my behavior." 

Ivy rolled her eyes. "You and Jerome can both be assholes, but at least you seem sorry about it." 

Jonathan actually gave a barely visible smirk at that. "As much as I hate to admit it, Jerome is able to fess up just as much as I am, and he has done so just as much, even if he does such apologies in crude and overly jesting ways rather than cold and overly formal ones... he still does apologize in his own way, as I do mine." 

Ivy stared at Jonathan for a long, long while before hesitantly reaching over to place her hand on his upper arm, earning a taken aback look. "Even if you can both be assholes in your own ways, you can be pretty nice at times in your own ways, too... even if it is a little weird." 

Jonathan almost smiled at that-- in fact, he possibly did give a vague smile. "Is it right for me to presume that was a compliment?" 

"Yeah?" 

"In that case, thank you." 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne checked his phone and sighed, vision blurry thanks to the icy dry wind whipping at his face. "We should check back in at Selina's place." Not only had an hour gone by, but the snow was almost five feet deep rather than two, and instead of thirty the temperature was negative ten, and instead of being able to see dozens of yards in front of him he could barely see a few feet in front of him with how much snow there was. 

"Yeah, we should probably warm up by a fire or something." Rome agreed, arm around Wayne to supposedly keep the other balanced with the strong winds. 

Was Rome flirting? Was Wayne looking too much into it? Who knows? 

All Wayne knew was he wanted a blanket out of the dryer, hot coco, and a place huddled up beside his friends. 

Shelter would definitely be nice, too, of course. 

~*~*~*~ 

Despite the blizzard, an ambulance originally meant for the fainted Selina instead picked up the woman Selina had injured, and Selina had a feeling she was very lucky the ambulance intended for her even showed up considering the blizzard was getting just about to where it was too bad for anyone- including trained professionals- to drive in. 

"Come on, Selina," Jen urged, gently gripping the shaken up girl's upper arm and earning a flinch. "we should get back." 

Selina continued watching from her hidden placed behind a frosted over statue until the ambulance drove off through the white haze of snow, afterwards swallowing thickly and giving a nod, letting Jen hold her hand for comfort and Harley wrap an arm around her hip for balance before walking off with her friends. 

"Thank you." Selina spoke up quietly, earning nods as she glanced down at her hand, noticing her claws had returned back to normal nails and furrowing her brow at that. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome was taking a nice shower. It wasn't hot, but it was at least lukewarm, and it was peaceful, which was bliss enough for him. 

All of that was interrupted when the shower curtain was yanked back, though. 

"Shit!" Jerome laughed surprised, anxiously, and even a bit scared, not knowing why or who- "What the hell, Wayne?! He chuckled in an annoyed and nervous tone, quickly pulling the shower curtain around him. 

Wayne had been decent enough to keep his eyes on Jerome's face as the other covered up. "What is wrong with you?!" 

"What's wrong with me?" Jerome scoffed in disbelief. "What's wrong with you?! You're the one barging in while I'm taking a-" 

"I was in a blizzard looking for you! Why weren't you answering your phone?" 

"I- I had a shitty signal!" Jerome defended, ears heating up with how vulnerable one felt when in such an awkward position. 

"Bullshit, I know you got at least some of the messages I sent." Wayne's language had certainly gotten stronger since living on the streets with Selina. 

"I had my phone off, okay?" 

"Why did you have your phone off?" 

"Listen, I'm trying to take a shower-" Jerome started, Wayne giving him a glare. "I'm sorry, all right?" Wayne just crossed his arms. "Can we- can we just talk about this when I'm not, ya' know, naked?" Wayne stubbornly waited for an explanation, causing Jerome to resort to saying, "Look, as much as I know you probably wanna' jump in here with me-" 

Wayne's cheeks went pink. "You're impossible." He grumbled before storming off, Jerome smirking at the success of teasing Wayne away. 

~*~*~*~ 

Of course Rome had to be there when Jerome got out of the shower, it being noticed Rome was sitting next to Wayne... seated a little too comfortably close near the other... with a cheeky little smirk on his face. 

"What are you doing here?" Jerome inquired with an aggravated smirk, Wayne still seething while Rome gave a charming smile. 

"I was helping Wayne look for you." Rome answered, placing a hand on the raven haired one's knee when saying Wayne's name. 

Jerome wasn't sure he would've been able to resist the urge to stab that hand if there was a knife anywhere near him. 

"Thanks, means a bunch, you can go back home now since I'm sure your parents are worried." Jerome flatly said with a forced smile. 

"Nah, I told them I was staying at a friend's house, and I can't go out in the blizzard in any case." Rome waved off, Jerome's smile twitching. 

Can't go out in the blizzard? Rome could totally go out in the blizzard... Jerome just had to push him. 

"Great," Jerome reluctantly chuckled. "you don't mind sleeping on the sofa, do you?" He added a bit coldly. 

"I figured I could just share Wayne's mattress or something-" Rome started with a shrug. 

"What-" Wayne questioned, eyebrows quirked upwards. 

"The sofa's more comfortable." Jerome interjected, sure as heck not about to let one of his copycats be anywhere near a sleeping AKA vulnerable Wayne considering he preferred to see Wayne wake in the morning. 

"Then I should let you have the sofa and I'll just stick with Wayne." Rome offered a little too kindly. 

"No, you're the guest-" 

"I insist you take it, I'd prefer your comfort over mine." 

Jerome was having trouble not letting his grin fall. "Fine, then you can have my sleeping bag." 

"I would prefer Wayne's mattress to a sleeping bag, though." Rome admitted with a laugh. 

For the love of-- "How about you take the sofa, Wayne, and Rome will sleep on your mattress, and I'll sleep in my sleeping bag?" 

"Sure." Wayne agreed, perhaps a bit infatuated with Rome to an extent, and even quite trusting of him more than he was other copycats, but that didn't mean he was comfortable sharing a bed with the other yet. 

Jerome wondered how often Rome planned on visiting... 

~*~*~*~ 

Selina had laid down to get some rest as soon as she got back from searching for Jen, and she woke up when the scent of spaghetti began to fill the warehouse. 

She groggily got up, giving one glance towards her hands to make sure there were no claws there before giving a shaky exhale and going outside to get a quick breath of fresh air, still getting over... whatever had happened to that poor lady that had just been trying to help her. 

After a while Selina realized it was quite freezing out despite the blizzard being blown over, and rushed back inside to find wherever she had put her torn jacket... 

She'd probably just have to steal another one since she didn't know a thing about going off and sewing clothes. 

~*~*~*~ 

It was Wayne's turn to cook as everyone else- other than Selina who had walked in looking for her jacket- conversed in the 'living room' part of the warehouse, and despite still getting used to to cooking, he didn't expect anything exceptionally out of the ordinary to take place... 

... and then an injured Jim Gordon showed up. 

As much as Wayne liked peculiar things happening while he learned to fend for himself, he couldn't help but miss a bit of the ordinary... then again, this sort of shit had happened back when he was with Alfred, too. Really, Wayne hadn't encountered anything all that normal since that night in the alleyway after the show. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome didn't let his smile falter as Jim more throughly explained how Nygma had attacked him after regaining some energy, the red haired male knowing his whole plan with Nygma had gone to shit since more people than just Jim knew Nygma was the criminal that had been stirring up trouble. 

Oh well, either way Wayne would've still had his little guardian or Jerome would've got rid of a pesk, and while it was the former it practically would've been a win-win no matter what. 

Besides, Jerome could just scare off Rome by himself... sure, that would probably piss Wayne off a bit, but it was better than murdering Rome, and it was honestly for Wayne's own good as far as Jerome was concerned. 

Jerome didn't trust his copycats, and if Wayne refused to admit he should be wary around fans of a serial killer that they probably hadn't realized was trying to turn over a new leaf while wrongly figuring Jerome saw Wayne as no more than a pet, then Jerome would just have to take matters into his own hands and make sure Wayne wasn't surrounded by unstable creeps. 

Wayne would probably come around... eventually... despite being a way too stubborn little shite that needed to realize this sort of crap got him in way too much trouble that Jerome always had to help bail him out of. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome got a few late texts from Nygma that hadn't sent thanks to the blizzard interrupting the phone signals, and he got those texts after the blizzard had completely finished clearing up... so an hour later. 

'Nygma: Jim's here. 

Nygma: That means you should be here. 

Nygma: Come over here now. 

Nygma: Where are you? 

Nygma: Please. 

Nygma: I swear Valeska, if this is another one of your jokes... 

Nygma: This isn't funny, where are you?! Are you hiding? Hurry up, I'm running out of time stalling and Jim's catching on. 

Nygma: Jim escaped. Help me find him. 

Nygma: If I get caught I'm bringing you down with me. 

Nygma: I didn't mean that, please help (=

Nygma: At least agree to get me out of Arkham if I get caught. 

Nygma: I'll murder Rome for you, give you however much fondue you want, give you all the money I have, let you take whatever you want from my house, critique your jokes, and be a personal guardian of Wayne if you come help. 

Nygma: The deal's off. 

Nygma: Unless you find him?? 

Nygma: Are you getting my texts? 

Nygma: I usually don't use this sort of petty talk, but you're a dick. 

Nygma: I'll murder you and Wayne next if you keep testing me. 

Nygma: Or I could do whatever you want if you just keep to your word and help me. 

Nygma: This is your number, right Jerome?' 

Jerome snickered and tossed his phone on his sleeping bag; oops. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne had returned to the manor, Alfred being more than pissed the orphan ran off like that in the first place, and he was even more ticked off Wayne planned to go off again when he was done wrapping things up there. 

While Wayne got a chastise for his behavior, Jerome and Selina got a damn lecture. 

"You two better of not encouraged this sort of rebellious behavior to run off and try to fend for himself!" Alfred snapped, Selina clenching her jaw while crossing her arms and averting her gaze, Jerome giving a guilty laugh along with a shrug and rubbing his upper arm. "Do you not realize how damn dangerous this was? He's never even gone camping for more than a couple of days! What would you of done if he had gotten in a spot of trouble?" 

"I mean, we're not assholes, ya' know," Jerome answered with a shrug. "if he did happen to get in trouble we would've helped him get out of it." 

"Bloody hell, Jerome! You can't very well believe you're damn invincible all the time!" Alfred scoffed, Jerome's eyes rolling. "Tell me, just what do you reckon will happen when you find someone a little too big or a little to sneaky for you to outdo? What do you plan to do then? Turn tail and run?" 

"I wouldn't just run off and leave Wayne," Jerome interjected with an irritated snicker. "gimme' a little credit, I've stuck around this far-" 

"Oh, so what, then? You'd try to fight and get yourselves both killed?" 

"I haven't met anyone that's even come close to succeeding in doing that-" 

"I know that, but what about when you do?" 

"Ya' know, I'm a pretty lucky guy-- I did survive getting stabbed in the throat, so I doubt-" 

"You're relying on luck then?" Alfred accused, Jerome's teeth gritting behind his grin. "Is that it?" 

"Not just luck-" Jerome countered with a bitter laugh. 

"Well whatever it is that you are relying on, you should just accept right now is a thing that at least one other person in the city can get by, and you need to learn that before this ego of your's gets too big and blind to realize there are going to be times you're allowing Wayne to be put in danger, and eventually there's not going to be a damn thing you'll be able to do about it." 

"Why's it just us being lectured and not-" Jerome questioned with a sour smirk. 

"Because Wayne's closest to you two, and I know you influence his decisions more than any of his other little criminal friends." 

"Look, Wayne was the one that wanted to go out on his own and learn how to fend for himself, all right? We just looked out for him-" Jerome started to explain. 

"What about you, young lady?" Alfred interjected, turning his attention towards the girl who hadn't uttered a word, noting she refused to meet Alfred's eyes. "What do you have to say for yourself?" 

"Oh come on, Alfred, give her a break-" Jerome sighed with a strained chuckle. 

"Not now, Jerome, I am talking to Selina." Alfred scolded at that. 

Selina felt her fingernails ache more, vision blurring before snapping back into focus and blurring again, her pulse beginning to race much too fast. "I- um-" Why couldn't she calm down, dangit? "I have to use the bathroom." 

"You're not getting off that easily-" Alfred scoffed, arms crossing. 

Jerome glanced at Selina, smile falling at the sight of her rubbing where the needle marks under her sleeved arms would be. "Sure, Alfred will finish talking off my ear while you're gone, and then he can bore you with lectures instead when ya' get back." 

Alfred gave Jerome a look, but didn't say anything until Selina had hurried off. "Is there something wrong that I'm unaware of?" 

"No." Jerome blatantly lied with as friendly a smile he could muster up. 

"She seemed fidgety." Alfred interrogated with narrowed eyes. 

"Most people are when they gotta' go." Jerome shrugged off, Alfred parting his lips to reply before his eyebrows arched at the sound of something clattering in the lavatory down the hall, causing Alfred to eye Jerome over suspiciously. "She's, uh-" What was a good lie? "She's on her time." 

"Her what?" Alfred asked with a confused frown. 

"Her time." 

"Her time of what?" 

"The month," Jerome fibbed, hearing a 'thud' from the restroom. "very bad cramps." He explained with a forced smile. 

Alfred blinked. "Oh-" 

"I'm just going to give, uh, ya' know... check on her or whatever." Jerome chuckled nervously, hearing a crash come from the loo. 

"I- yes, very well, please give Ms. Kyle my apologies-" Alfred sighed, deciding to let this little talk with the pair go for now considering he had first done the unspeakable by slapping the poor young girl and now felt like an arse for accusing her of being up to something when she was apparently just not feeling to well. 

"Righto." Jerome said with a nod, keeping on his smile as he backed up towards the restroom. 

"I'm just- I'm going to go speak to Wayne now." 

"Sounds good." Jerome chuckled, waiting for Alfred to turn around before allowing his smile to fall and rushing towards the loo as the sound of cracking glass rang out. 

~*~*~*~ 

Alfred agreed to make breakfast for the rather hungry kiddos as long as Wayne agreed to have a word in private with him later, Jonathan and the other minors- other than Wayne- deciding to eat in the parlor rather than kitchen since they weren't too keen on sticking around Gordon with how they were still wary of him as most criminals would be around a cop. 

Wayne was wondering where Jerome and Selina were, guessing they were both just taking advantage of luxuries such as showering in warm water or lounging on a soft mattress since those weren't precisely things they had the advantage of indulging in on the streets. 

"Alfred tells me you've been living with Selina on the streets for a while now," Jim commented, Wayne using a fork to play with his food as he waited for Jerome and Selina to return. "is there a reason you're trying to learn how to fend for yourself?" 

Wayne gave a casual shrug. "It's always good to learn a little defense when you live in Gotham." 

Jim scoffed, but nodded nonetheless. "Fair enough," He admitted, taking a sip of coffee. "you should know a thing or two about fighting if you ever run into someone like Nygma." 

Wayne glanced at Jim's bandaged injury, brow furrowing as he couldn't help but wonder how someone as kind- if not a little strange- as Nygma could go off and just... snap like that. "How are you healing up, detective?" 

"I'll be fine," Jim waved off, stuffing a slice of an egg in his mouth. "where's Selina though?" He needed to ask her for some help... 

~*~*~*~ 

"Can come in yet?" Jerome sighed, facing the restroom door and waiting for an answer. 

"No!" Selina shouted without leaving room for argument. 

"Come on, Selina, just tell me what's wrong at least." Jerome impatiently requested, earning silence. "Are your arms hurting again or something?" No reply. "Having another episode?" It stayed quiet. "Do you want me to get Jen?" When Selina continued to refuse to talk, Jerome said, "Selin-" A loud crash and thud was heard, causing Jerome to hesitate before stating, "I'm coming in." 

"No-" Selina protested as Jerome opened the door. 

Jerome halted at the threshold, eyebrows raising and lips mouthing, 'What the..?' at the sight of shattered glass on the floor, knocked over and crushed bathroom objects, along with claw marks on the walls. 

Was Selina hurt? 

"Don't-" Selina warned in a sharp tone as Jerome stepped towards her admittedly concerned, causing him to pause. "Don't come near me." Her voice warned weakly. 

Jerome eyed the shaking girl with a normal left eye that had a round pupil and a not so normal cat-like right eye that had a black slit for a pupil, noting the way some of her fingernails looked like claws while others seemed normal. 

"Are you all right?" Jerome murmured, taking a step forward. 

"Stop!" Selina yelled, scrambling back the best she could with already being against the wall as Jerome did as told and came to a stop. "Please just- just go, okay? Please just-" Selina swallowed, eyes glossy. "I- I need you to go, all right? Please just listen to me, I don't- I don't want to hurt you." She ignored the instinct to flee, glancing at Jerome and feeling the urge to lunge in the pit of her stomach, more claws extending as she cussed under her breath and buried her face against her knees while she hugged her legs tightly. "Just go away." She pleaded hoarsely. "I can't- I don't know what- just don't come near me." 

Jerome stared at Selina unsurely, glancing at the door broodingly and hesitantly shutting it before locking it, afterwards carefully walking to the other side of the restroom a few feet away and sitting down, being sure to be as far away as possible and respect the other's warnings. "Tell me if you need anything, yeah?" He could wait. 

~*~*~*~ 

Right before Selina went to Barnes to 'turn Gordon in' AKA give a false tip that would lead to Nygma being exposed, Jerome pulled her aside. 

"You shouldn't of agreed to that." Jerome scolded in disbelief, earning a scoff, regretting the fact he's agreed to let Selina talk alone with Jim, Wayne, and Alfred considering it resulted in a big mess consisting of a risky plan. 

"Whatever you say, dad." Selina grumbled sarcastically. 

"I'm serious-" Jerome started, giving Selina a look as she simply walked by him. 

"You, serious? That's a first." 

"You JUST got back to normal thirty minutes ago," Jerome persisted, following after her. "What are you planning on doing if- whatever that was that happened- happens again?" 

"It won't." 

"What- you're- why did you even agree to this?!" Jerome laughed irked, not knowing why Selina was being so dang stubborn. "You hate Jimbo, so why the hell are you helping-" 

"It's wintertime, I need as much money as possible during wintertime since I can't go out as often or long with the cold, and there's a reward involved." 

"Let's just stay at Wayne's until winter is over then!" Jerome bargained with a strained chuckle. "Come on, Selina-- you know going out like... this is way to risky with whatever Hugo did to you! You were hyperventilating when I walked in-" 

"If Wayne REALLY wants to know how to fend for himself, then wintertime is the best time to teach him, which means we're not staying in the manor for winter, so I have to get enough money to make sure we have enough supplies during winter, and this reward is a sure fire way to get it if for some reason we're unable to steal supplies thanks to the fact it's a whole lot harder to haul stolen shit through four feet of snow." Jerome parted his lips to argue. "End of discussion, Jerome." She pulled on her leather jacket Wayne had sewn for her, yanking open the front door yet pausing, Jerome wondering if she'd maybe actually considered his words rather than being a stubborn little shite before she quietly said, "Thank you, though, for trying to look out for me.", afterwards shutting the door without another word. 

Dangit. 

~*~*~*~ 

Selina couldn't believe this. 

Wayne wanted to stat home. He didn't want to learn how to fend for himself anymore, apparently. He decided the street trash lifestyle wasn't for him, and wanted to stay all nice and cozy in his big fricking manor instead. 

Asshole. 

Maybe he should've told her that before she risked going half cat thanks to whatever the hell was happening to her in public! If she'd known he was going to wuss out, then she would've just decided to stay with Wayne at his place just forgotten the reward! But noooo, he just had to wait to admit he didn't want to go back with Selina AFTER she did the dang favor for Gordon! 

Sure, Wayne had chased after Selina after she'd stormed out and he had explained that she was welcome to stay at his place with the others, but- but... 

Shit. 

Selina let out a choked sob, leaning against a tree and clutching her stomach as she felt the instinct to lash out come back into place, claws extending once more. 

... but Selina couldn't go back. She couldn't stay with Wayne, because she couldn't risk hurting him or any of the others. 

Selina had to figure out what was happening to her first. 

~*~*~*~ 

"You're not going back with Selina?" Wayne asked surprised as Ivy pulled her mattress into his room, setting it next to Jonathan's. 

"No," Ivy answered with a saddened expression. "she said I should stay here." 

Jerome glanced between the two as Wayne questioned, "Why?" Ivy just shrugged. 

"Well I'm going back to Selina's." Jen informed, ruffling up Wayne's hair while adding, "but I'll probably come visit you sometime or something if you want." 

"Yeah, I gotta' get back home before curfew." Harley admitted reluctantly, waving goodbye to everyone. "Sorry I'm not done with ya' disguise yet, J, I should be done real soon, though!" She assured, Jerome giving an amused smirk and nod. 

"I should probably get back, too." Rome chuckled, Jerome not objecting in the least as he smirked in relief and set his mattress where he wanted it. 

"Oh, okay," Wayne muttered a bit sadly, Jerome rolling his eyes while making his bed. "well, it was really nice seeing you." 

Rome smirked, biting down on his lower lip and giving Wayne a look that made Jerome narrow his eyes. "Yeah, it was good seeing you, too," He stepped forward. "REALLY good." 

Oh for the love of- "Yeah, it was, bye." Jerome tried to shoo off with a forced grin, yet failing as Rome supposedly didn't catch the social cue and just made his way over to Wayne to give the other a hug that was much too long in Jerome's opinion. "Call me?" Rome requested, pulling back but keeping his hands on Wayne's waist, Jerome very much wanting to snap those wrists. 

Wayne gave a shy laugh, Jerome scrunching his nose because since when the hell had Wayne ever been shy? "Yeah, I will." 

Why couldn't... Wayne just... date Selina... Jerome would've been fine with them dating, but why did Wayne have to choose Silver, Tommy, and now Rome? The manipulative little miss saint, the posh whiny bully, and the copycat that idolized him-- a serial killer? Wayne should just date Selina- a girl who could be a little bit of an ass, but otherwise mindful of her actions and others feelings- rather than three people Jerome was convinced were pieces of shit. 

Selina or literally anyone that wasn't a threat to Wayne would've been much more preferred than Rome. 

When Rome left and everyone got into their beds with the lights off, Wayne asked if Jerome was okay, being sure to be quiet since the others were resting. 

"I'm great." Jerome lied with a forced laugh. 

"I know your fake laughs." Wayne informed while staring at the ceiling. 

Jerome was quiet for a few seconds. "I'm tired is all." 

Wayne sighed, eyes closing. "I know you don't like Rome, but-" 

"Yeah, he's too secretive." 

"He is not-" 

Jerome smirked. "Is, too." 

"He isn't-" 

"He is." 

Wayne clenched his jaw. "He-" 

"-is." 

"Not! Is not!" 

"... Is." 

"Jerome, I swear to-" 

"Just speaking the truth." 

"You are not!" 

"Yes I am." Jerome snickered. 

"No-" 

"Yes." 

Wayne gave a groan, grabbing a pillow beside him and smacking it over the side of his bed so it hit Jerome. "You are the most immature-" His eyes went wide, feeling a hand grip his ankle. "Don't you dare-" Jerome pulled, the other letting out a noise as he fell down on the chuckling other. 

"Oof!" Jerome laughed, Wayne sitting up somewhat on him and giving a glare. 

"Jerk." Wayne accused with only a vague hint of seriousness, earning a snicker and hesitating before giving a sigh as he couldn't find it in him to be too ticked off and settling for resting his cheek against Jerome's chest. "Can I sleep down here tonight?" 

Jerome cleared his throat, laughter quieting. "Uh..." He hadn't been very comfortable sharing a bed with Wayne after finding out the little infatuation the younger one had on him. 

"I miss sharing a bed." Wayne admitted in a defensive grumble. 

"You're tired," Jerome spoke knowingly, trying to usher the other off. "you should get some rest." He knew Wayne admitted one too many things when he was tired. 

"We could make a pillow wall?" Wayne offered. 

Jerome contemplated, staring at the ceiling as Wayne continued laying on him and sighing, "Sure." He... missed having a friend to sleep next to as well, but he didn't want to add fire to the younger one's crush. 

Wayne almost perked up at the answer, but instead asked, "Are you okay with that?" 

"I guess." Jerome mused with a shrug. 

Wayne could tell that meant no, even if Jerome didn't say it. "I can just sleep up on my bed." 

Jerome quirked a brow. "You sure?" 

Wayne nodded, getting up and climbing back into bed, glancing down at Jerome and sighing to himself before yawning, "Have a good rest." 

Jerome paused. "Yeah... you, too." 

Wayne had to admit... as much as he liked Rome, Rome wasn't Jerome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm SO sorry I haven't updated in so long! I've been having a very busy and admittedly pretty rough summer, and I had a lot of personal things going on that bummed me out to where I began to lack motivation for writing amongst other things, but- while I don't want to jinx it- I feel like I may be getting better motivation-wise since I'm beginning to not feel as upset by a few personal things lately since I've been trying to take care of that, plus I feel like I've been taking better care of myself, and that's seemed to of boosted my motivation back up! I've received so many sweet comments, and they honestly improved my motivation SO much as well, so thank you! Really, the comments genuinely made me go "!!!!" inside haha, so I really am thankful for them :,)


	30. Replicas Ease the Lacking

Wayne had been successful with avoiding Tommy since the Valentine's Day dance, not replying when the other would call out his name as Wayne would act as though he didn't hear him and speed out of view, pulling the hood of his black jacket up whenever he'd see Tommy before Tommy would see him, and having lunch under a big tree rather than inside the cafeteria where the other typically went. 

That success ran out when Tommy managed to corner him as a partner for a science project. 

"You should wear the safety goggles so you don't get hurt." Tommy murmured while offering a pair of said goggles. 

Wayne's eyes rolled, nonetheless taking the goggles. "I was planning on it." 

Tommy nodded, throat clearing. "That's always good," Wayne stared at him with a quirked brow. "being- uh- safe and... all..." 

"Sure." Wayne agreed flatly. "Ready to start on the project?" 

"Oh, uh, yeah!" Tommy confirmed with a nod, forcing on a friendly smile. "So what do we have to do?" 

Wayne let out a log exhale. "Did you not read the pamphlet we had for homework?" 

"What? Pft, of course I did!" Tommy chuckled uncomfortably, earning a look. "Well, I scanned through it..." Wayne continued staring at him. "I briefly glanced at it..." A pause. "Okay, I don't even know where I put it in all honesty." 

"You could've just said that." Wayne spoke in an icy tone. "We're supposed to research what hormones are released for a specific emotion and then figure out what the chemicals for those hormones are, get the measurements for such, and then mix those chemicals in the proper order to see the outcome." 

"Whoa, really?" Tommy questioned with a taken aback stare. "That's awesome! So an emotion in a bottle? Like-" He cleared his throat. "Like love or whatever?" 

Wayne kept from scoffing. "I'd prefer to do hate." Was Tommy honestly trying to flirt with him after being a complete ass, or was Wayne just reading too far into the other's wording? 

Tommy's expression fell. "Oh. Okay, sure, we can do hate if you'd rather." 

"I'll research what chemicals we need if you set up the presentation layout." Wayne stated professionally, not wanting this project to get personal in the least. 

Tommy's brow crinkled at that. "Presentation layout?" 

"We have to present our observations to the class." 

"Oh... right," Tommy gave Wayne an uncomfortable nod. "I'll just- uh- make the presentation template then-" 

"Sounds good." Wayne interjected without bothering to give another glance to the other, bringing out his laptop to begin his research on the chemicals that produced hateful hormones. 

Wayne made a list of the hormones he guessed would best create hate: 

1) Estrogen- if imbalanced- could cause irritability, however Wayne wasn't sure if too much or too little was the cause of such, but from the looks of it high estrogen was more likely to cause irritability than low.  
2) Epinephrine since it caused extreme emotions, such as anger- yet also could result in fear and amusement.  
3) Tryptophan was the one Wayne was fairly sure resulted in aggressive impulsive behavior. 

Okay, so those were at least the three main ingredients as far as Wayne could tell, and it seemed you'd have to mix them all together and then inject them through the right adrenal gland's capsule until reaching its medulla to cause a person to feel anger since that was the gland responsible for, said gland being located above the right kidney at that and additionally responsible for anger, biochemical steroids, and of course adrenaline as well. 

Now for the tricky part... measurements. 

The glands were typically 5.0 g each, so since there were three ingredients Wayne reckoned he could just divide five by three, and come out to... one point six, so you'd generally have to mix one point six doses of each chemical together. 

However, considering Estrogen required a higher level and Tryptophan a lower one to work properly, Wayne theorized the Estrogen should contain a measurement of two point one, while Tryptophan should contain a measurement of one point one, and to even things out Epinephrine should be one point eight. 

Wayne stood, gathering up a small box of of estrogen pills, a tiny bottle of clear epinephrine liquid, and a little container of Tryptophan consisting of a clear color with a vague purple tint to it. 

... Wayne felt like he was somewhat bullshitting this, in all honesty. 

Tommy glanced over Wayne's instructional sheet when the other slid it towards him without saying a word.  
_______ 

Partners- B. Wayne and T. Elliot 

Emotion- Hatred 

Ingredients-  
1) Estrogen (high?)  
2) Epinephrine (Any sort of dosage?)  
3) Tryptophan (?) low

Measurements (Can change until satisfactory)  
1) Estrogen- 2.1 g  
2) Epinephrine- 1.8 g  
3) Tryptophan- 1.1 g 

Directions- Mix Epinephrine and Tryptophan before allowing estrogen pill to dissolve in the combined chemicals. 

Hypothetical usage- You would take the finished product kept at a bodily temperature (ninety-seven point five degrees Fahrenheit) and use a syringe to inject it through the subject's capsule until reaching the medulla, which is located above the right kidney and a part of the right adrenal gland. 

_______ 

Tommy arched an impressed brow. "Wow, you're good at this stuff, huh?" 

Wayne didn't know why the guy that had outed him as bi in a rather unprogressive school full of people that had already looked at him as enough of an outsider was suddenly trying to be Mr. Nice Guy again, guessing the jackass wanted something in return. "Are you ready to begin the project?" Wayne asked, not commenting on the compliment. 

Tommy let out a long breath. "Listen, can we just take a break for a sec and talk about what happened back at the Valentine's Dance?" 

"I'd really rather not be reminded," Wayne replied in a sour tone. "now just tell me what parts of the project you want to do." 

"I'm not starting on the project until we talk." Tommy stubbornly insisted. 

"Well I guess I'll just do the whole thing and you won't get any credit for it then." 

"I'm sorry, okay?" Tommy blurted out, Wayne clenching his jaw and averting his gaze back to the ingredients to examine them. "I know what I did was shitty, and I shouldn't of done it, all right? It won't happen again." Wayne ignored him, reaching for the measuring scale with pursed lips. "Seriously, if you just give me another chance I swear I won't be an asshole this time, and I'll even tell my friends to stop spreading rumors about you-" 

"Oh, so your little friends are spreading rumors, huh?" Wayne scoffed while weighing the estrogen pills first, not sure why what Tommy had said even surprised him in the slightest. "Nice to know." 

"No, I didn't- I mean, yeah, but- I wasn't trying to-" Tommy closed his eyes, Wayne setting roughly the amount of needed pills to the side. "They're not bad rumors, they're just- you know... just rumors that you dated Silver to make it seem like you were straight or bi or-" 

"I am bi, Tommy." 

Tommy's nose scrunched. "Wait, seriously?" 

"Yes." Wayne answered simply, about to continue the measurements before not being able to help pausing, giving a sigh as he just had to look at the other and ask, "Why do you sound so surprised?" Wayne felt like he was going to regret saying that for some reason... 

"I dunno'," Tommy murmured with a shrug, rubbing his neck uncomfortably. "I mean, it just seems... kinda' weird, ya' know? Liking more than one gender or whatever... it seems like most people would just stick with liking dick or-" 

Oh dear DC. "Forget I asked, and let's try to keep this conversation safe for school." Wayne interjected while turning his attention back to measuring, regretting asking in the first place. 

"I'm not trying to sound like a jerk or anything-" 

"You can't say something that makes you sound like an asshole and then just say you're not trying to be an asshole." Wayne grumbled, eying the tiny bottle of epinephrine. 

"I just- listen, it's fine if you're bi, that just took me by surprise is all." 

"Cool." Wayne replied sarcastically, hoping that would signal the other to shut up by not encouraging their conversation in the least, pouring the epinephrine into a glass container before measuring the empty bottle it had been in. 

"I mean, it just rationally seems like bi people would, you know... be more likely to do... not so good stuff, like cheat or whatever, too, right?" Tommy continued, Wayne pausing and giving the other a look of disbelief. "I'm not- I'm not saying you would or anything! It's just- you know, when it comes to logic gays would only cheat if they saw another guy, and lesbians would only cheat on other women, but bi people may see a man or woman- or both- so statically they're twice as likely to cheat on-" 

"Statically you're a jackass." Wayne snapped with a glare. 

"I'm not saying you would-" 

"You're generalizing people like me-" 

"I'm trying to compliment you-" Tommy attempted to assure. 

"How the hell is anything you're saying a compliment?" 

"I'm saying you're different!" 

Wayne quirked a brow, parting his lips to reply before just shaking his head and giving a bitter laugh of disbelief. "Wow," Wayne scoffed, deciding to just focus his attention back on the project. "Just- wow." He murmured to himself, Tommy frowning; Wayne had met jerks before, but Tommy sure was something else. 

"It was a compliment-" 

Wayne snapped his gaze to Tommy. "Saying something was a compliment really doesn't make it any less insulting!" He hissed under his breath. "Going off and trying to make a group I'm a part of sound bad and then trying to make it better by separating me from other people in that group is a shitty thing to do, particularly when people like me get beat up in Gotham, and-" 

"Which is exactly why it would be easier to just choose and stick with one gender or something-" 

"Choosing to be straight would be a hell of a lot easier in a school like this," Wayne countered, Tommy going quiet. "it's not exactly a choice though, now is it?" Tommy stayed quiet, the blond averting his gaze for once. "Do you even realize how crappy outing me was at the high school dance? Do you know how many death threats I've gotten? Gotham sure as hell isn't a progressive place, Tommy, and you put me in a lot of danger by letting everyone know the freak that had his parents murdered in front of him was 'queer', and now I'm even more of a 'freak' here," The other shrunk into himself at that, the pair ignoring the sound of the classroom door opening. "so if you want an apology then you'd better either find a way to fix what you did, or you can shove that apology right up your-" 

"Everyone quiet down," The chemistry teacher instructed, Wayne and Tommy turning their attention towards the front. "we have a new student with us today, so everyone be sure to give him a warm welcome and show some Gotham Academy spirit!" Wayne's jaw dropped at the sight of the other. "This is Rome Alaska, everyone say hello." The class- other than the shocked Wayne- waved at the familiar smirking teenager. "Now then, would anyone mind having Rome in their group?" 

Six intrigued girls from separate groups looked Rome up and down before raising their hands, four TOTALLY straight guys that definitely weren't clearing their throats while eying Rome over a bit longer than normal raising their hands as well in a manner that showed they were maybe trying to be a little too casual, Wayne blinking and quickly raising his hand after snapping out of being so surprised. 

Jerome was frankly quite handsome-- anyone that saw him knew that, so someone who looked unbelievably similar to him with only a few differing features that you'd have to squint to see was of course rather attractive as well. 

Plus, Rome hadn't murdered anyone- as far as Wayne knew- so not being a known serial killer tended to be one thing that would make people more likely to flock towards you rather than run away from you, which was one significant difference between Rome and Jerome considering the pair seemed equally charming in an almost deceptive sort of way. 

"Looks like you get your pick of the bunch." The chemistry teacher chuckled before going back to their desk, Rome scanning the room and perking up at the sight of Wayne, striding over to his science table and earning quiet grumbles from the girls and disappointed looks from the guys, the students reluctantly going back to work. 

"What are you doing here?" Wayne inquired with a pleasantly surprised smile, Tommy arching a brow. 

"You know this guy?" Tommy questioned taken aback after realizing Rome wasn't Wayne's little guardian AKA Jerome and earning a nod. 

"I decided to switch schools," Rome answered with a shrug. "figured I may as well apply for your school and managed to get in." 

"Why'd you switch?" Wayne questioned, smile remaining on. 

"Eh... it was kinda' run down," Rome smirked, eying Wayne over. "and this one looked much nicer." Tommy's eyes narrowed at the flirtatious tone. 

Wayne gave a laugh, Tommy's eyes narrowing even more at how that laugh sounded suspiciously shy... in fact, Tommy found it weird in general that Wayne laughed at all. "Shouldn't you be a grade above me though? You're fifteen." 

"Nah, since I transferred in the middle of the school year I got put back a grade behind." 

"Well what other classes do you have?" Wayne asked intrigued. "Maybe we'll have another one together." Rome pulled out his class sheet, sliding it towards Wayne and causing the other to quickly look it over before raising a brow. "We have all the same classes?" 

Okay, Tommy was suspicious. "That sure is a coincidence." He commented while staring at this Rome guy skeptically. 

Rome glanced at Tommy, giving a smile that made the other feel... uncomfortable for some reason. "And you are?" 

"Tommy." He answered coldly. 

"Are you and Wayne friends?" Rome mused with a hum. 

Tommy parted his lips to answer, but shut them as he glanced at Wayne, deciding to let the other answer. 

"We're just classmates." Wayne answered, Tommy giving a frown. 

Rome gave Tommy another smirk. "Oh, that's too bad-- Wayne makes a good friend," He gave the blond a look, hand going to rest on Wayne's upper arm in a questionable fashion while adding, "a REALLY good friend." 

Tommy knew this suggestive asshole could tell there was something going on between him and Wayne, and now he was just rubbing salt in the wound like a jerk. 

"Here, lemme' show you what we're doing." Wayne offered, Tommy glowering at Rome as the ginger gave one more challenging gaze to him before turning his attention towards Wayne. 

Tommy kept from rolling his eyes as Rome scooted his chair closer to Wayne and leaned right over him as Wayne began to go over the project, the blond keeping in his scoff when Wayne just cozied right on up to the older one. 

When Wayne began to go over more things than he needed to- Tommy guessing that was because the other probably liked having Rome closer than most friends should be next to each other- Tommy decided to pick up where Wayne left off, checking the measurement for the empty bottle that had been holding epinephrine before pouring the epinephrine back in the bottle and subtracting the measurement of the bottle from the measurement given, waiting until he got just the right amount to pour into an upright glass cylinder in a case, doing the same that had been done for epinephrine to tryptophan and afterwards measuring the estrogen pills and cutting them until they were the right weight, dropping them into the mix, waiting for the pills to dissolve before examining the cylinder white liquid with a tint of purple to it. 

Now all they had to do was keep it in ninety-seven point five degrees Fahrenheit to keep it at a bodily temperature. 

The bell rang. 

"So we just need to make the presentation and double check some things, then we'll be done?" Rome hummed, earning a nod from Wayne. "Sounds good." When Wayne began to clean up, Rome said, "I didn't do much since I came in late, so you go on-- I'll clean everything up." 

Wayne's eyebrows quirked. "You sure?" 

"Yeah, we have the same classes and breaks, so I'll just catch up with you in a bit." Wayne hesitated, but gave a nod, Tommy not objecting in the least. 

"Nice meeting you." Tommy flatly spoke without much sincerity, fixing to walk off yet halting as he felt a hand grip his arm. "What-" He started, turning to look at the other while yanking his arm away. 

"You know what? There's more to clean up than I realized, would you mind helping?" Rome asked a little too politely. 

Well that was weird... 

What was this guy up to..? 

Tommy warily did as asked, something just feeling... off about this new kid. 

When the pair left, Tommy noticed Rome walked with him, causing him to say, "Uh, I don't have Wayne in my next class-- his is over that way somewhere I'm pretty sure." 

"So?" Rome mused with a casual shrug. 

Tommy didn't like this... he felt a lot more cautious than was normal. "So... don't you have all your classes with Wayne-" Tommy blinked, feeling Rome grab his arm and usher him into the restroom without much of a choice, Tommy about to ask what was going on as Rome gave a friendly smile to someone who walked by them before locking the door and checking under the stalls. "What-" 

"Listen," Rome began with a smile that seemed out of place. "you're going to stay away from Wayne, got it?" 

Oh great, this was a protective asshole like that Jerry guy or whatever the hell his name was that Wayne was friends with. "I'm not going to be a jackass to him anymore if that's what you're talking about." He assured with a scoff, guessing Wayne had to of told this guy about what he did at the Valentine's Dance or something. 

"You're not going to be friends with him anymore." Rome corrected, Tommy blinking confused at the warning. 

Friends..? Was Rome mistaking Tommy and Wayne as friends? 

"We're not-" Tommy started before realizing something just... seemed a bit peculiar about Rome's threat. "... Why?" 

"I don't like people playing with my things." 

Oh. Well that was- geez... okay then. 

Tommy narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me?" Okay... so Rome wasn't looking out for Wayne and telling Tommy to back off for being an ass to him like Jerry or whatever had been- Rome was just being a greedy, possessive, jackass. "Look, as much of dick as I've been to Wayne... even I know he's not exactly some toy or whatever that's going to let you to just-" 

"Not a toy?" Rome scoffed, eyes rolling. "He's fun to play with when I'm bored-- what else would you call him?" 

Tommy stared at Rome in disbelief. "A human being?" This guy was a little much... and that was really saying something with how much of a bitch Tommy could be. "Look, I don't know if you and Wayne are dating or something and you have some weird... possessive play or whatever going on, but leave me out of it, because I'm trying to fix some shit that happened between us-" 

Rome stepped forward, suddenly seeming a bit more intimidating as Tommy couldn't help but step back. "Then stop trying." 

Tommy eyed Rome uncertainly, debating on arguing with the other before deciding it wasn't worth it and just moving to walk around the other while saying, "I've gotta' go before the bell rings again-" 

Rome gripped Tommy's arm, shoving him against the wall, and shit-- that actually REALLY hurt and Tommy was pretty sure that was going to bruise... 

"Listen, pretty-boy, I don't know what you and Wayne had that you're trying to 'fix'," Rome began, Tommy staring up at him uneasily. "if you dated or were just friends or what-" 

"Come on, man, let me go-" Tommy murmured, tensing as the other's hand tightened around his upper arm. 

"-but you're going to back off and stay away from what's mine." 

Tommy furrowed his brow. "Does Wayne know this is how you talk about him?" 

"You're going to keep your mouth shut about this little visit unless you want your face carved in, got it?" Rome warned, not answering Tommy's question. 

"You can't tell me to do shit," Tommy laughed defiantly despite his voice shaking. "Wayne isn't your damn property, creep, and neither am I, so-" 

"Okay," Rome sighed before rather easily positioning Tommy's arm how he wanted it and saying, "if I see you near Wayne again, I break the other one." 

"What-" 

Snap. 

"-shit!" Tommy choked out, falling to the ground while clutching his arm. "Shit shit shit-" 

"Now here's what you're going to do," Rome began, kneeling near the shaking Tommy. "you're going to lie and say you slipped and fell, and if they don't believe you then you're going to say you were mugged by someone that ran into the bathroom with a mask and threatened you to stay quiet about it or some shit, because if you tell them it was me I'll do a whole lot more than fracture some bones, is that understood?" He only earned a choked out noise. "Now dry up-- I didn't even break it," Rome scoffed. "it's just fractured." 

Shit... 

Tommy waited for Rome to leave before giving a full out sob, not even wanting to know what would happen to Wayne if he pissed Rome off enough... 

When lunchtime came around, Rome joined Wayne "The food here is gourmet?" Rome chuckled amused. "We didn't even know what the meat in the stew was back at my school." 

"That's worrying." Wayne chuckled, choosing the creamy truffle polenta over the lamb shank ragu with pasta. 

"Eh, you got used to it after a while." Rome shrugged off, choosing the lamb recipe. "So how's Jerome?" 

Wayne took the choice of panna cotta- a chilled sweetened jelly-like dish- over cappuccino mousse in chocolate cups- which resembled cupcakes- for dessert. "He's good, been a little bored lately, but other than that fine." 

Rome chose the mousse. "Jerome's getting bored?" He mused with a smirk. "Not about to go on a killing spree for a bit of fun, is he?" 

Rome definitely had Jerome's humor, Wayne giving a bit of a forced laugh at that, deciding to change the subject by- slightly reluctantly- asking, "How's Mayne? You guys are friends, right?", before taking a Kona Nigari water. 

Rome looked over the beverages, eying the Kopi Luwak coffee and Tieuanyin tea-- did this place not have any regular drinks..? Even the pop was Italian sodas consisting of macadamia, strawberry cream, and chocolate cherry... 

"Mayne's good," Rome mused while deciding on the macadamia soda. "we're catching a movie tonight if you and Jerome wanna' come." He offered with a friendly grin. 

"I'll, um-" Wayne wouldn't of at all minded accompanying Rome, but Mayne... "I'll check with Jerome and let you know after school." He decided, walking off with his lunch. 

Rome nodded, following after Wayne. "You, uh-" He gave a chuckle, sitting across from Wayne as the other sat down. "You wanna' hang out after school?" He rubbed the side of his neck. "I know you said you may not be able to make it to the movie, but we could maybe just... hang out for a little while after class?" 

Wayne perked up; hanging out with Rome sounding much better when Mayne wasn't involved. "Yeah, sure!" 

Rome smirked, hesitating before saying, "Ya' know," His throat cleared."I really like-" He averted his gaze towards his meal, smirk still on. "-you know... hanging out with you." 

Wayne smiled, biting down on his lower lip. "I really like hanging out with you, too." 

Rome's had began to lift his fork, hand pausing before lowering. "No, I mean-" He gave a slightly unsure laugh. "I really, REALLY, like hanging out with you." He elaborated, meeting Wayne's eyes. 

Wayne was pretty sure he felt his stomach do a little flip. "I REALLY like hanging out with you, too," He daringly held the other's gaze. "a lot." 

Rome gave a slight grin. "Yeah?" Wayne nodded, earning a laugh. "Maybe we should start meeting up more then." 

"That would be great," Wayne agreed, taking a bite of polenta. "it'd be- um- it'd be fun seeing you more often." 

Rome nodded, taking a sip of the macadamia soda before humming, "I certainly wouldn't mind seeing more of you," Wayne tried to not assume Rome meant anything less than innocent- "speaking of which, you sure do wear a lot of clothing, huh?" 

Wayne choked on the Kona Nigari water, Rome giving a snicker. "What exactly were you referring to as wanting to see 'more of me'?" 

Rome shrugged, cutting a piece of the cooked lamb. "You tell me." 

Wayne felt his ears heat up as he grumbled, "You tell more dirty jokes than Jerome." 

Rome glanced up at Wayne intrigued. "He tells a lot of dirty jokes, huh?" 

Wayne couldn't help but begin to feel a little... uncomfortable, for whatever reason-- it was probably just interacting with someone that spoke a little too personally with others that threw him off... a lot like Jerome had when they first met. "He used to," Wayne admitted, focusing on his food. "but not anymore." 

"Oh?" Rome inquired, eyes on Wayne. 

Wayne hesitantly nodded, rubbing his upper arm. "He- um... he found out I kinda'... liked him, or whatever, and he's really toned it down." 

"Really?" Rome questioned taken aback. "You're a cute kid, he should give ya' a chance." 

Wayne wasn't feeling very hungry anymore for some reason. "It's understandable," The raven haired boy muttered. "he's almost an adult and I'm still fourteen, so..." 

"So just use the Romeo and Juliet law." 

Wayne furrowed his brow, finally looking back at the other. "The what?" 

"The Romeo and Juliet law," Rome answered with a smirk. "it lets any minor date an adult as long as there's no more than a four year age gap and they met before the adult was an adult and shit." 

"Wait, seriously? How-" Wayne's eyes shut, his head shaking. "I mean- um- no, I'm not- Jerome's not- it's less of a legal thing and more of a moral thing." 

It was Rome's turn to choke on his pasta. "Jerome and morals are not two words I ever expected to hear in the same sentence." He laughed with a cough. 

"He doesn't have many," Wayne admitted, using his fork to push around his food. "just two, I'm pretty sure." 

"Those two being..?" 

"He doesn't like getting minors or whatever into inappropriate relationships that could harm them, and he doesn't hit little kids, okay?" Wayne snapped with a sigh, feeling like this was a little personal to get into. 

"Well he's definitely interested in you," Rome continued, Wayne wondering whether the other was trying to push his buttons or genuinely didn't know he was doing so. "so are you guys just going to wait until you're eighteen, or-" 

"It's not like that," Wayne interjected with a look. "we're just friends." 

"I'm just saying he sure does like hooking an arm around your hip whenever too many interested guys get close to you." 

"As a way to get them to back off," Wayne corrected. "it's not romantic... maybe a little- well... possessive, but nothing else." 

"I betcha' he'll be a lot more possessive when you finally turn eighteen-" 

"He's not a creep!" Wayne informed with a bit of a raised voice, earning a few quick glances from other students and a pair of raised eyebrows from Rome, but nothing more. "He doesn't like me now, which means there's no reason for him to wait for me to become an adult." 

"I wasn't saying he was a creep-" 

"Well people who wait for kids to become adults so they can do whatever it is you reckon Jerome wants to do with me are people who are just creeps that wait for minors to reach adulthood so they're not arrested, AKA way too many guys in this city," Wayne countered, suddenly not sure how well he and Rome were going to get along after all. "and like I said-- Jerome is keeping boundaries between us because of ethics, not the fear of being thrown in jail for something he doesn't feel in the first place," He gave a slight glare to Rome. "so I'd appreciate it if you didn't suggest otherwise." 

Rome raised his hands in defense, giving an assuring smile. "I was just joking, yeah?" Wayne stared at him skeptically. "I'm sorry, it was a bad joke-" 

"Well it really didn't sound like you were joking-" 

"I won't bring it up again, all right?" Rome added with an apologetic grin. "I promise." 

Wayne eyed Rome broodingly. "Thank you." 

"You're welcome," Rome briefly pondered. "and, ya' know... if you and Jerome end up having something later on when you've both been adults for a while and something just so happens to spark, then-" 

"That would be another thing entirely." Wayne knowingly agreed with a nod, although he couldn't help but wonder if Rome meant what he was saying or was just offering what he figured Wayne wanted to hear. 

Rome nodded, playing with his food for a few awkward seconds as well before the right corner of his lip curled upwards and he said, "Or, ya' know... maybe you and I will end up having something when we're older." 

"In case things with Jerome don't work out?" 

Rome shrugged. "Who knows, maybe you, me, Jerome, and Mayne could all grow up to be a happy little family." 

Wayne almost spat out his water as he coughed in distaste, "Mayne?" 

"You should warm up to him," Rome chuckled, Wayne scrunching his nose. "he's pretty fond of you, ya' know." 

Wayne scoffed in disbelief. "He is?" 

"Very," Rome confirmed with a mischievous look. "I mean, I like you, but Mayne- well he... let's just say Mayne idolizes you almost as much as he does Jerome." 

Wayne's brow quirked. "What?" 

"We both find you pretty cute is all." 

"Cute?" 

"It's a compliment." 

"I'm not cute-" 

"My mistake," Rome apologized with a cheeky grin. "you're very macho." 

"Oh haha." Wayne grumbled with an eye roll, catching the sarcasm laced in Rome's words. 

Rome chuckled, taking a bite of the pasta, deciding to casually change the subject. "You and that Tommy kid have a history or something?" 

Wayne's expression fell at the mention of Tommy. "Yeah, kinda'." 

Rome didn't take the short answer as a hint to not pry, instead persisting, "Oh?" 

"Mhm." Wayne confirmed, wanting to keep his lips shut about the whole Tommy incident at the Valentine's dance. 

"You two date, or..?" 

Wayne let out a deep breath. "Long story short? We were friends up until lat school year where we drifted, he became an ass when my parents died and bullied me, we sort of made up and briefly went on a date for the school dance, his friends showed up and he started acting like a jerk again, so now-" 

"Now he's trying to apologize and you hate him?" 

Wayne hesitated. "Hate is a strong word, I just-" He couldn't meet Rome's eyes. "I don't know where he and I stand for the time being." As much as Wayne liked Rome, this guy sure liked diving into personal things a little too fast. 

"Sounds like a real jackass." 

"Yeah, he can be." Wayne scooted his plate away from him. "What about you?" He questioned, wanting to have a lighter conversation. 

Rome's head cocked. "What about me?" 

"You know a lot about me already, but I don't know much about you." 

"Well what do ya' wanna' know?" 

Wayne briefly pondered. "What got you into following Jerome?" 

The corners of Rome's lips tugged upwards. "Honestly?" Wayne gave a nod. "I didn't really get an interest in him until I saw the video feed of him at the charity event." 

Wayne wanted to scoff, but kept from doing so. "The one where he held me hostage?" 

Rome gave a slight snicker. "Admittedly," He pushed his tray to the side as well, giving Wayne a smirk. "must of been pretty thrilling, huh?" 

"It was honestly pretty terrifying, if that's what you mean." 

"Apparently not that terrifying." 

Wayne's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

Rome gave a quirk of the shoulders. "Just saying it couldn't of been THAT bad considering you and Jerome are practically inseparable nearly twenty-four seven." 

"We're not hanging out now," Wayne defended, earning an amused look. "and in all truth it was an extremely unpleasant experience to have Jerome holding a knife up to my throat." 

"All right, sure-- you and Jerome may not be around each other right now, but what about when school's out?" Rome countered, Wayne's lips pursing. "I mean, you eat together, sleep in the same room, go everywhere together..." Rome eyed Wayne intrigued. "I bet the only other time you two aren't in the same room is when one of you are taking a shower or something-" Rome took a sip of his soda. "-but I could be wrong about the shower part." 

"We don't take showers together, Rome." Wayne said in an unamused tone. 

"It was a joke-" 

"It wasn't funny." 

"Fine, I'll be serious," Rome laughed, Wayne's jaw clenching. "you follow Jerome around like a duckling, okay? There-- serious." 

"We're just close." Wayne defended, earning a grin. "What are you smiling about-" 

"It's just funny how you've found someone that you can do shit like that with," Rome admitted, earning an uncertain stare. "most people would get bored or annoyed having a person follow them around everywhere-" 

"So I'm annoying now?" 

"I didn't say that," Rome denied, the right corner of his lip raising. "I was just saying it's interesting how Jerome likes having you around so much." 

Wayne wasn't sure how to take that. "Thanks..?" Had Rome meant that as a compliment, insult, or just a comment? 

Rome glanced around, as though someone may be listening to them before leaning forward on the table and musing, "As much as I like Jerome, I've gotta' say... I'm a little jealous he's got you all to hisself." 

Oh? 

"I- um-" Wayne felt his cheeks heat up a little, having to clear his throat. "He doesn't- I mean- I wouldn't-" He gave an exhale, daringly meeting Rome's gaze. "I wouldn't mind letting you have a little of me to yourself, too." Wayne shut his eyes embarrassed. "I mean- time-- I wouldn't mind letting you have a little of my time to yourself- I didn't mean-" 

Rome snickered, reaching out to brush back a sticking out strand of black hair behind Wayne's ear, earning a rather shy stare. "Oh? I can have a little of you, huh?" He gave a smirk, eyes scanning over Wayne. "I should get you flustered up more if it makes you say stuff like that." 

"I didn't mean-" Wayne started to defend embarrassedly. 

"Hey, come on, I said I liked it," Rome waved off, bringing his hand back. "no need to correct yourself." 

Conversing with Rome consisted of regret, aggravation, dark jokes, and being charmed... it was almost like Wayne was talking to Jerome, even if Jerome was more jokingly flirtatious and Rome was a bit more seriously suggestive. 

The bell rang, signaling the pair to go to their next class. 

Wayne wasn't sure if he'd been saved from an awkward conversation by the bell, or if his interest in hearing what the bold charmer would say next was stronger than the uncomfortable aura around them. 

Apparently, Rome had somehow managed to get Jerome's number, and while he was at first admittedly rather pissed off, he nearly forgot about the fact that Rome had probably gone through Wayne's or one of the other kiddo's phones to find said number, and that little detail almost managed to escape his mind whence receiving a text from Mayne that asked if Jerome would like to meet up and get some ice cream or something later. 

Ice cream... 

Cliché much? Amusing, nonetheless, but cliché. 

Jerome agreed to the supposed date, unsure as to whether or not Mayne meant to qualify hanging out as anything more than hanging out, and he was waiting for Harley to show up with his (finally) finished disguise, when a knock was heard at the door. 

Needless to say Jerome was quite taken aback at the sight of Tommy rather than Harley, particularly when noticing the arm cast. 

"What-" Jerome started with a scoff, debating on shutting the door in the other's face. 

"Do you know who Rome is?" Tommy interjected, earning narrowed eyes. "I'm guessing you wouldn't want him hanging around Wayne, right?" 

Jerome hesitated, glancing around behind him to make sure Alfred wasn't eves dropping before stepping outside and quietly shutting the door. "How do you know Rome?" Was Tommy in cahoots with the copycat or something? 

"He transferred to our school," Tommy answered, hoping the painkillers for his arm wouldn't wear off anytime soon. "and he just so happens to be taking all the classes Wayne is." 

... What? 

Jerome stared at Tommy for a few lengthy seconds. "If this is a joke-" 

"It's not." Tommy assured, earning a skeptical look. "Listen, he fractured my arm, okay? I'm not pulling your leg-" 

"What did you do to make him break your-" 

"I didn't do anything!" Tommy defended, adjusting his cast. "Wayne and I were partners in chemistry, Rome came in and started... I'm pretty sure he was flirting with Wayne, I don't know-" 

"What do you mean you're 'pretty sure'?" 

"It was weird, okay?! I couldn't tell if he was coming onto him or just being possessive-" 

"Possessive?" Jerome interrogated uneasily, smile uncertain. 

"Yeah, Wayne went on to class after chemistry and Rome- he- he cornered me in the bathroom and said to back off-" 

"He told you to- well what were you doing?!" Jerome laughed unsurely. 

"I wasn't doing anything!" Tommy snapped, glaring at the other, sighing as Jerome eyed him in disbelief. "I was trying to apologize to Wayne, but that was before Rome showed up," Tommy tried to explain. "for all he knew, Wayne and I were acquaintances, and I guess he decided I was a little too friendly with Wayne or something, and-" Tommy averted his gaze. "-and he cornered me in the bathroom before telling me he didn't like people playing with his things or whatever-" 

"Well why the hell did you leave Wayne there with him?!" 

"He fractured my arm!" Tommy reminded, wondering if coming to 'Jerry' about this was a good idea. "I had to go to the hospital-" 

"Well it's not like he broke it-" 

"It still hurt, asshole!" 

This was just perfect. Flipping wonderful. Jerome TOTALLY wanted his day to be ruined like this. 

Jerome's eyes rolled, hand running through his hair as he briefly paced around, contemplating on what to do before coming to a stop. "Why are you telling me this?" 

"So Wayne doesn't get- I don't know... kidnapped or something!" 

"Since when do you like-" 

"It's complicated!" Tommy huffed, Jerome crossing his arms. "Wayne and I- we- we used to be friends when we were little, all right? I know I did shitty things to him, but I'm trying to make that better, and I don't- even if I still hated him like I did at the beginning of the school year, that doesn't mean I'd want him to be kidnapped or whatever-- I'm not that much of a jerk." 

"Kidnapped?" Jerome questioned in a tone that made Tommy feel like he was the one being accused of treating Wayne as a toy. 

"I didn't mean literally kidnapped, I just- this Rome guy definitely isn't all talk, you know?" Tommy elaborated, gesturing towards his broken arm. "I'm just a little worried about what he could do to Wayne-" 

"I get it." Jerome scoffed, eyes rolling as he took out his phone to check the time. "School should be getting out in a little bit." He informed, tucking the phone back into his pocket before walking off, halting as Tommy followed and glancing over his shoulder with an impatient smirk. "Is your house this way?" 

"I'm coming with you." 

Jerome turned to face the other. "No, you're not-- I don't need two jackasses to deal with." 

"Why am I a jackass?" Tommy asked defensively. "I'm the one that told you about Rome in the first place-" 

"You're also the kid that threatened to beat Wayne up with a bat last Halloween and outed him as interested in guys in front of your whole shitty school." 

Tommy parted his lips before shutting them, staring at Jerome broodingly before his demeanor seemed to change quite suddenly, straightening up and shrugging. "I'm not the only one that's done shitty things to Wayne." 

Jerome hesitated, briefly attempting to figure out what Tommy was hinting at before snickering in an unsure laugh, "What?" 

"You've done some pretty questionable stuff, too." 

"Oh, have I now?" Jerome stepped forward, Tommy resisting the urge to shuffle back. "Like what? Almost beating you up in front of him?" 

Tommy didn't back down. "I know that you're a hypocrite if you REALLY believe I can't make up for the crap I did." 

Jerome looked Tommy over, trying to figure out what the other was seemingly hiding. "One good deed doesn't make a right if that's what you're-" 

"I guess you've had to do a lot of good deeds to make up for your shit then, huh?" 

Jerome resisted the urge to strangle the little prick as he gave a bitter smirk and said, "Okay, what the hell are you-" 

"I'm just saying you've done pretty bad stuff, too." Tommy nonchalantly interjected. 

... Was Tommy referring to how Jerome could be a little possessive with his friends? 

In any case, Jerome was getting bored. "Yeah? Like wha-" 

"Like taking Wayne hostage on live T.V." Tommy stated knowingly, Jerome briefly going wide eyed and his smile almost falling. 

So Tommy had finally figured out who he was... 

Crap. 

"How long-" Jerome started with a wary grin. 

"I had figured you were just one of those crazy copycats or something when we first met, and Halloween you were wearing too much of a disguise in a dark place for me to recognize you, but now that I've got a better look at you-" 

Jerome stepped forward, Tommy's eyes going wide as the other gripped his good arm. "I sure would hate to accidentally snap this other one in half-" 

"Injure me and I'll tell the police about your whereabouts." 

"Maybe I should just kill you-" 

"By all means, make Wayne hate you." Tommy challenged as bravely as he could, earning narrowed eyes and adding, "Wayne may not like me, but that doesn't mean he'd approve of you murdering me." 

"I'd just have to make sure he wouldn't find out." 

"You wouldn't risk that," Tommy said knowingly, or at least hopefully if not certainly. "if Wayne found out you'd relapsed and hadn't really turned over a new leaf, he'd lose quite a bit of trust," Tommy continued, Jerome's jaw clenching despite his smile. "wouldn't he?" Jerome's lips parted to spit out a snide remark, Tommy interjecting, "I would hate to be the thing that tore you two apart." 

"Ya' know, I've been doing real well with this whole 'normal no killing' thing, but you're managing to make me consider having an exception." Jerome warned, Tommy swallowing thickly. 

"I'm not the one you should want to murder," Tommy reminded perhaps a bit desperately before saying, "Rome's the one keeping Wayne around his finger, not me," Tommy wasn't sure whether or not the way Jerome was obviously contemplating on SOMETHING was good or bad. "if you just get Rome to back off and leave me alone, then you won't have to worry about me doing something like calling the police-" 

"You're blackmailing me." Jerome scoffed in disbelief. 

"I wouldn't call making sure you don't murder me and suggesting you save your favorite buddy blackmailing considering I'm assuming you'd want to save him." 

"Maybe I should just kill you and Rome-- four birds and one stone." 

For the love of- Tommy wondered if he should've even come here... "Wait, four birds? So you kill me, murder Rome, save Wayne, and..?" 

"Just being able to stab someone again would be fun alone." Jerome answered with a shrug and grin, it being unclear whether or not he was joking. 

"You'd really be willing to risk Wayne finding out if you murdered us just to have your version of fun?" 

"I'm pondering on it." 

"Well while you're pondering Wayne's fawning over Rome, so I suggest you ponder on the pros and cons of going back to being a serial killer later since I got my arm fractured the first time I was alone with that copycat creep, and I doubt much good will come of him being alone with Wayne." 

Jerome nearly frowned, taking out his phone to check the time once more and cussing under his breath whence seeing school was almost out, giving Tommy a brooding look before letting out a long exhale and strained laugh. "Fine, but if you're going to tag along then keep up and don't expect me to look out for your ass, too, just because you have an injured arm," Jerome paused, stepping forward with an all to sharp smirk as he gripped Tommy's shirt, leaning down slightly to add, "and if I find out you don't have Wayne's best interests in mind here, then you're going to be wearing more than one cast, got it?" Tommy swallowed dryly giving a quick nod, Jerome giving a wide grin and smoothing out his shirt. "Good." 

Tommy wondered how good of an idea it had been to come to Jerome- the serial killer that didn't like him one bit- as the pair walked off, Jerome striding in a carefree fashion and Tommy following warily. 

Wayne, meanwhile, was passing a note back and forth with Rome, said note mostly just being jokes and flirts from the copycat, Wayne offering amused comments in return along with a flirt here and there as well while keeping up the small talk. 

Said note passing came to a halt when Wayne- who was smirking down at what Rome wrote about where they could hang out tomorrow- heard a cleared throat, the raven haired teen tensing and hesitantly looking up at the disapproving teacher with crossed arms. 

Great. 

"Are those notes you're taking?" The teacher questioned knowingly as he began to tap his ruler back and forth in his hand menacingly. 

Wayne paused. "Technically, yes." It was notes, after all-- just not class notes. 

The teacher gave a tight smile. "Are they notes about the subject at hand?" 

Wayne knew all eyes were on him, and absolutely hated it. "Yes..." 

"Then by all means, please feel free to summarize what we're learning about." 

Dangit. 

Wayne parted his lips before shutting them, averting his gaze and rubbing his upper arm, giving a meek shrug, yet before the teacher could take the piece of paper he and Rome had been writing on the copycat mused, "You're a real hard-ass, huh?" 

Wayne felt his eyes widen, looking behind him to give Rome a look, head shaking in warning. 

"Excuse me?" The teacher scoffed, because there was no way a student at the classiest academy in Gotham really just- 

"What's wrong? Got wax in your ear?" Rome challenged nonchalantly, smirking while adding, "Need me to repeat myself?" 

"Rome-" Wayne objected through clenched teeth. 

"Listen here, young man," The teacher snapped, straightening up menacingly. "you may be new around here, but that doesn't mean I'll go any easier on you your first day than I will the other students-" 

"Ooh, spooky!" Rome laughed amusedly, lounging back in his seat. "No offense, Teach, but you're not exactly the most frightening-" 

"Get up." The teacher instructed, walking over towards the supplies cabinet and unlocking it as Wayne mouthed at Rome to stop, poor Wayne jumping as the teacher slammed the cabinet door shut and stated, "I said get up.", while walking over towards a bored Rome. 

"I'm good where I'm at." Rome waved off casually, Wayne staring at him in disbelief. 

The teacher slammed a paddle on Rome's desk table, managing to make the copycat jump that time. "Up, now!" 

"Mr.-" Wayne started, shrinking into himself as the teacher slammed the paddle on his desk as well. 

"I'm not talking to you, Wayne, I'm talking to the transfer-" The teacher informed impatiently, lips pursing as the bell rang, looking towards the rest of the wide eyed class while sighing, "Everyone but Rome and Wayne are dismissed.", as Rome quickly gestured towards the door with a nod, he and Wayne managing to get halfway towards the exit with the teacher distracted dismissing the others. "I said everyone but you two!" 

So close, yet so far. 

Rome's eyes rolled, Wayne's shoulders slumping as Rome sarcastically quipped, "I could've sworn you said everyone but Dwayne and Drone." 

"You already have twenty paddles coming your way, and I highly suggest you don't tempt me to raise that number." 

Wayne sighed, turning to face his teacher. "We are genuinely so sorry, sir-- I assure you that Rome really isn't trying to-" 

"We're leaving." Rome stated, gripping Wayne's upper arm forcing the other to follow. 

"What? No, Rome wait a second-" Wayne objected, REALLY trying to get them out of the hot water Rome had gone and gotten them into. 

"You'd better wait right there young man-" The teacher threatened, gripping the paddle as he stormed towards them. 

"Didn't school corporal punishment or whatever it's called become banned in the eighties or nineties or something?" Rome hummed, easily dragging away the reluctant Wayne trying to get out of his grasp so he could fix the shit Rome had gotten them into. 

"Forty paddles!" The teacher decided, practically fuming as the pair reached the exit, reaching out to grab Wayne and clenching his jaw as Rome opened the door and shoved Wayne outside. 

"What are you doing?!" Wayne huffed as Rome didn't let him back in, blocking his way. 

"I don't exactly feel like playing tug of war with ya'." Rome answered with a shrug, letting the rest uncomfortable students walk by him and out the door as he said, "I'll meet you at the front of the school." 

"But-" 

"Shoo." Rome snickered, Wayne giving him a distressed look that almost made the copycat feel bad-- almost. 

Before Wayne could try and get back inside, the last of the students came out, and Rome shut the door. 

"How dare you-" The teacher began, raising his paddle to tap Rome's chest menacingly, blinking as the student grabbed the paddle with ease and raised his leg, snapping it over his knee. 

"Okay, Teach," Rome hummed, taking a step forward, the teacher instinctively backing up as the copycat gave a grin. "let's talk." 

If Wayne had felt like he'd been looked at weird before when he was the kiddo at school who had a traumatic experience happen in an alleyway, then you can imagine how he was looked at when he was outed as bi as well, which means you can imagine just how he was looked at when news got around about how his only school friend was officially the most rebellious kid the school had ever seen. 

Wayne was the traumatized, bisexual, best friend of a rebel, and he was such in a school that prided themselves on being ordinary in a place like Gotham while simultaneously being one of the least progressive places in the universe and having strong traditional beliefs about children being seen rather than heard. 

It wasn't particularly somewhere Wayne could fit in. 

While a quite awkward and uncomfortable Wayne attempted to ignore the whispers and stares sent his way as he waited for Rome to hurry up and meet him, Jerome and Tommy argued about the fastest way to get to Wayne's school. 

"I've lived here longer-" Tommy insisted. 

"I've lived on the streets here longer." Jerome countered. 

"Well I go to school every day, so I know how to get there!" Tommy huffed, trying to keep up with Jerome as his arm throbbed. 

"I walk Wayne to school every day." Jerome retorted, pausing before adding, "Well, every day he decides to not ditch." 

"Going through the park would get us there five minutes faster!" 

"Well going down the alleyways will get us there fifteen minutes faster." 

Tommy pursed his lips. "School's already out, Jerome-- we don't have time to argue about this!" 

"Which is exactly why we're going my way, since my way's faster." 

"No it's not-" Tommy argued in aggravation. 

"Yes, it is." 

"No-" 

"Yes." 

"It isn't-" 

"It is." 

"Jerome-" Tommy sighed irked. 

"Ya' know what? How about I go my way and you go your's?" Jerome offered, already regretting to allow this nuisance to tag along. 

"What? No! My arm's fractured, we're in Gotham, and I'm wearing expensive clothes-- I'll get mugged alone." 

"Sure would suck if someone robbed this rich jackass over here and killed him!" Jerome sarcastically said in a raised voice, Tommy frantically hushing him, Jerome giving a snicker. "Look, I'm going my way, so you can either come with me and be an annoying prick, or be nice and go your way where you get murdered if I'm lucky." 

"Gee, thanks," Tommy grumbled with a glare. "fine though-- I'll stay with you." 

"Joy." 

"Are you ever not a sarcastic asshole?" Tommy accused annoyed. 

"Rarely. Are you ever not a whiny, cowardly, prick?" 

Tommy's lips pursed. "I sure would hate to accidentally tip off the GCPD about your whereabouts-" 

"I sure would hate to accidentally slit your throat, kid." Jerome interjected with a cheeky smile, turning to go down an alleyway shortcut and pausing as Tommy came to a halt, Jerome giving an amused grin. "Aw, what's wrong? Scared?" 

"I'd assume accompanying a maniac like you down a barren alleyway would scare anyone." Tommy defended warily. 

"You'd assume correct," Jerome admitted cheekily. "there's really only one person that shouldn't be." He pondered, remembering Selina. "Well, maybe two." 

Tommy arched a brow. "Wayne and..?" 

"Not telling. Now you coming or not?" Jerome chuckled, and man oh man... he had to admit he really missed the cautious gazes- like the one Tommy was giving him- that people used to give to Jerome when he'd pull out a knife and point it towards them... good times, good times. 

Tommy let out a begrudging sigh and walked forward, following Jerome down the alleyways. 

Rome finished washing the blood off his knuckles, not being worried in the least about the teacher telling anyone about the beating that said teacher had gotten rather than the intended student for... a number of menacing reasons, and frankly Rome didn't feel bad about giving the teacher a taste of his own medicine. 

As Rome cracked his neck from side to side he splashed some water on his face, confident that no one would even see the injuries on the jackass that had planned to give HIS Wayne forty paddles considering said injuries were areas that the teacher would have covered with a shirt and pants, such as his ribcage and calf. 

Rome waved the water of his hands before running his fingers though his hair, and he couldn't help but wonder if maybe he should just keep Wayne at his side at all times to make sure his poor little friend didn't go and get hurt... then again, keeping the kiddo to himself would probably piss off Jerome, so Rome could definitely share. 

It wasn't like Rome minded looking out for Wayne-- it was kinda' cute the kid was so defenseless... pretty vulnerable, really. Rome didn't mind that at all. 

Rome took out some weed from his pocket, glancing around nonchalantly and leaning over to make sure no one was in the stalls before lighting it and taking one long, relaxing, deep drag, holding it in until giving an exhale and stretching, tossing it in the trash as he gave a smirk. 

Before leaving to go meet up with Wayne, Rome checked his texts, reading a message from Mayne and giving a grin at what he read, sliding the phone back in his pocket and giving a roll of the shoulder blades. 

Rome was finally having some fun. 

Wayne had already overheard a group of girls whispering speculations about Wayne and Rome's relationship. Peachy, just peachy. 

"Someone's wearing a sour face." Rome mused, Wayne jumping somewhat, earning a chuckle. "You okay?" 

"I didn't see you there," Wayne muttered, not admitting he was too busy trying to just ignore and block out his embarrassment from the rumors he was sure the staring students were starting. "I'm fine." 

Rome raised a brow at the uncomfortable body language, smirking intrigued. "You sure you're all right?" 

"If by 'all right' you mean am I incredibly uncomfortable with how you drew attention towards the two of us considering everyone in this damn school has the idea I have to be fawning over every guy I simply talk to, then yes-- I'm 'all right' and not at all bothered by the fact I don't even want to begin to imagine how they view us with the way you got rather overly protective in the classroom." 

Rome blinked, glancing around and noticing a few stares here and there, a grin coming to his lips. "Ooh, so rumor has it you and I are dating or something now?" 

"Please keep your voice down-- I'd really rather not fuel those kind of rumors considering this really isn't a very progressive or friendly school when it comes to stuff like this." 

"What's the worst that could happen? We get stuffed into some lockers by overly masculine jocks who have to keep up their 'no-homo' appearances?" Rome joked with a chuckle. 

"Or beat up and sent to the hospital." Wayne warned, putting away his school supplies in his bag. 

"Aw, if I didn't know better I'd say you didn't like me." Rome mused with a smirk. 

Wayne didn't find this amusing-- it was dangerous to be anything out of the norm here. "I already told you I was interested in you," Wayne informed coldly, keeping his voice quiet as he stood, tucking his backpack under his arm. "now let's hurry up and get out of here before-" Wayne blinked, going stiff as Rome stepped forward, putting one arm on the column Wayne had been sitting against and more or less trapping the smaller one between him and said column, faces dangerously close. 

"Let's piss off some jackasses." Rome offered with a smirk, Wayne catching the several glances given their way. 

"You're going. to get us. beat. up." Wayne warned through clenched teeth. 

"Aw come on, don't ya' wanna' have a bit of fun?" Rome chuckled, Wayne feeling his gut sink at the sight of at least seven guys giving rather menacing glares. "What's life without a little bit of danger, ami'right?" 

"Oh, I don't know, Rome-- longer?!" Wayne snapped, trying to usher the other away from him. "I already get enough enough shit just for being accused of liking Tommy, so I'd really rather not get anymore just because you want to have a little bit of a 'thrill' or whatever you want to call it-" 

"I may want to kiss you, too," Rome admitted amused, Wayne halting and staring at him taken aback. "so..." He leaned forward, pressing his lips against Wayne's ear and muttering, "how about you let me give you a smooch and then we'll see what pricks get pissed off," Rome noted a few select students who were practically seething as he lowered his hand down to Wayne's waist, tugging the other closer. "and whoever tries to throw a hissy fit or lay a hand on you-" He lowered his lips away from Wayne's ear and closer to the other's neck, but didn't let his lips touch the skin, meeting one of the seething students eyes challengingly. "-I'll take care of." 

Wow Rome was really close, and geez Rome was pretty good at imitating Jerome's voice, and- wait... 

"How exactly would you 'take care of' anyone that's probably getting pissed off right now?" Wayne questioned skeptically, wondering just how much Rome was like Jerome. 

Had Rome... ever killed anyone before? 

Before Rome could answer, he got yanked back by a guy who highly disapproved of what he saw. 

Wayne's eyes widened, not wanting Rome to get beat up, and- 

Wait, no-- Rome hadn't gotten pulled back by a student, Rome had gotten pulled back by- 

Jerome grabbed Wayne's upper arm, giving a not so nice smile to Rome before returning his attention to Wayne and saying, "I'll walk you home," He gave a bitter smirk to Rome, giving a subtly sarcastic, "thanks for keeping him company, see ya' around." 

"What-" Wayne started at the quick goodbye Jerome had just given Rome, honestly just trying to regain himself after Rome's behavior towards the teacher, the freshly made rumors circulating around the school, a copycat nearly kissing him, Jerome showing up out of nowhere and actually on school grounds rather than awaiting outside the fence to keep a low profile, and none other than Tommy- who had a fractured arm somehow- being there with Jerome. 

Rome's smile faltered at Jerome's interruption, and it faltered even more so at the sight of Tommy glaring at him cautiously, but he quickly put said smile back on. "No problem, J!" He chuckled, deciding to not shout the name of the maniac feared throughout Gotham, not wanting to draw more attention to the jokester trying to lie low than he already had. "And see ya' tomorrow, Wayne!" 

Jerome had risked coming into school grounds and being recognized rather than remaining near the remote tree outside the school gates like he typically did, he'd been worrying about Wayne- who hadn't answer his texts thanks to Wayne being too bothered with freaking out internally about the new rumors going around- the whole way there, and he'd had to listen to Tommy bitch and moan about how his shortcut was better while additionally threatening to tell the GCPD about Jerome several times. 

Needless to say, Jerome was pissed, and he found it difficult to not shout back something sarcastically to Rome-- the guy that had started today's little mess. 

Jerome let Wayne go when the boy told him to, but continued ushering him away while ignoring his questions until they left the schools gates. 

"Jerome-" Wayne huffed in annoyance, stepping away as the other finally stopped hustling him. 

"You have a terrible taste in crushes." Jerome informed, not even giving Wayne time to reply before Jerome sighed, "Ya' know what? Tommy wouldn't stop his babbling the whole way here, so maybe him explaining things will finally get him tired enough to shut the hell up afterwards." Jerome was strained from freaking out about Wayne (as usual), and to put it frankly he just wanted a few seconds to cool down. 

"Thanks." Tommy grumbled sarcastically, yet began to explain nonetheless when earning a confused look from Wayne. 

Tommy finished explaining what had happened between him and Rome after the trio got back to Wayne's manor. 

Wayne stared at Tommy for a long, long while, glancing down at the cast on the other's arm before returning his gaze to the blond's, Wayne sitting there quietly for a few lengthy seconds until turning his attention towards his backpack and unloading his homework while revealing, "Rome and I are meeting up tomorrow." 

Tommy's expression fell, Jerome's eyes rolling, because of course this little shite had to be a stubborn jackass. 

"What?" Tommy questioned in disbelief. "Wayne, he fractured my arm, and frankly the way he talked about you wasn't exactly savory." 

"Good to know." Wayne replied stiffly, making it clear he wasn't about to discuss this with Tommy. 

So, Jerome felt his forced smile getting sore as he sighed and piped in, "Why exactly are you still planning on hanging out with Rome tomorrow?" 

"Because Tommy's a liar." Wayne answered, scooting everything other than a sheet of paper and pencil away. 

"What?" Tommy scoffed in disbelief. "Why would I lie about-" 

"You've done enough shit to make me distrust you, Tommy, and Rome hasn't done anything to make me deem him as untrustworthy." Wayne interjected, starting on the questions. 

"Oh, yeah, right-- other than idolizing a serial killer and trying to kiss you with a bunch of guys itching to beat people like us up watching." Tommy countered, Wayne refusing to look his way and keeping his eyes on the paper. 

"Idolizing my best-friend," Wayne corrected at that. "and at least he didn't lock me in a classroom and keep trying to kiss me after I said no." 

"Wait, what?" Jerome interrogated, because yeah, sure-- Wayne had told him about the Valentine's Dance, but he hadn't told him EVERYTHING. 

"Nothing-" Tommy tried to quickly dismiss. 

"Ya' know what? Get out, Tommy-- I'm talking to Wayne alone." Jerome laughed, hints of venom laced in his tone at that little new piece of information. 

"But-" Tommy protested, hands going up defensively. 

"Out. Now." Jerome warned with a bitter smirk, eyes rolling as Tommy hesitated. "Do I need to break your other arm, or-" 

"No, no," Tommy exhaled in defeat, standing at that. "I'm leaving-" 

Jerome gave a cheeky smile. "Good," Said smile fell to a menacing glare along with a smirk in a blink. "but this doesn't mean you're off the hook for whatever Wayne's talking about." 

Dangit. 

Jerome waited for Tommy to leave before returning his gaze to Wayne. "You're not going on a date with Rome." 

"Yes I am, you're not my guardian," Wayne informed with a shrug, continuing on his homework. "besides, it's not a date." 

Jerome crossed his arms. "I've saved your ass enough times to be your guardian, and I'm not about to have to save it again just because you want to go have a little get together with someone like Jester." 

"Rome isn't Jester." 

"He's from the same group-" 

"Yeah, the group that idolizes you," Wayne reminded while glancing up at Jerome. "by all means, just let me know if I'm not allowed to hang out with you, either." 

Sarcastic little- 

"You looked uncomfortable with that jackass trying to kiss you today," Jerome brought up, Wayne's lips pursing as he returned to his homework. "do you REALLY want to risk being alone with that guy? At least at the school you had people around-" 

"I was uncomfortable because those assholes were around," Wayne swallowed dryly, gripping his pencil harder. "not because he was about to..." Wayne trailed off. 

"You barely know this guy-" 

"Well you barely know Mayne and it's obvious you're interested in him." 

"Wayne-" Jerome sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and giving an exasperated laugh. 

"I'm trying to do my homework." Wayne grumbled at that. 

"What if Tommy's telling the truth?" Jerome persisted nonetheless. "What if Rome really did go and fracture his arm? Do you wanna' risk going out with a guy possessive over you-" 

"Well I'm friends with you, aren't I?" 

Jerome's eyebrows quirked, Wayne chewing on his lower lip as he paused his writing. "What's that supposed to mean?" It was clear Wayne regretted saying that. "Hey," Jerome muttered, walking over towards Wayne as the other continued his writing. "what's that supposed to mean?" Jerome repeated, placing a hand on Wayne's homework and sliding it away, just causing the smaller teen to look away. "Wayne-" 

"You're not exactly the opposite of possessive is all." Wayne murmured, arms crossing as he gave a shrug and continued looking away. 

"Protective," Jerome corrected, Wayne hesitantly glancing at him. "we've talked about this before-- you're my friend, not my-" He cleared his throat. "-possession or whatever." Sure, Jerome was still possessive at times, but he'd gotten better... A LOT better. "Rome isn't your friend-- if he's talking about you the way Tommy says he's talking about you, then he's not your friend." The right corner of Jerome's lip curled upwards apologetically as he gave a shrug. 

"Well I don't trust Tommy-" Wayne grumbled, although he sounded less defensive that time. 

"Neither do I," Jerome assured, Wayne hesitantly staring up at him. "but that doesn't mean he's lying, and not trusting Tommy doesn't make Rome trustworthy." 

Wayne looked away again, rubbing his upper arm. "It could mean that." 

Jerome sat on the table, nudging Wayne and earning a hesitant look. "I'm being serious for once, okay? Don't go out with Rome-- it's better to be safe than sorry." Wayne's shoulders slumped. "I don't want to risk you getting into something bad with this this guy-- whatever he wants between you two doesn't exactly sound safe, ya' know." 

"Will you drop things with Mayne?" Wayne challenged, Jerome's eyebrows arching. "He and Rome are good friends, so-" 

"Yeah, but-" 

"'But'?" Wayne scoffed, Jerome's lips parting. "No, you know what? I'm going to meet up with Rome tomorrow." 

"Wayne-" 

"We'll meet in a public place, and I'll be home before dark." Wayne decided, Jerome opening his mouth to argue. "End of discussion." 

Jerome gave a tight smile. "Fine." He needed to cool off some more he decided as he hopped off the table, walking towards the door as he wondered how it was possible for someone to be so dang stubborn about their own wellbeing- 

Dangit. 

Wayne gave a frustrated exhale. 

Dangit... 

"I miss hanging out like we used to, okay?" Wayne sighed Jerome halting at that. "You act different now-- you sleep in another bed, you act cautious whenever you lay a hand on me, and you're a lot more reserved about things you say." Jerome turned to look at the cross armed Wayne with an averted gaze. "It was nice sharing a bed-- it felt easier to talk to each other when we laid next to each other, and you never throw an arm around my shoulders when you try to cheer me up like you used to, and you don't say what's on your mind- like flirtatious jokes that you don't even mean- nearly as much anymore, because you don't want to encourage me being attracted to you or whatever, but-" Wayne swallowed thickly. "-but I miss you doing that stuff, and I get you're making sure you don't lead me on, and I don't blame you for that, I just-" Wayne felt silly, but Jerome hadn't interrupted him yet, so he kept going a bit impulsively, as most do when holding something in for much to long to where it gets a bit too hard to bring it back in once beginning to let it out. "-I just miss the things you used to do, and... Rome- some of the things Rome does-" Wayne let out a long breath. "-some of the things he does kind every once in a while kind of reminds me of you, and I- I like that because I miss it a lot, and he likes acting like you in certain aspects, so-" 

"So you reckon it's okay to encourage Rome to act out how he believes I act?" Jerome interjected, Wayne going quiet. "Okay, sure-- that's fair," Jerome walked forward, hands in pockets. "but ya' know what's, Wayne? While he may get some of the shit I do right, it's more than obvious his views on how I look at you are pretty skewered," Wayne didn't say anything. "he's going off of how I took you hostage on stage more than anything-- you know that, and you know that means he's looking at you like you're just a little entertaining toy he believes I liked to flash and show off to the world for fun, and he figures that's how I look at you now." Jerome leaned forward on the table, waiting for Wayne to hesitantly look at him to add, "he's going off of a time that I looked at you like a rater boost for the T.V. more than anything, and as far as he's concerned you're some little bird I got interested in and decided to keep caged up for fun instead of killing you." 

"You don't know that-" Wayne argued. 

"Do you want to take a chance and see whether or not I'm right though?" Jerome retorted, Wayne looking away again. "Wayne, come on-- the reason I'm saying this crap is because you KNOW I give a shit about you," A pause. "and if there's one thing Rome and I don't have in common, it's that." Wayne clenched his jaw. "He's bored, Wayne-- he's bored, and he's convinced him and I are alike, and he's misunderstood how I view you, so he's going to try and get his entertainment from you the same way he guesses I get mine, and I REALLY don't want either of us to find out what that could mean, all right?" When Wayne didn't reply, Jerome exhaled and leaned forward, letting their foreheads bump, earning a taken aback stare-- Jerome typically refused to get too close to Wayne since he had found out about Wayne's crush on him. "Just... go out with Selina or something," He smirked, adding, and" stop trying to go out with jackasses." Referring to Rome, Tommy, and Silver. 

A pause. 

Then, Wayne gave a soft laugh at that, Jerome giving a grin at the success, Wayne sighing afterwards and leaning forward, burying his face against the crook of Jerome's neck. "I really, REALLY miss sleeping next to you and all that other stuff." He admitted again. 

Jerome blinked, looking down at Wayne for a few seconds before clearing his throat and awkwardly patting the other's back, letting Wayne stay like that for at least a minute before pulling away to compose himself and saying, "So uh- are you still planning on meeting up with Rome, or-" 

"I'll consider what you said." 

Jerome kept from rolling his eyes-- at least it wasn't a straight up 'yes.' 

Nonetheless, it certainly wasn't a 'no'...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:
> 
> Wow guys, I started this story a year and two days ago! :o
> 
> Jerome and Wayne sure have gone far from reluctantly teaming up for Wayne's answers and Jerome's survival, to now sticking together to look out for one another!
> 
> Plus, now there's more Gotham kiddos than just Jerome, Wayne, and Selina, not to mention even Selina's gotten a lot closer to the pair!
> 
> We haven't even gotten to the part where they become Batman and Joker yet, haha...
> 
> To celebrate it being a year old... do you guys have anything you'd like to see happen in the next chapter? Or perhaps when they're Batman and Joker? Feel free to request an idea or a few for the next chapter or a future one :)
> 
> In any case, I have a new really good and v sweet friend working on a wonderful Valeyne story you can check out in the link below, and be sure to give this lovely gal a Tumblr follow, too! Seriously, she's one of the loveliest people I've met in this fandom, and a real delight! :)
> 
> Valeyne Story~ http://archiveofourown.org/works/8130245/chapters/18637361
> 
> Tumblr~ http://abloghasnonamebitch.tumblr.com


	31. Diversion By Endearment

"How do I look?" Jerome hummed, doing a spin around to show off the disguise Harley had made him. 

Wayne looked Jerome up and down, eying over the gel styled golden brown wig, hazel contacts, and a fake scatter of freckles across the bridge of his nose, a nice touch being added with the included faded blue jeans and white t-shirt under a dirt red leather jacket rather than his usual more formal attire, the black reading glasses, fingerless black gloves, and gray sneakers rather than flats being the icing on the cake. 

"Don't answer 'em yet!" Harley objected quickly, placing a bandaid over the healed scar on Jerome's neck. "I'm not done." She took out her makeup, Wayne waiting patiently- and Jerome not so patiently out of anticipation- as she dabbed some makeup to resemble a scar on his jawline. "There!" She gave a grin, putting a fake beauty mark beside his left eye. "All done!" 

Wayne kept himself from answering, 'Handsome.', instead going with, "You look nice." Jerome smirked at that. "I meant- the disguise. The disguise looks nice." Wayne corrected semi flustered, earning a snicker. "Screw off-" 

"Now ya' can go anywhere without havi'n to worry about bei'n found out!" Harley squealed, examining her handiwork. 

"Great, now you can go out on dates with Mayne whenever you want." Wayne grumbled with an eye roll, Harley's expression falling and Jerome giving Wayne a look. 

"Aw, ya' two are fighti'n again?" Harley questioned with a concerned frown. 

Rather than answering, Jerome smoothly retorted, "If you can go on a date with Rome, I don't see why I can't go on one with Mayne." 

"Fair enough." Wayne waved off with a shrug despite his icy tone. 

"Glad to know we see eye to eye." Jerome mused, his tone having just a hint of challenging sarcasm in it. 

"The feeling's mutual." Wayne sounded calm, but he spoke through clenched teeth. 

Jerome forced a smile. "Good." 

Wayne didn't falter. "Good." 

Jerome smiled, although it was a bit sourly. "Peachy." 

Wayne's eyes just barely narrowed. "Splendid." 

"Wonderful." 

"Fantastic." 

"Lovely." 

Wayne was not going to lose this conversation, dangit. "Great." 

"Amazing." Jerome continued just as stubbornly, nonetheless. 

Wayne parted his lips to spit out another word, but Harley interrupted, "Ya' known what? I'm starved! Are ya' guys hungry? I'm sure ya' are-- it's lunchtime! We should all get a bite to eat!" 

Jerome gave Wayne one last smug look before answering, "Sure." 

Wayne crossed his arms. "Fine." 

Jerome paused at that before allowing the right corner of his lips to tug upwards. "Sounds good." 

Wayne pursed his lips. "Can't wait." 

"I'm famished." Jerome added amusedly. 

Harley sighed as the pair continued bickering without admitting it was bickering; she had tried... 

The way Jerome saw it, Rome was a danger-- Mayne wasn't... call it intuition. However, Wayne saw things just the opposite, which meant Wayne didn't like Mayne, so in Jerome's eyes threatening to go on a date with Mayne in attempts to get Wayne to call off things with Rome wasn't dangerous in the least-- in fact, Jerome was just as intrigued about Mayne as Wayne was about Rome, so it was a win win whether Wayne decided to cancel his little date so Jerome would cancel his, or if Wayne decided to pursue said date and let Jerome pursue his. 

Totally rational and not a bitter plan at all, right? 

~*~*~*~ 

"What are you looking at?" Jerome hummed intrigued, brow quirking as Wayne shoved his father's newly discovered printed out calendar under a bunch of homework sheets on his desk. 

"Nothing." Wayne lied with a grumble, staring down at the assignment covering up the calendar and acting as though that's what he'd been studying. 

"Nothing?" Jerome scoffed, walking over towards the tensing Wayne. "Sure didn't look like nothing." 

"I'm just doing some homework." Wayne insisted, hunching over said homework as Jerome looked over his shoulder, trying to cover it up with his upper body somewhat. 

"Looks hard," Jerome mused with a grin. "particularly because it's upside down..." 

Wayne looked like a cat ruffling up defensively as he slammed his arms over the papers sprawled out on his desk before Jerome could manage to swipe them. "Go away, I can't do this with you making a lot of noise-" 

"Can't do what?" Jerome inquired, gripping the back of Wayne's armchair and rolling it backwards, Wayne grabbing handfuls of the paper as he went with it. "Math?" He questioned, holding up the worksheet Wayne had been pretending to look at. 

"Yes," Wayne huffed, standing up while dropping the crumpled papers and stomping back towards his desk. "math-" 

"Trick question, this is English," Jerome snickered, pressing his hand against Wayne's chest and pushing him back to keep him at a distance as he examined the papers. "which means you weren't really doing this-" 

"Screw off, Jerome!" Wayne sighed frustrated, gripping at Jerome's arm holding him at bay and trying to push it away, the taller one just gripping his shirt and keeping him in place. 

"Ooh, what's this?" Jerome teased, brushing the papers off of the poorly hidden calendar. "A diary?" 

"No!" Wayne answered irked, settling for putting all his weight on Jerome's arm and forcing it down, attempting to tackle the other but just making him sway as he jumped on him. "It's personal!" 

"Top secret, huh?" Jerome joked, Wayne practically climbing all over him while grabbing at the book, Jerome just shrugging him off while using one hand to flip it open. 

"Don't be a jerk, Jerome," Wayne said through clenched teeth, falling on his ass in a sitting position on the floor. "just give it back!" He ordered, resorting to kicking Jerome's legs, the other falling down as well. 

The book went flying, landing a few feet away. "Ouch!" Jerome gave Wayne a smirk that was more annoyed than amused. "What the hell, Wayne-" 

"Don't touch my stuff-" Wayne warned, standing up and stomping over towards his book, tripping as Jerome yanked his ankle out from underneath him. "Ow-" 

"An eye for an eye." Jerome defended vaguely bitterly, getting up and striding over towards the book, picking it up and ignoring Wayne's objections as he opened it to the first page. 

"Jerome!" Wayne pleaded, giving the other a look that was more desperate than angry. 

Jerome glanced down at Wayne, pausing and pondering for a few lengthy seconds before rolling his eyes and letting out a long exhale, tossing the calendar next to Wayne on the floor. "Fine, fine, I won't read it if you REALLY don't want me to," He decided to let Wayne have some alone time with how exasperated the poor boy had gotten, walking towards the threshold and commenting, "must be a pretty heavy diary-" 

"It's not a diary!" Wayne snapped, brushing off the tattered up calendar, brow furrowing as he clenched it tightly. "It's-" He let out a soft breath, noting a few new tears and bends in the pages. "it's one of my dad's things." 

Jerome halted at that, looking over his shoulder at the boy examining the calendar worriedly, trying to bend it back into shape and smooth the tears out, rubbing dust off of it with the pad of his thumb. 

Well shit. 

"Oh..." Jerome muttered, turning to look at the other and rubbing the side of his neck. "I uh- I didn't mean to-" 

"I told you to leave it alone." Wayne interjected coldly, tucking it safely under his arm before standing, giving Jerome a glare as he started to walk by the older one. 

"Hey-" Jerome sighed, gripping Wayne's arm and earning a shove away. 

"Whatever." 

"Let me help patch it up-" 

"You've done enough work on it already, but thanks." Wayne retorted sarcastically, only pausing after Jerome reached out to grasp his wrist. 

"Do you wanna' talk about what it is?" Jerome asked, slightly concerned with how the other had tried to hide it. 

"I may have if you hadn't been so nosy..." Wayne said under his breath, bringing the calendar close to his chest as the other approached, Jerome halting and releasing Wayne's wrist to put his hands up defensively while opening his mouth to insist he was just trying to help, but not managing to utter a word as Wayne spoke first to say, "I want to study this alone." 

Jerome got whatever Wayne was reading was probably personal, but he knew the other was likely keeping so vague about it because of how Jerome had teasingly attempted to get him to share it... he was still trying to remind himself joking around wasn't always the best way to manage things, although that was easier said than done when jokes were more or less his go-to idea whenever being met with the slightest inconvenience. 

Despite Jerome knowing he'd been insensitive, he couldn't help but feel his smile fall somewhat at Wayne refusing his assistance considering they practically did everything together nowadays no matter how personal, although he knew the number one subject to not argue about was the kiddo's pop and mom or anything to do with them, so he backed off. 

Even though Jerome had been unintentionally insensitive, he'd still been insensitive, and it wasn't as though pestering Wayne about something he wanted to keep private wasn't shitty enough, but knowing that thing had belonged to his pop made things even worse. 

So, Jerome forced a smile back on, mused, "No problem kiddo.", and respectfully left the distressed Wayne to tend to himself and the calendar. 

Jerome knew he could be... clingy with Wayne. Mostly because this was the kid he'd originally seen as an entertaining possession, and while he now genuinely cared for Wayne he also had to constantly check himself to make sure he wasn't treating the other like a loyal pup that had to always be by his side. 

Wayne would need time to himself every once in a while, and there would be times he'd be too exhausted to have fun with Jerome, and he would have emotions that would influence how he acted around Jerome, and that was okay. 

Jerome saw Wayne as a human-- not some toy to play with whenever he wanted. 

Nonetheless, Jerome's impulsive ass was constantly wanting to bother Wayne, because he and Selina were his closest friends, so he had to always be checking himself to make sure he was treating them in a respectful manner since their lives didn't revolve around him, which was okay-- it was fine for them to have lives of their own, the same way Jerome had his. 

... Oh! Selina! Jerome could go bother Selina! 

~*~*~*~ 

"I'm busy Jerome." Selina sighed with an eye roll. 

Oh joy, Jerome's two favorite people were busy; what was he supposed to do now? 

"What are ya' busy with?" Jerome asked with a grin, jogging up beside the girl that had continued walking away from him. 

"I'm going to Arkham," Selina answered, Jerome's grin falling. "and last time you walked me there Hugo found out and got suspicious, so let's both play it safe and agree you need to stay at the manor," She sounded bitchy, but in reality she just didn't want to risk Hugo getting ahold of Jerome and harming him the way she was being... "because if he confirms I spilled the beans to you about what's been going on, then we'll both be permanent patients in there." 

"Or you could just stop going and let me kill anyone who comes after you," Jerome offered with a smirk. "you'd be free from having to go through anymore experiments, and I'd be able to kill someone without Wayne getting too pissed off given the circumstances," He swung an arm around Selina, giving a friendly wink. "it's a win-win for both of us." 

Selina shrugged Jerome off of her, but not as aggressively as she generally did, it being clear he was growing on her just as much as she'd grown on him. 

"I'm not about to just stop going to see her," Selina grumbled, referring to the mysterious gal she'd been exchanging her body to be experimented on for a visit in return. "not to mention you'd have to explain why to Wayne why you were killing anyone that came looking for me, and we agreed this whole thing would stay between me, Jen, and you," She didn't want anyone else involved, particularly hero-complex-Wayne that would probably do something foolish and brave, but mostly foolish. "so that wouldn't work." 

"Okay, how 'bout this?" Jerome bargained, swerving in front of Selina and grasping her upper arms, forcing her to stop and earning a look. "You find a way to help this lady you've been visiting escape, and I come up with a fake story to tell Wayne about why these guys are attacking you so he doesn't get upset when I kill them," Selina averted her gaze, Jerome giving her shoulders a reassuring squeeze. "you can just start some kind of commotion and get her out when everyone's distracted, and I can tell Wayne Hugo's men are just people you and Ivy got caught up in the wrong crowd with, yeah?" 

"You'd lie to Wayne?" Selina inquired skeptically, arms crossing, yet not pulling away from Jerome's grasp. 

"I wouldn't be lying about them being bad, I'd just be lying about why they're bad." Jerome defended with a shrug. 

Selina contemplated for what felt like minutes, Jerome giving a hopeful smile, the girl finally giving a sigh as her mind seemed to be made, meeting Jerome's gaze. 

"I can't risk not getting her out and having them punish HER for ME trying to pull something like that," She huffed aggravated, not at Jerome, but at the situation she'd been in for much too long now, shooing Jerome's hands off of her arms and walking around him. "I can't test my luck with agreeing to something like that and making it even likelier Wayne will find out what's been going on since there's no way he wouldn't start investigating if he found out I was in trouble," She started storming off, Jerome going after her. "I can't put myself in a position where Hugo will go from just making me visit, to trapping me there forever," She didn't know what to do. "and I can't-" 

"Selina-" Jerome spoke up concerned, grabbing her wrist, forcing her to halt, although it really didn't take much to make the shaken up girl stop in her tracks. 

Selina swallowed thickly. "-and I can't risk you being killed," Jerome blinked taken aback at that. "because I know you can defend yourself, and you can defend Wayne, but-" She felt sick. "-but you can't defend yourself or any of us from these men," She looked over her shoulder, not crying, yet her eyes were glossy. "they're men who have either been made into Hugo's monsters, or men who have been trained to subdue these monsters," One of her pupils resembled a slit-like a cat eye, that seeming to happen whenever she felt strained. "they're not the kind of people you can just go up against without being prepared, and you're years away from that, so just-" She yanked her hand away, rubbing out the water brimming in her eyes with the side of her hand. "-just back off and go home, Jerome," She began to walk off again, Jerome ignoring the urge to not heed her advice and run after her, realizing it would probably be better to come up with a plan first rather than being reckless. "because worrying about me and intervening is only going to make things worse." 

For someone who acted so tough, Selina seemed to care about A LOT of people quite a bit more than she let on. 

~*~*~*~ 

"'Wayne hasn't talked to me in less than an hour, and Selina's been gone for at least thirty minutes, my impulse control has plummeted and the result of being depraved of social contact consists of staring at the wall considering this is the only thing that will keep me calm in these trying times it seems. I am having an existential crisis and about five minutes away from astral projecting to avoid having a panic attack. I am doing my best to not dissociate and commit chaotic acts that will disappoint one of only two people I can tolerate'." Jonathan mocked in a deep voice with a snicker, Jerome giving him an irked smirk. 

"It's been longer than an hour-" Jerome defended with a scoff. 

"I was exaggerating, it's actually approximately been less than forty-five minutes since you and Wayne had an argument." 

Jerome gave a groan, pushing a couch pillow over his face; it felt like it had been much longer. "Piss off, Jonathan." He grumbled with a chuckle in an irked muffled voice. 

"Really though, I sincerely believe getting a hobby would be beneficial towards your mental health," Jonathan mused while ignoring Jerome's plea for him to leave, earning a long exhale from beneath the pillow. "as good as it is to give Wayne space when he requires such, it's more than clear you've been getting steadily more reliant on interactions with him, and finding a suitable interest could ease that and assist you with no longer looking towards Wayne for impulse control-- which you heavily lack without him or Selina around." 

"And just what hobby should I take up, oh great problem solver?" Jerome snickered sarcastically. 

"Have you tried your hand at writing comedy acts?" Jonathan suggested, earning brief silence before Jerome jumped up and sped walked over towards a desk with paper and pens in it, clearly wanting to get the antsy feeling in the pit of his gut out of him as soon as possible, and in all honesty Johnny-boy could very well be onto something. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne woke up to a blanket being put over him, eyes groggily opening while he sat up, eyelids heavy and vision focusing as he stared up at Jerome before giving a yawn and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "What time is it?" 

"You haven't left the study for almost two days," Jerome muttered concerned, setting a sandwich down on the desk the calendar was displayed on. "have you even eaten?" 

"Alfred brought me food." Wayne yawned again, swaying somewhat as his eyelids kept drooping, looking about ready to fall off his chair. 

"Come on," Muttered Jerome, tugging back the rolling chair Wayne was tiredly slumped in, gently shaking his shoulder. "let's get you to bed, buddy." Wayne gave a grumble, reaching out to grab the calendar and tucking it close to his chest before taking Jerome's offered hand and standing up, taking an unsteady step forward before settling for leaning heavily against Jerome and burying his face against his upper arm for support. "All right." The ginger knowingly sighed at that, letting Wayne hop on his back before making his way to their bedroom. 

"Is Selina back yet?" Wayne yawned, Alfred informing him she'd been gone for two days, yet not giving any details other than that. 

Jerome swallowed dryly. "Nope." He'd already made up his mind about going to Arkham if she wasn't back by the third day. 

Wayne nuzzled against Jerome's shoulder. "Oh." She had a habit of disappearing, but would generally show back up within a week, so he wasn't too concerned, particularly because he hadn't known she didn't tell anyone she was going to be gone as she generally did due to no one telling him she'd just up and disappeared, and Jerome decided to keep Wayne out of this for now as Selina had requested, Jen keeping the others unknowing as well by lying and saying Selina had told her she'd be gone for a few days. 

Jerome and Jen had both agreed to go investigating Arkham if she wasn't back by the third day. 

~*~*~*~ 

"There was an address in the calendar," Wayne revealed, Jerome quirking a brow considering Wayne had kept quiet about the calendar until now. "Alfred and I are going to check it out, would you be interested in joining us?" 

"I uh-" Jerome forced on a smile. "I actually have plans with Jen today," It was Wayne's turn to be surprised; Jen and Jerome usually seemed rather indifferent towards one another. "how about we go tomorrow?" 

Wayne crossed his arms, gaze averting, body language more standoffish than shy. "Sorry, I already agreed to go with Alfred today." He didn't sound sorry at all. 

Jerome gave a tight smile. "Can you just change the plans to tomorrow?" Okay, so apparently Wayne voluntarily talking to him didn't mean things were back to being good between them. 

"No." Wayne answered flatly. 

Jerome kept his forced smile up. "Why? Do you have other plans for tomorrow?" 

"No, but Alfred and I are already planning on going today, so I'm not about to change our schedule just because of you." 

For the love of- "Fine," Jerome scoffed, because it wasn't as though he regularly asked Wayne to change his plans, and he'd gone out of his way for the boy multiple times, but apparently Wayne was going to be a moody shite. "have fun." 

Wayne was about to leave the room, although his curiosity got the best of him as his eyes caught the sight of a pen and multiple papers on the desk Jerome was sitting at. "What's that?" He muttered intrigued. 

Jerome scooted the comedy script away from Wayne's gaze while saying with a very sour smile, "Nothing." Wayne didn't have to show him his calendar, and he didn't have to show Wayne his comedy act. Jerome could be immature, too. 

Wayne rolled his eyes, not even bothering as he turned to leave while grumbling, "Whatever." 

Jerome wasn't going to get caught up in a fourteen year old boy's puberty tantrum, deciding it was about time to get Jen and go looking for Selina at Arkham. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Selina, you've been in there for three days now," Hugo scolded from the intercom, the weakly shivering girl refusing to leave the side of the violently shaking man. "come out so we can get you warmed up and help him." He coaxed, earning a glare towards the camera he watched the pair from. 

"No." Selina ground out through clenched teeth, hugging her knees close to her chest, remaining protectively in front of Fries as he let out shuddering white breaths of pain from the corner of the iced over room. 

"My child-" Hugo began in a sympathetic voice with the undertone of a threatening edge to it. 

"I'm not your damn child!" Selina snapped, both pupils resembling the slits of cat eyes, all of her nails extended into claws. 

A pause, Hugo's aggravated voice eventually warning, "Do I need to send someone back in there-" 

"It didn't work so well for you the first time," Selina scoffed, gesturing towards the frozen pool of red on the floor with her bloody claws. "but by all means, feel free to send another guy in to get his throat torn out!" 

"Selina-" Fries' spoke up concerned, shards of sharp ice forming on his skin before cracking and shattering inwards, forcing him to let out a grunt of pain and go quiet, his attempt to sit up resulting in him falling over. 

"I'm not leaving you," Selina snapped, because he'd told her to at least a dozen times by now. "I don't know what kind of experiment they did to you, but you know whenever their shit doesn't go as expected they try to fix their mistake, and if that doesn't work they dispose of you," Her fingers and toes were tingling, close to feeling numb, nose and ears pink, teeth chattering and skin pale. "I'm not risking that-- I'm staying with you until we figure out how to get you better." 

Selina was sleep deprived, and cold, and hungry, and she didn't even know how many days she'd been in there-- Fries didn't want her to get any sicker than she already was. "There's a chance I'll be fine, and if I turn out not to be then my bed's already been made," He assured, wincing as ice sickles extended outwards from his bones and pierced his skin. "but I don't want to risk you losing your life for protecting someone on their death bed." 

"I won't lose my life for this-" 

"Losing your life doesn't always mean dying," Fries interjected as ice crystals formed in his skin, replacing flesh and causing blood to pool around the small sore areas, Selina going quiet at that. "apologize while you can; it may not be too late to get them to forgive you." He didn't want her being trapped in here like he was as a punishment. 

Hugo watched the display on his screen, letting out a long exhale and removing his glasses to rub a palm over his face, a migraine coming on, his free hand reaching into his pocket and clicking on a black recorder, stating the date before saying, "Despite my assumption Selina Kyle would primarily develop one maternal-like relationship with a particular patient in mind, it seems she's developed an additional one with Victor Fries, who she clearly views as a fatherly figure." 

He paused, eying the girl on the screen doubling over from the cold in attempts to warm herself, the man being overtaken by tremors. "We performed test ninety-seven on Fries, in which we attempted to splice his genes with bacteria primarily found in snow with the hope he could regenerate his skin through a new biological assortment of an ice-like substance that would transform into flesh, however it proved to be a failure when his body rejected the test and began to freeze patches of his skin into ice and cracking, resulting in him being in immense pain." 

Hugo glanced at his calendar to double check the date. "It is currently three days from the date we tested the experiment. We had hoped putting Fries back in his negative-thirty degree environment would allow his body to accept the new genes, and when that didn't work we decided as a last resort to see if having a daughterly figure to accompany him would allow him to relax so the altered DNA could possibly settle in, although even Kyle couldn't get it to work." 

Hugo walked around his table to sit at his desk, pressing a button near an inmate's name, signaling his assistant to send that patient in. "Kyle is a particularly observant patient that's aware we get in as many experiments as we can on a subject if we decide there's no more we can do to preserve them, and generally those experiments can be painful to the subject and worsen their condition, so she's decided to guard Fries' in hopes he'll get better on his own if she doesn't find a way to guarantee without a doubt we'll try to save the patient until the last second, rather than risking us experimenting on him until his last second instead." 

He waited for the person he'd called for to arrive. "It seems we've made her too durable through the tests we've been committing on her considering she maimed the guard that attempted to subdue her, although his wounds aren't fatal; nonetheless, it's predicted she can withstand approximately nine times the pain normal humans can, which means our experiments on her have been possibly too successful." 

Upon hearing a knock at the door, Hugo buzzed the person outside in, holding up a finger to signal them to remain silent as he continued, "We attempted to coax her away from Fries' by assuring her we'd do our best to save him without experimenting on him, and she didn't believe us. We even threatened the woman that's been the prime reason Kyle's been allowing us to commit tests on her in exchange for visits, and upon doing so Kyle threatened to kill the whole facility if we dared to lay a hand on said woman, and we can't afford to lose anyone with how tight budgeting has been, particularly when it would be assumed she'd fatally wound at least nine people before we could stop her." 

Hugo faced the awaiting patient he'd called in, going quiet for a few brief seconds, meeting their eyes and saying in an eerie tone, "Kyle has become weak from the freezing conditions of Fries' environment nonetheless, and we're attempting to send in a fellow patient to apprehend her-- this is our second attempt at subduing the girl. I plan on continuing this recording after observing the results of such." He clicked off his recorder, looking the patient over broodingly before musing, "Do you feel up to the task of containing Miss Kyle, Jester?" 

Jester gave a wicked grin, knife twirling in his hand as he hummed, "How badly can I hurt her?" 

~*~*~*~ 

"You and your dad are the first one's to ever just talk to me without threatening me," Karen Jennings admitted, staring down at her scaly clawed hand. "everyone else has pointed their weapons at me to make sure I don't get too close," She swallowed thickly. "most of them warn me to not move and demand I wait to be sedated with a tool they aim at me from a distance," The black haired girl was fidgety. "a few talk all nice and sweet, but I could always tell it was just to distract me, and the second I was down they wouldn't bother with acting like they wanted to help me anymore." Karen gave a weak smile at the frowning Wayne. "You really are a lot like your father in so many ways-- I can tell," She had to stop herself from reaching out to place her clawed hand on the boy's shoulder while adding, "he would be so, so proud of you." 

Wayne noted her hesitant body language, causing him to instantly place a reassuring hand over her clawed one, earning a flinch accompanied by a taken aback look. "Thank you for agreeing to help us," He spoke, generally not a people person, yet trying to be comforting with a warm tone nonetheless. "together we can take Hugo down before he can do what he's done to you and those like you to anyone else," He gave a squeeze before drawing his hand back. "and I'll do my best to make sure nothing happens to you in the process." A pause. "After we take Hugo down and it's no longer dangerous for you to leave this safe house, you can even come stay at the manor with me and the others." 

Karen raised a brow. "Others?" She glanced at the butler outside her window waiting for Wayne. "There's more than just you and him?" 

Wayne gave a nod at that, suddenly seeming very enthusiastic as he explained, "There's us, Jerome who's really funny but kinda' sarcastic, and Selina who's super tough but cares a lot more about all kinds of stuff than she likes to admit, and Jonathan who's kinda' like me I guess, and Ivy who's very down to earth, and Jen who's Selina's best pal that I really don't know much about other than how she can be deceitful... she cares a lot about Selina though-- I'm pretty sure they're best friends, and then there's Harley that doesn't exactly live with us but she's practically part of the family, so-" Wayne realized he was rambling rather excitedly and halted, throat clearing embarrassedly as he said in a much more well mannered voice, "so that's about it." 

Karen nudged Wayne, letting him know it was okay to not be all prim and proper around her, particularly when he was still a kid. "Are these just friends or siblings? Mr. Thomas never told me you had any brothers or sisters..." 

"Just friends." Wayne answered, glancing outside and seeing how Alfred was impatiently tapping his foot. "Oh, um... I should probably get going, but it was nice meeting-" He blinked and went quiet as arms swung around him, tensing up somewhat from not expecting the hug. 

"Thank you," Karen spoke, grasp tightening. "for coming out here to find me," It had been three years since she'd had any human contact-- since Thomas had... she didn't want to dwell on that, instead snapping out of her contemplating to quickly add, "and for offering me the chance to be a part of your manor." She was so close to having a family after over ten years of being denied one, and despite just meeting Wayne she was getting emotional, particularly because she finally got to meet the son of the one man that had actually looked after her, and the boy had clearly taken after his compassionate father it seemed. 

Wayne's frozen up muscles relaxed somewhat, pausing before returning the hug, patting her back slightly awkwardly. "Of course." 

He'd wait to tell the tired Alfred Wayne Manor would be planning to have another guest to stay soon. 

~*~*~*~ 

Selina couldn't fight. Her body was numb, and weak, and sleep deprived, and starved, and dehydrated, and she just couldn't defend herself as Jester heaved her up off the floor and let her dangle helplessly in the air as he didn't listen to Fries instructing him to put her down and leave her alone, giving the girl an all too entertained grin before driving the knife through the right side of her hip, whimpering Selina going quiet from shock and yelling Fries going quiet from rage. 

Jester carelessly tossed Selina to the floor like a rag doll before stepping on her throat, giving a crooked grin as he got ready to press down while musing, "Ya' know, when I was a kid I found these cute little kittens to kill in all different sorts of ways," He applied pressure, Selina choking out a noise of pain. "but a pretty gal like you will be much more fun to play with than a few whining animals, wouldn't you agree, Cat?" He raised his foot, about to slam it down as she weakly struggled to shift away, only managing to shimmy a few inches. "Let's see if I can make you scream louder than they squealed!" He laughed so joyfully it made Selina's blood go cold. 

Or maybe what made Selina's blood go cold was the way Fries' eyes widened as he realized what Jester was about to do, the patches on his skin that were cracked ice abruptly clicking into place, shifting into flesh as he tackled the copycat before he could stomp on Selina's throat. 

Selina couldn't help but cower as Fries didn't hesitate to punch the crackling Jester to a bloody pulp, hiding her face from any sprayed blood and shrinking into herself from how unsettling it was to see the man crack-- the man that she had began to see as a parental figure throughout the time of the pair looking out for one another, Fries suddenly seeming to lose the last bit of humanity he'd been keeping warm deep in his core, now only resembling rage and revenge and every ounce of his entire being just being... cold. 

Fries had gotten Jester to leave Selina alone whenever he'd bother her, and made sure none of the other fellow inmates gave her trouble, and allowed her to rest in his room after she was done being experimented on, and even listened with the slightest smile to her talk about how well things were going with the other kids at Wayne Manor, or would console her if things weren't going so good. 

Selina didn't see a trace of the somewhat warm Fries she'd known, because she could tell he was now cold down to the core. 

Hugo was content with the results considering it looked as though the bluff to kill Selina managed to force his body to override the DNA objection and take it in, resembling how a parent can do almost inhuman things to save their endangered child in a brief amount of time with enough determination, adrenaline, and fear. 

It almost would have been sweet if Fries hadn't looked at Selina and rather menacingly told her to get out after he was done with the beaten Jester, as though she'd be next if she didn't leave his space. 

It almost would have been sweet if Selina hadn't ran out terrified with Jester's blood on her face and clothes, frozen tears on her skin. 

It almost would have been sweet if Jester's actions hadn't managed to break in his ice based healing process while also breaking everything else in Fries and making all of him cold inside and out. 

"Peabody, retrieve Jester and get his wounds tended to," Hugo requested as the woman watched the video feed somewhat warily. "and I believe Fries has gotten tired of classical music as well as the romance genre," He examined his handiwork appreciatively as Fries glared up at the camera with a newfound anger. "perhaps some rock music?" He shut off the video feed, satisfied with what he'd seen and ready to record his findings. "On a side note, what would you say to giving Fries the Karen Jennings case to take care of, Ms. Peabody?" 

~*~*~*~ 

"Stop making so much noise." Jen hushed while crawling through Arkham's vent. 

"It's not my fault your tiny ass doesn't make any noise." Jerome snapped with a bitter and quiet chuckle. 

"I don't make noise because I know how to be quiet," Jen whispered back irked, proudly adding, "like a mouse." 

"Or maybe it's because you're two times smaller than me and about the size of a mouse-" Jerome exaggerated with an eye roll. 

"Can you just shut up and crawl more quietly?" 

"Your whispering is louder than my crawling!" Jerome defended under his breath with a pissed off smirk. 

"It is not!" Jen argued softly but angrily. 

"Yes it-" Jerome started, earning a slight shove to the face with Jen's shoe, smacking him right in the jaw. "Hey!" 

"Shhh!" Jen warned. 

"You 'sh'! And get your ass out of my face-" 

"It's not my fault you wanted me to go first because you were such a scaredy cat, and my ass isn't anywhere near your face, but if you want space then stop getting right up next to-" Jen pressed her hand down on a loose panel, falling through. "-me!" 

Jerome grabbed her ankle, sliding with her and only managing to halt them when his own body was halfway out of the vent, the girl dangling with her face towards the floor. 

"At least you're not wearing a skirt-" Jerome started to snicker. 

"Just pull me up." Jen huffed. 

"Are you going to tell me to shut up again?" 

"Jerome-" 

"Well?" 

Jen glared up at the grinning Jerome. "Fine, no, I won't! Now pull me back up before someone finds us!" 

~*~*~*~ 

Selina had been caught by a guard, barely able to kick or fight back as he dragged her off to be warmed up and bandaged, only being given half an hour to rest after being stabilized before having to endure more severe tests than the usual syringes in her arms as punishment for disobeying Hugo. 

Doctors had made her jump from a story high platform until she fractured her ankle to see how much she could withstand and how many times she could land on her feet, and they'd made her claw at materials that progressively got harder until her claws were cracked and bloody to see what the hardest surface was she could damage, and they'd put her in a dark room where she got attacked by various animals to test her night vision, removing her only after she'd got tackled and nearly maimed by one. 

Hugo had said she was lucky he was even allowing her to see the mysterious woman she'd been going to visit-- the woman she was letting them do this to her for. 

Selina collapsed in front of the awaiting woman who just stared at her, the girl relieved to see the older lady was at least awake and not stuck unconscious in a tank as she sometimes would be. 

For a while, the woman did nothing other than gaze at the fallen Selina with an empty expression, watching the girl take in heavy breaths through choked up sobs, shaking terribly, bandages over her hip, hands, and ankles, tears pouring down her face and splashing onto the hard and cold ground her cheek was against. 

The woman sighed, stretching out her hands and gesturing Selina forward, the girl forcing her limbs to push her body up off the concrete before scooting just close enough to fall next to the woman sitting in a chair, burying her face against the woman's lap and clinging to her gown as the older one's hands ran through her hair. 

"Oh Selina," The woman crooned with disappointment laced in her tone. "my dear, sweet Selina," She cupped the girl's face, forcing her to meet her scolding yet somehow soft gaze. "what am I ever going to do with you?" She gave a tsk, wiping the girl's tears away with her thumbs. "You should know better than to not listen to the doctor after all he's done for you." 

Selina knew this woman was being kept ignorant of what was truly going on by Hugo-- he'd convinced this lady he was to be given thanks for saving her. 

"I'm sorry," Selina cried, because she knew trying to convince the woman Hugo wasn't good too quickly would result in the woman pushing her away and not listening, so she had to do it gradually, even if it meant having to let Hugo continue doing this to her. "I'm so sorry, mom." 

~*~*~*~ 

"We let them torture her," Jerome laughed hoarsely in disbelief. "we just sat there in the vents and watched as they tortured her." His smile wasn't at all joyful, almost looking hysterical as though he was about to have a breakdown. 

"We went to confirm she was in Arkham, not to rescue her," Jen said with a trembling breath as she paced back and forth on the sidewalk of the curb Jerome sat on. "but now that we know what's going on we have to tell the others what's up so we can find a way to get her out, even if she doesn't want us to." Jen had known they'd been doing tests on Selina, but nothing that major, and they'd never kept her for more than a day. 

The pair had been arguing for about fifteen minutes. 

"Why the hell do we have to wait an hour?" Jerome scoffed, shaky hand running through his hair panicky. "Let's go tell them now!" 

"Because in about an hour this will be the route she usually uses to get back to the mansion, so we're going to give her one more chance to show up before we spill her secret to everyone." 

"We shouldn't be wasting any time-" Jerome argued, standing up and facing Jen with a forced and anxious smile. 

"It's just one hour-" 

"One hour for them to hold her prisoner longer!" 

"One hour for us to keep the secret we swore to keep longer!" Jen countered at that, halting to glare at Jerome. 

Jerome gave a distressed laugh, he being the one pacing instead at that. "Look, I really don't see how keeping a secret is more important than-" Jen looked behind him and went wide eyed, causing Jerome to quirk a brow and look over his shoulder to see what- 

Selina stumbled to a halt when the pair looked at her, losing her support on the wall she'd been leaning heavily against and falling to her knees before meeting their concerned eyes with tear stained her cheeks, the girl collapsing in a heap against the asphalt. 

Jen was the first to run over to her, Jerome quickly following. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Would they be okay with me moving in?" Karen asked as they made their way to Blackgate, earning an arched brow from Wayne. "Your friends..." She averted her gaze. "I'm a bit of a-" She glanced down at her clawed scaly hand, brow furrowing as she swallowed thickly. "-freak." 

Wayne stared at Karen for a long, long while, the girl beginning to regret even asking as she suddenly felt very, very self conscious at that, about to tell Wayne to forget it- 

"We're all freaks," Wayne answered with a shrug, earning a taken aback stare. "I don't fit in with kids my age, Jerome finds everything too funny, Selina acts like a cat, Jonathan is obsessed with fear, Ivy talks to plants, no one other than Selina really knows anything about Jen, and Harley is probably the jolliest person in Gotham," He took Karen's clawed hand in a reassuring way, the corners of his lips just barely tugging upwards. "they'd love you." 

Karen felt her chest tighten at that, not knowing why her eyes were getting so teary considering she wasn't sad in the least-- she was the complete opposite of that. "Okay.", was all she managed to laugh hoarsely, squeezing Wayne's hand and giving a weak smile. 

Karen was finally going to have a real family, and she couldn't wait to meet them-- they sounded wonderful. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome and the others had seen on the news what had happened to Karen Jennings-- they'd seen a young, innocent girl had gotten frozen and shattered by Victor Fries, and while Selina had to excuse herself from the room only Jerome and Jen knew why, none of the others really mulling over the tragedy until Wayne came home with glossy eyes rimmed red and told them what had happened. 

Jen comforted the sobbing Selina who insisted what had happened to her and Fries in Arkham be kept a secret, and Jerome comforted the trembling Wayne who apologized for acting the way he had, it being clear Selina had been afraid she'd never see Jen again, Wayne suddenly being VERY grateful to have Jerome safe by his side. 

Fries meanwhile grasped at his icy walls while taking in shaky breaths in attempts to keep himself from falling weakly on his knees, a look of horror on his face, feeling sick as he listened to the news on the radio discussing what he'd done, staring up at the camera in his room while shouting, "What did you do to me?!" A patch of the wall froze and cracked under his palm. "Where's Selina?!" Had he hurt her, too? 

Fries had always refused to harm children and innocents, and now he'd killed that poor girl that was just trying to get away from the man keeping him and others trapped in Arkham... and he'd done it for that very man. 

What was happening to him? Fries didn't want this-- he didn't want to lose himself to becoming the type of cold and cruel monster he'd experiment his ice ray on since it was for a good cause to help his wife and those like her, while eradicating awful people from the face of the planet to do so, it being a win-win. 

Now Fries was instead working for the man keeping him and desperate people like Selina trapped in Arkham. A man as cruel as the men he'd frozen for his wife. A man turning him just as cruel and cold. 

Hugo found the display deliciously interesting as he mused to Peabody, "Make sure Fries' receives daily doses of the genetics serum to keep him dazed," He took a sip of warm tea. "we may be able to do extraordinary things with a man that feels no emotion." What a wonderful side effect of a chilled serum meant to only heal flesh wounds... 

~*~*~*~ 

"I could cancel my date with Mayne today," Jerome offered after Wayne woke up, gently nudging the other he'd agreed to sleep with last night after being woken up thanks to the nightmares Wayne had had. "we could just stay here today and let you recover from the shock and all that." 

Wayne sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and giving a yawn, Jerome staring up at him concerned. "No," Wayne said tiredly. "I wanna' go on my date with Rome, so you should go on your's with Mayne." A part of him seemed distant, Jerome knowing the realization of what had happened to Karen probably hadn't fully hit the boy yet. 

Wayne may of not known Karen very well or for very long, but in a way it was like meeting a long lost sibling considering his dad had taken care of her, and they'd bonded so quickly... 

Jerome rolled his eyes at the mention of Rome. "Fine, where are you two going?" He had been failing to talk Wayne out of the date, and it looked like nothing was about to change. "I know you're not gonna' tell Alfred you're going on a date with a guy, much less one of my copycats, but it's always safe to let at least one person know where you're going to be." 

"Aren't you sweet?" Wayne mocked, earning a scoff. "Worried about me,  
cupcake? We're almost like an old bickering couple." 

"Trying to change the subject and call me sappy nicknames isn't gonna' work when anytime you're anything but serious is suspicious. Where are you two planning on going? It's not like I'm gonna' follow you." 

Dangit. "The movie theater downtown." Wayne admitted with a sigh. "Where are you and Mayne going?" 

"The movie theater downtown." Jerome answered, earning a glare and snickering. "Joking. We're going to the seafood restaurant by the harbor." A pause. "We're not going until tomorrow." 

"Then why did you say you'd cancel your plans with him today?" Wayne asked with an arched brow. 

Jerome gave a cheeky grin. "Because I was assuming you'd cancel your plans with Rome if I offered to-" 

"You ass!" Wayne huffed unamused while hitting the laughing Jerome with his pillow. "It's not funny!" 

"It was worth a try!" Jerome defended with a chuckle, Wayne grumbling something under his breath while getting up. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne's date with Rome went interesting to say the least. Fairly normal surprisingly enough, but interesting. 

At least, Wayne was mostly certain how thing went were overall normal, but he wouldn't quite know for sure considering the only experience he'd really had with dating was proper activities like dinner with Selina at his own manor rather than out and about around Gotham, and when it came to Silver he was a tad bit uncomfortable calling their outings dates since she had been working for her uncle that wanted to murder him and whatnot, or to mention he'd never really dated anyone but girls until Rome since he wasn't about to call what Tommy did at the dance a date. 

The date consisted of the pair meeting at the theater, Rome greeting Wayne with a rather friendly hug that took the smaller one somewhat by surprise, returning the gesture nonetheless. In the concession stand Rome did most of the talking, Wayne listening with a smile and still finding it uncanny how much he could manage to sound like Jerome, even if he hadn't quite perfected it. 

Wayne found Rome was rather touchy feely during the movie, and while he didn't mind some physical affection he also wasn't quite sure how to react to it, overall being slightly uncomfortable with the advances, although he figured Rome just didn't catch onto his tense body language. 

It wasn't anything too serious; mostly just Rome rubbing his knee or wrapping an arm around him, pressing his lips against his ear and 'accidentally' brushing them against his jawline, constantly nudging him and giving squeezes to his arm, and when he held his hand he'd hold it rather tightly. 

Perhaps Wayne was just not used to stuff like this... maybe he was just being silly for not knowing how to react to Rome's advances, right? Rome was only trying to be a proper date, wasn't he? Maybe he just didn't realize Wayne was uncomfortable because he was too preoccupied with the movie to catch the way that Wayne shied away from his advances, and that's why he just got more and more persistently physical as time went by... 

It wasn't until after the movie things got a bit awkward. 

~*~*~*~ 

When Wayne didn't laugh and only forced a smile at a joke he hadn't really even bothered listening to, Rome's grin fell, the red haired male clearing his throat and muttering, "Is everything all right, or does my comedy really suck that much?" 

Wayne blinked, snapping out of his daze and assuring, "No no, you're honestly really entertaining, I just-" He sighed, gaze averting. "I... admittedly lost a friend last night." A friend he'd sworn would meet no harm by his side, at that. 

It hadn't been too obvious Wayne was being distant due to the movie being a good distraction, but actually conversing with Rome made it obvious his mind was elsewhere. 

Rome's expression fell even more. "Oh shit, I'm so sorry-- I hadn't realized-" 

"Don't be it's-" Wayne swallowed thickly. "-it's not your fault." He gave a shrug, rubbing his upper arm. "I'm just trying to get my mind off of it is all." 

Rome stared at Wayne for a few lengthy seconds, clearly pondering on something before allowing a smirk to meet his lips while placing a hand against Wayne's arm while musing, "I could get your mind off of it." 

Wayne felt his stomach seem to do a little flip at the touch. "I- um-" He gave a nervous laugh, throat clearing. "How?" 

Got him. 

Rome tried to contain his satisfied grin at the reply, casually humming, "You have money, right?" 

Wayne's brow quirked, hesitating before confirming, "I do." 

Rome gripped Wayne's wrist, and honestly it was just a little too tightly, and Wayne wasn't quite sure on why being tugged towards the other felt a little too hard, but he assumed Rome was just trying to be flirty... 

... 

.... Nonetheless... Rome was rather strong... and Wayne wasn't sure why that made him feel just a tad bit uneasy. 

"How about we get a hotel? You pay for the room, and I'll return the favor." Rome suggested, looking down at the other amused. 

Wayne studied Rome, giving an uncertain and vaguely forced laugh. "What exactly do you mean by 'return the favor', Rome?" 

Rome stepped forward, tugging Wayne just a bit closer, the smaller boy nonchalantly trying to resist only a little to see what the other would do, guessing Rome just didn't catch the way he tried to pull back as the other tightened his hold. "You'll see when we get there." 

Something just... didn't feel right. 

"I-" Wayne swallowed, suddenly feeling very, very small, stepping back and tensing as Rome kept his hold on him. "Uh..." Maybe Rome just wasn't good at reading body language. 

"Come on, you're tense," Rome persisted, moving his hands up to Wayne's shoulders and rubbing them soothingly. "we can go relax a little, ya' know-" He moved one of his hands to cup the side of Wayne's neck, leaning down somewhat and purring, "-have some fun." 

As much as Wayne enjoyed affectionate touches from Rome, the other was beginning to be just a bit too touchy feely for comfort. "I had a really good time tonight," Wayne said with a smile, earning a grin. "but-" He continued, gently pushing Rome back by his chest with the palms of his hands, making it clear he wanted the other to ease up, Rome's grin falling. "-I told Jerome I was just going to catch a movie with you, and he'd be expecting me back by now." Maybe it was a good thing he'd told Jerome where he and Rome were going to be... 

Rome forced a smile, giving a laugh that sounded a lot more like a scoff before letting out a long breath of disappointment. "Ya' know-" He reached forward, gripping Wayne's chin, and despite it seeming affectionate it also felt like he was forcing the younger one to look up at him. "-Jerome sure is lucky to have a pretty little thing like you so desperate to be by his side all the time like a lost kitten." 

Wayne met Rome's eyes challengingly rather than backing away, knowing the other was probably expecting him to act all shy. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Nothing bad," Rome assured, thumb moving to brush against Wayne's lips, the left corner of his mouth tugging upwards with how Wayne visually became a bit wary at the gesture. "just meant I wouldn't mind having you behave like a loyal pup around me the same way you do him," He moved his hand down to cup Wayne's jaw. "but it'll probably take a while for you to stick to me like glue the same way you do with your big bad bodyguard, huh?" His tone sounded suspiciously close to being mocking. 

Wayne's arms crossed self consciously as he moved his face away from the hand tracing patterns over his skin. "I know you're Jerome's copycat, but I still view the two of you differently," Rome seemed to not like that as his smile went bitter, Wayne elaborating, "he's my best friend, and you're someone I'm interested in," He knew the copycat did incredibly well acting and looking and sounding like Jerome, but that didn't mean he was him. "and I'm not about to become dependent on either one of you-- just because I like to spend time with Jerome doesn't make me his pet, and just because I like to be around you doesn't make me your possession," Wayne needed to establish that so Rome didn't go and try anything iffy. "I like both of you." 

"That's all well and good," Rome hummed, leaning down somewhat and making Wayne's ears heat up, their faces less than a centimeter apart, it almost seeming as though he was about to kiss the other. "as long as you like me more, of course." Wayne's brow furrowed, eyes narrowing as he parted his lips to shut that down- "Joking!" Rome laughed, pulling back and giving Wayne his space, his brief sickly sweet smile turning into a friendly grin. "Sorry, I just wanted to mess with ya' some," He chuckled, pinching Wayne's cheek and earning a wary gaze. "you're just so adorable when you're upset." Wayne scrunched his nose-- he wasn't adorable! He was manly- "In any case, you're right," Rome swung an arm around Wayne's hip, tugging the hesitant boy close. "we should get you on home now-- it's late." 

Part of Wayne was unsettled with how he couldn't help but doubt Rome hadn't been joking. 

Another part of Wayne couldn't help but get shy at the arm wrapped around him and decide to let Rome's brief change in behavior slide since he'd agreed to walk him home, and it wasn't like he'd hurt him-- he'd just made him uncomfortable... 

~*~*~*~ 

"Thanks for walking me home." Wayne said with a smile, Jerome and Selina being the only ones he'd had this much fun with for a long time. 

Rome smirked, stepping forward while giving a shrug. "No problem." 

Wayne paused when noting how Rome lingered, hesitating for a few brief seconds before biting down on his lower lip and going on the tips of his toes and giving what was meant to be a brief peck of the lips, but ended up a rather big kiss when one of Rome's hands cupped Wayne's neck and the other held his hip, the fifteen year old backing the fourteen year old up against the outside of the mansion, Wayne's hands clinging to Rome's shirt quite tightly. 

It wasn't until Rome's mouth managed to find its way against Wayne's neck and his fingers just so happened to reach for the smaller one's long sleeved buttons that Wayne pulled back, giving a rather breathless laugh as Rome kissed along his jawline and continued undoing the first button by simply stepping closer. 

"Um..." Wayne objected a bit quietly, not exactly wanting Rome to stop, but deciding he definitely wasn't about to go any further than they already had on their first date. "I should get inside-" 

"Show me your bedroom?" Rome requested, hand reaching for the second button, lips pressing back against Wayne's. 

Wayne gently pushed at Rome's chest, trying to signal that he wanted the other to stop, pulling away from the kiss and giving the excuse, "Alfred wouldn't be okay with-" 

"I could sneak inside?" Rome offered, untucking Wayne's shirt from his pants before returning to undoing the buttons and giving an open mouthed kiss to Wayne's neck. 

Geez, Wayne wasn't at all used to this sort of affection, and while it felt good, it didn't mean he particularly wanted it to continue considering a temporary good feeling wouldn't be worth an anxious or long term regrettable feeling. 

"Can we-" Wayne guessed Rome probably just wasn't catching Wayne's body language in the heat of things. 

"I have a condom." 

Oh boy. "Well, that's nice, but- um- I mean, thanks for bringing one, I guess, but-" Wayne let out a sigh as Rome hooked his arms around his hips, pulling him closer. "Listen, I honestly just want to stop and not take things so fast, okay?" There, he outright said it, there being no way his words could be misinterpreted-- plain and simple, but at least to the point. 

"Relax," Rome urged, kissing down Wayne's neck again, smirking as the other practically melted against him from the constant physical attention the poor boy just wasn't used to. "first times are always scary, so just try to loosen up some and you'll love it." 

"First time? First time what-" Wayne started, going quiet as Rome pressed their lips back together, emitting a soft noise from the smaller one's throat. 

Wayne felt rather conflicted with how he wanted Rome to stop, yet at the same time couldn't help but enjoy this new experimenting, yet he would have enjoyed it a lot more if he didn't feel so pressured. 

"Wait-" Wayne objected as Rome reached down for his belt, earning kisses against his throat and almost wishing it didn't feel so nice. 

"Have you ever had anyone give you a blow-" Rome started before the door opened, causing both of them to jump away from one another. 

Jerome restrained himself from punching Rome right in his copycat little face. "Oh? Nice to see you two are back!" He commented, acting as though he'd conveniently just happened to step outside as Wayne embarrassedly adjusted his slightly unbuttoned shirt and Rome cleared his throat awkwardly. "Did ya' have a good time?" Wayne gave Jerome a slight glare, knowing the other was being possessive... or maybe it was protective-- either way, it was embarrassing. "I hope you did, but would you look at the time?" He tsked before Rome could answer. "Late late late," Jerome forced a grin. "I'm afraid Wayne has to get on to bed before Alfred gets all huffy and puffy about the kiddo staying out so late." He ushered the pink cheeked Wayne inside, not allowing Rome to even get in a single syllable of objection in as he shut the door. 

"Jerome-" Wayne huffed in aggravation as the older one locked the door. 

"You're not seeing him again." Jerome stated, turning to face the other with a surprisingly serious expression. 

"Excuse me?" Wayne scoffed, arms crossing. "Since when do you get to just up and decide who I-" 

"You're not going out with a guy that doesn't back off when you tell him to." Jerome interjected, Wayne blinking at the sharp tone, the older one not smiling in the least. 

"Oh come on, it's not like he's the one who initiated the kiss-- I did-" 

"I could give less of a shit about who initiated it," Jerome snapped, Wayne eying the other rather surprised at the tone. "you ended up saying 'no', and he didn't take a step back-" Jerome stepped forward, not in a menacing way, just... more of a firm way, the other not leaving room for argument as he said, "-you're not going out with him again." 

Wayne crossed his arms, standing his ground as he straightened up defiantly. "Well it's not like I wasn't enjoying the kiss-" 

"I could also give less of a shit about whether you liked it or not-- you sounded pretty damn uncomfortable, and he persisted, and I'm sure as hell not about to let you get in that position again." 

"You're not the boss of me-- you don't get to decide who I do and don't hang out with." 

For the love of- Jerome scoffed at that. "Do you even know what red flags are?" Wayne furrowed his brow at the word. "Ya' know, red flags? Telltale signs? Warning alarms?" Nothing. "It's shit people do that you're supposed to look out for, and frankly Rome has way too many red flags-" 

"Oh, of course," Wayne gave a nod. "so a red flag with you would be how you're trying to control who I do and don't befriend, right?" 

"I'm not-" Jerome gave a sigh, hand running through his hair. "It's not like I'm trying to isolate you here, kiddo-- I'm not trying to get you on the bad sides of Selina or Johnny-boy or any of your other little friends-- I'm trying to make sure Rome doesn't take advantage of-" 

"Oh my-" Wayne let out a long exhale, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You REALLY don't have to look out for me twenty-four seven, Jerome-" 

"With the decisions you've been making lately, apparently I do-" 

"I'm fourteen! I can make my own decisions-" 

"Yes, Wayne, you're fourteen! And believe it or not you're still at a pretty damn easy age for people to manipulate you-" 

Wayne was getting frustrated. "Just- will you just stop treating me like some child? I can make my own choices without you having to hold my hand and walk me through-" 

"You're making choices that are putting you in danger-" 

"Well you used to be a serial killer! It's not like you're exactly the king of making good decisions!" Wayne snapped, storming off in irritation. 

"Says the one who fell for the manipulative niece of the uncle trying to murder him right before letting his bully take him to the dance." Jerome countered, grabbing Wayne's upper arm and forcing the other to halt. 

"Let go of me-" Wayne grumbled, trying to jerk free of the other's grasp. 

"No, we're talking-" 

"I don't want to talk-" 

"Well that's too bad, because we're finishing this discussion before you go and try to pull more risky shit that I have to get your ass out of-" Jerome insisted, blinking as the other shoved him away, the ginger stumbling over the carpet and running back into a table, vase crashing on the floor. 

Despite Wayne knowing fully well that Jerome wouldn't hurt him, he couldn't help but gulp as the other gave him a rather pissed off look at his stubbornness. 

Wayne tensed as Jerome walked forward, gripping his shoulders gently but firmly, shoving the smaller one against the wall carefully yet hard enough to get his attention. 

"Screw off..." Wayne said in a surprisingly shaky voice, because despite knowing he was probably the one person Jerome wouldn't take a knife to- well... maybe the one of two if you included Selina since she seemed to of grown on Jerome, too- Wayne had to admit... it was still pretty unsettling to be pinned against a wall with a serious Jerome Valeska trying to make a point and whatnot. 

... Maybe a little hot to Wayne, too- not that he'd ever admit it- but mostly unsettling. 

"I'm not joking around, Wayne," Jerome stated, as though that hadn't been obvious. "I know people like Rome-- he's bad news, and you're gonna' get hurt if you keep encouraging him to do shit with you that you're not sure about." 

Wayne averted his gaze at that. "I already told you-- I didn't dislike the kiss-" 

"You told him to stop." 

"Well it's not like I didn't find it enjoyable-" 

"What about next time, huh?" Jerome questioned, Wayne pursing his lips. "What about next time when you tell him to stop and he doesn't?" Wayne frowned at that. "How long do you reckon you'll enjoy that?" 

"I don't want to talk about-" 

"You can't ignore shit like that, Wayne-- you can't pretend like it didn't happen, and act like it wasn't so bad, and decide you don't wanna' talk about it just because you like someone and don't wanna' mess things up between you two, because next time you may not get lucky and have someone else there to step in, and next time you may not be able to ignore that shit." Jerome warned, Wayne going quiet. "I'm not-" Jerome sighed, hands releasing Wayne's upper arms and lowering. "I'm not trying to sound like a jackass or scare you, but I'd rather you get pissed off at me now than get into something you can't stop with Rome later, okay?" Wayne didn't reply. "Just- I know you like Rome, and I don't blame you for that since you can't control who you like, and I'm not trying to tell you who you can and can't hang out with, I'm just-" Jerome rubbed his neck. "I'm just trying to make sure you don't get into something bad with someone bad, all right? Even if you can't control your feelings, you can control how you act on them." Nothing. "If you're not going to listen to me at least just... at least just be careful around him if anything-" 

"Whatever, fine." Wayne grumbled, Jerome not sure whether the rude yet agreeing reply made him feel more irked or relieved. 

Jerome eyed Wayne over, trying to figure out whether or not the other was actually going to heed his warning, and letting out an exhale with how he just couldn't tell with Wayne. 

"I'm gonna' go take a shower." Jerome muttered, reaching out to ruffle up Wayne's hair, and if Jerome had bothered to smile then said smile would've fallen as Wayne jerked away and crossed his arms, still not looking at Jerome. 

Stubborn shite. 

Jerome went to take his shower, nearly getting murdered by Ivy as he accidentally opened the door on her, assuring the screaming girl he didn't see anything while quickly shutting it, telling Jonathan to screw off as the other- who had been walking down the hall with a plate of snacks- gave a slight smirk to Jerome. 

Sadly, all the hot water had been used up since Ivy had decided to give her plants a bath as well by using the shower to water them, Jerome annoyedly cleaning out the leftover soil from the bathtub. 

Sure, Jerome could've just used another one of the many restrooms, but he liked that one, dangit... the faucet played music and changed colors, and you had ten water spray strengths to choose from, okay? 

Jerome got out of the freezing cold shower quickly, things just getting better and better when he realized Ivy had used his towel to clean up some of the soil, causing the other to give a tight smile and grumble a few things under his breath. 

Jerome finished up getting ready for bed, relieved nothing else too unfortunate happened while he did so and afterwards finally climbing into his mattress next to Wayne's, noting the other was already sound asleep, the other kiddos apparently watching a movie in the mansion's theater. 

Silence, and then... "Jerome..?" 

So much for Wayne being sound asleep. 

"What's up?" Jerome yawned, already tired. 

Wayne hesitated. "You remember what you told me on Valentine's Day?" No reply. "About that older guy that you- um... had a crush on and all..?" Nothing. "The one that held you down and stuff before a Grayson came to help-" 

"Yeah, Wayne-- I know the guy," Jerome scoffed a bit sharply at that. "not exactly someone I can forget." Wayne went quiet, causing Jerome to sigh, "What about him?" 

"I'm sorry-" 

"Don't be," Jerome tried to assure, but he sounded more snappy than anything. "now what about him?" 

Wayne bit his lower lip. "With the way you were talking about how you know people like Rome and all... you know, like... how you know how to catch red flags that go off around them and all that..." Wayne furrowed his brow, unsurely adding, "does- does Rome remind you of that guy from the circus or something?" 

Jerome didn't answer for a long while. 

"In some aspects, yeah-- he does." Jerome finally muttered. 

Wayne hesitated before scooting over towards the edge of the bed, looking down towards the other staring up at him. "How about the next date, we do a double date?" Jerome gave an arched brow, Wayne noting the other still wasn't smiling. "You and Mayne, me and Rome-- that way you can put your mind at ease and all that about Rome being... questionable," Wayne offered a smile, trying to get the other to perk up. "and if he does act questionable, then I'll just call things off." 

Jerome stared at Wayne without a single ounce of amusement. "Sure." 

Wayne's smile fell. "You okay?" 

Jerome turned over on his side, back facing Wayne. "Peachy." 

This was weird-- Jerome hadn't acted this serious since Oswald's men had beaten him to a pulp and he'd had to recover after Wayne realized Silver was manipulating him... 

"Jerome?" Wayne spoke up concerned, reaching out a hand to tap the other's upper arm, frowning as his friend shrugged him off. "Hey-" 

"I'm trying to get some rest." 

Wayne was worried now. 

When Jerome didn't earn a reply or another touch from Wayne for a few seconds, he figured the other was done bothering him for the night- 

Jerome's eyes blinked open as he felt his mattress sink while hearing something hit it, giving a long exhale and about to snap at the other for keeping him awake- 

"Would talking about the circus clown guy help?" Wayne asked, his forehead gently bumping against Jerome's back in what was meant to be an assuring manner. 

Jerome frowned at that, giving a shrug. "Dunno'." He wasn't used to talking about things that weren't funny, so this night had been a wild ride. 

Wayne scooted forward some at that, one arm draping over Jerome, more used to the other comforting him than he was comforting the other. "You can talk about it if you want." 

"All right." Jerome murmured, contemplating on the offer. "Thanks." Wayne couldn't tell whether or not that meant the other was going to talk about it or remain quiet- "He just-" Jerome gave a stressed laugh. "-we'd do things that I wasn't always good with is all, and he'd do screwed up stuff like chastise me or guilt trip me or whatever when I'd get unsure about shit, and I went with things I probably damn well shouldn't have and acted like I was good with them so he wouldn't make me feel bad or silly or some shit, okay?" Jerome knew the stuff he was saying was messed up, but it was true, and he tried to make it seem not as bad by forcing a smile that looked more sour than anything despite the fact he wasn't even facing Wayne. "He'd ignore me straight up telling him I wasn't sure if I wanted to do something by coaxing me into acting like I did so he wouldn't feel bad, and he'd act like he couldn't tell when I was uncomfortable-- newsflash, body language isn't THAT hard to read," Jerome added the next thing a bit bitterly, giving a laugh while admitting, "and I hate to break it to ya', buddy, but Rome doesn't seem that much different." 

Jerome instantly regretted the last thing he said, knowing that- that was probably going to piss Wayne off... 

"Jerome-" Wayne started. 

You know what? No-- Wayne had asked, so Jerome wasn't about to feel bad for just speaking the truth. 

"And ya' know what?" Jerome scoffed, smirk remaining resentful. "Some of the stuff I still admittedly liked or whatever, ya' know? Like, some of it I really didn't mind, but at the same time that stuff gradually decreased and the stuff I wasn't good with boosted the longer things would go on, and one day we got to where I wasn't okay with it at all, and he knew that, but I'm pretty damn sure he wouldn't of stopped if that Grayson guy hadn't helped, so-" 

"Jerome-" 

"So if you wanna' act like I'm the bad guy here for not wanting you to get sucked into the same position, then-" Jerome snapped, going quiet as he felt Wayne tighten his hold around him, the other burying his face against the back of his neck. 

"I'm sorry," Wayne murmured, and for once it was Jerome feeling sick to his stomach thanks to having what seemed to be a fist of emotions punching him right in the chest. "I didn't mean to- I shouldn't have-" Wayne sighed, feeling pretty shitty in all honesty, gripping the front of the other's shirt tighter and not knowing what to say so he was settling for just TRYING to let the other know he was there for him through a damn hug. 

"I really don't need you to feel bad for me." Jerome tried to joke, but his laugh sounded more weak than jolly, not used to being so personal with anyone due to sill getting used to it. 

"You go off and try to comfort me all the time," Wayne grumbled, at least feeling Jerome relax a little. "I can return the favor, okay?" 

"I'm fine, kiddo," Jerome scoffed, and while his voice was hoarse it wasn't like he was crying or anything-- his eyes were relatively dry... maybe a little glossier than usual, but no tears. "just- listen, I'm really all good, all right?" He swallowed thickly, blaming his over-honesty on being tired. "Go back to bed and get some sleep." 

Wayne wasn't very convinced by the assurance, still pretty concerned about the other in all honesty. "I could sleep down here tonight?" 

"I'm fine," Jerome chuckled, but the laugh sounded rather forced. "you have school tomorrow, and you've had a long weekend-- rest up." 

"I want to sleep down here," Wayne offered, giving an excuse for Jerome to let him stay down there. "I had a bad dream." 

Jerome was quiet for a few lengthy seconds before clearing his throat. "All right," He muttered, Wayne perking up at that. "just tonight though, okay?" At least Jerome sounded relieved at Wayne's excuse they both knew was a little white lie. "Don't hog all the covers." He... wanted to change the subject. 

"I don't hog all the covers." Wayne huffed, nonetheless smirking as Jerome gave a snicker. 

The pair had a better rest than usual that night. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne woke up to the sound of his phone ringing, giving a tired sigh and noting Jerome had thrown an arm over him in his sleep, causing the younger one to grumble at the ringing and bury his face against the ginger's chest, trying to block out the noise and relaxing as the ringing eventually stopped. 

Good, Wayne hadn't wanted to get up-- he was warm and comfortable- 

The phone started ringing again, Wayne giving a grumble and begrudgingly pulling away from Jerome, having to shimmy his way out considering the other had a rather strong grip in his sleep, Wayne ending up halfway off the mattress with Jerome's hand locked around his hip, the raven haired boy's hand just inches away from the phone- 

The ringing stopped, Wayne letting out a long sigh and giving up for a few seconds, staring at the phone just out of reach in annoyance- 

Wayne got a text message, the phone vibrating just enough to where it moved towards the boy's hand slightly, Wayne barely managing to slide it towards him with his fingertips, reading the text message before replying to it. 

'Rome: We need to talk, lol. 

Wayne: Is something wrong? 

Rome: I meant we need to talk in person. 

Rome: Ya' know, verbally-- face to face, all that stuff. 

Wayne: You could call me on the phone? 

Rome: Can we just meet up? :) 

Wayne: Sure, where at and what time would work for you? 

Rome: Is now okay? Lmao, it's kinda'... urgent? I guess? 

Wayne: Urgent? 

Wayne: Are you hurt? 

Rome: No. 

Rome: Listen, can we just meet up now? At the park near the school or something? 

Wayne: Sure, I should be there in a bit. Is it okay if Jerome comes? 

Rome: As much as I like Jerome, this is kinda'... private, lol. Could it be just you and me? Please? :)' 

Wayne bit down on his lower lip at that, glancing down at Jerome and hesitating-- this put Wayne between a rock and a hard place... 

Another text message came from Rome, that one reading, "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to sound rude lmao... honestly this is just kinda' personal and I don't particularly want anyone else to be around when I talk to you about it-- sorry... just need ya' right now :(" 

... 

Dangit. 

Wayne sighed, carefully peeling Jerome's arm off of him and deciding to get ready to go meet up with the other. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Hey-" Wayne greeted, Rome glancing at him and giving a relieved grin, the red haired fifteen year old stepping forward and pressing a kiss against the younger one's lips, Wayne blinking a bit taken aback at the public display of affection. 

"Thanks for coming." Rome chuckled, pressing one more kiss against Wayne's cheek before pulling back, earning a cleared throat and ever so shy nod. 

"What did you want to talk about?" Wayne asked, arms crossing concerned. 

Rome rubbed the back of his neck while glancing around unsurely, chewing on the inside of his cheek before sighing, "Can we-" He swallowed dryly. "Can we take a walk?" 

Wayne's brow raised at that. "... Okay..?" 

~*~*~*~ 

"This is your home?" Wayne questioned as the pair stood out in the yard, earning a nod. "Why-" 

"Do you uh-" Rome gave a nervous laugh, rubbing the side of his neck, ears heating up as he forced a somewhat embarrassed smile. "You wanna' come inside? It would be easier to talk about what's going on there, and my parents are out of town, so..." 

Wayne paused, eying over the house Rome had walked them to, noting its address wasn't in clear view and realizing he didn't even know what street they were on, not at all familiar with this part of Gotham, answering with hesitance, "Um..." 

"I'm sorry, it's fine if you don't wanna', I just-" Rome swallowed thickly. "Something happened recently that's gotten me really shaken up, and I don't know who else to talk to, so..." He trailed off. 

Wayne looked over the distressed Rome concerned, biting his lower lip and contemplating for a few lengthy seconds before finally saying, "No, it's fine,", because if he was going to start dating Rome then he was going to have to trust him. "we can go inside." 

~*~*~*~ 

"You look rather pissed off." Jonathan commented as Jerome grabbed his coat. 

"Wayne went to go see Rome." Jerome explained sharply as he tossed a crumpled note at Jonathan. 

Jonathan's eyebrows quirked as he unfolded the paper while musing, "That hardly seems like something to be so upset about-- they are currently a... thing, aren't they?" 

The note read, 'Went to the park-- Rome said he needed to talk about something urgent, should be back by lunchtime :) ~ Wayne' 

"Rome's not exactly someone I like, Johnny-boy." Jerome scoffed, pulling his coat on. 

"Oh of course, of course-- you don't like him taking your things." Jonathan mused with an eye roll. 

"One, I don't treat Wayne like one of my 'things' anymore and you know that. Two, Rome is a jackass that I'm surprised you're not just as worried about considering you're supposed to be the observant one of the group." 

"You say everyone Wayne has partaken some sort of romantic interest in- except for Selina- is a 'jackass', Jerome-" 

"Have I been wrong yet?" Jerome challenged. "He has a bad taste in crushes-" 

"Considering he's attracted to the likes of you, I couldn't agree more." 

"Hardy-har-har." 

Jonathan smirked at Jerome's irritated behavior. "At least give Wayne until lunchtime to start a search party-" 

"I'm not sitting around here for four hours waiting for him to get back," Jerome snapped with an impatient smirk, Jonathan ever so slightly taken aback by the panicky and anxious laugh accompanying it. "I'm gonna' check to see if Selina wants to come, now are you tagging along or not?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's almost been a year since I've updated, I'm genuinely so sorry for the wait. 
> 
> I was stressing over college and career related dilemmas, and I had some personal things going on in life that I wanted to take care of before these things worsened. 
> 
> I sincerely feel like I'm doing better overall in all of these aspects so far, and would like to begin posting chapters regularly. Perhaps not twice a week, but at least one to three times a month. 
> 
> As much as I would like to work on this fic more often, please understand the aspects I was getting stressed over are things I should prioritize since they have a lot to do with my present and future. 
> 
> In any case, I am fairly sure I made this chapter longer than some others, so maybe it'll help make up for not updating in so long. 
> 
> As for shoutouts, I'd like to make a few since it's been a while :) 
> 
> http://abloghasnonamebitch.tumblr.com/   
> Probably one of the best friends I've made in the Valeyne fandom, in the Tumblr franchise, and in general. I appreciate her lots and am so thankful I had the chance to meet her since we've had the chance to talk about fandom works, original works, social views, and personal matters, which have consisted of pleasant conversations. She's been there for me through trying times, and I feel very lucky to have her as a friend!   
> Refer the link below to check out a Valeyne fic she's working on, it's truly one of my favs!   
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/8130245/chapters/18637361 
> 
> https://diana-the-peacemaker.tumblr.com/   
> An artist that's made such wonderful Valeyne and Gotham content, among content for original works and other fandoms! I've known her for a while and really like talking with her about various things like fandom related theories as well as opinions and personal views! Her art style is cutesy, and she's such a sweet gal!   
> Feel free to click the link below to see recent content of Gotham artwork she's made-- it's a comic, so you get to see more than just one art piece!   
> https://diana-the-peacemaker.tumblr.com/post/159577286066 
> 
> https://theindieprincessblog.tumblr.com/   
> I haven't had a chance to talk much with this gal yet since we only recently began conversing, but from the long and pleasant messages we have exchanged she seems like such a kind, creative, and interesting person! I would really recommend giving her blog a follow since from what I've seen it has A++ content! 
> 
> http://anna-omens13.tumblr.com/   
> Anna and I only started talking recently, but she's super outgoing! We've talked about stuff like Gotham and social views, and it's very pleasant sharing varying opinions with one another since it feels like very open minded conversations! She likes making art for both DC along with Marvel and original works, and she also blogs her theories as well as opinions on D.C. and Marvel related fandoms!   
> Take a look at the links below for some of her artwork of Jerome and Wayne!   
> Jerome~ http://anna-omens13.tumblr.com/post/158912766906/jerome-xd-first-time-drawing-him-too-here-are  
> Wayne~ http://anna-omens13.tumblr.com/post/158912327626/baby-bruce-first-time-drawing-him-so-i-wanted


	32. Gaslighting the Timidly Naïve

Rome caught the way that Wayne eyed him uncertainly as he locked the door handle, chain, and bolt, giving what was meant to be a reassuring grin and explaining, "It's Gotham, you can never be too careful, right?" When Wayne just stared at him warily for a few lengthy seconds Rome's smile briefly faltered, rubbing the side of his neck and adding, "Uh, I mean... admittedly, this is probably the worst area in Gotham, so that's why there's so many..." He trailed off, gesturing towards the trio of locks, noting how Wayne's brow furrowed and the corners of his lips tugged ever so slightly downwards. "nothi'n to worry about though! The windows are barred shut, too, so there's no way anyone could really get in here!" Rome laughed, but it sounded forced. 

Wayne realized that also meant it would be rather hard for anyone to get out as well... 

"What did you want to talk about?" Wayne calmly asked, not wanting to freak out, because it wasn't like Rome had gone and tied him up, and this had looked like a particularly tough part of Gotham, so there was a good chance the fifteen year old was being truthful. 

Wayne was probably just being silly and paranoid. 

"Oh, right!" Rome gave an anxious chuckle, Wayne not knowing whether to be concerned for Rome or himself at that. "How about I make us some breakfast first and then we talk?" 

Wayne offered a polite smile. "I already ate, but thank you." 

"Aw come on," Rome persisted, striding towards Wayne with a hop in his step. "you're a growing boy!" He ruffled up Wayne's carefully styled hair, earning a vague frown and either not seeing it or not addressing it as he chimed, "You need to be eating lots of food around your age!" 

Wayne ran his fingers through his hair to fix it as Rome's hand pulled back while saying, "I'm full, but you're more than welcome to make yourself some breakfast and we could talk after you're finished eating." Rome's smile fell at that, causing Wayne to hesitate before reluctantly sighing, "Is there a problem with that?" Why the hell was Rome so set on them having a meal together? They could just make plans for lunch or something- 

"I admittedly was kinda' planning on us having breakfast together," Rome gave a shrug and a laugh that sounded absolutely pitiful. "as a date or whatever." 

Wayne's pity quickly shifted into skepticism. "You were planning on us having breakfast today?" Rome gave a sheepish nod and grin. "Your text messages made it sound like something randomly came up just an hour ago." Wayne wasn't sure why he felt so cautious-- even when he was first getting to know Jerome, he was wary, yet not nearly this much on his toes. 

Rome's expression briefly fell. 

Briefly. 

"I mean, it did," Rome defended with a laugh. "but on my way to meet you at the park I decided it would be easier to talk about over breakfast is all." 

Wayne broodingly studied Rome as the ginger wore a forced smile, a few lengthy seconds going by before he let out an exhale and said, "All right, fine, but I don't want much." 

Rome grinned in relief, as though not accepting a breakfast date with him would mean Wayne wanted to break up rather than Wayne just not being damn hungry. 

Nonetheless, it seemed like a sweet gesture, so Wayne didn't get too irritated. 

"What do you want?" Rome chimed, giving a kiss to Wayne's cheek and another ruffle to his hair while practically almost skipping to the kitchen in the next door room. "Pancakes? Waffles? Omelettes? Scrambled eggs and bacon? Fried eggs and sausage? Fruit? Cereal? Fruit on cereal?" 

"Just a poached egg would be fine." Wayne assured, REALLY not wanting much. 

Silence. "A what?" 

Wayne gave a long drawn out breath. "You know what? Surprise me." 

Meanwhile a pissed Jerome, concerned Selina, and reluctant Jonathan were all searching for Wayne. 

"There's little to no use in simply strolling around while scanning our surroundings in hopes we may possibly spot him," Jonathan insisted, growing irked of this. "it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack, quite frankly." 

"Well we wouldn't have to be doing this if he hadn't run off like that." Jerome snapped with an annoyed but worried laugh. 

"Or if he was answering his text messages..." Selina murmured with a furrowed brow while looking down at her phone. 

'Selina: Hi :3 What's up? 

Selina: You there? 

Selina: Can you please answer your phone? 

Selina: Are you with that Rome kid? 

Selina: Can you just text me where you are if you can't call me back for some reason? 

Selina: Is your phone low on battery? Is it on vibrate? Are you giving me the silent treatment for some reason? Do you just not get that this is kinda' urgent? 

Selina: Hey Rome, not sure if you have Wayne's phone or some shit, but Rome... if you're reading this then I just want you to know that I'm gonna' claw your eyes out as soon as we find you if you've done anything to Wayne :3' 

"Wayne did not simply run away-- he left a note telling us who he was going to socialize with, and approximately what time we should expect him to return," Jonathan countered. "and the single person Wayne generally bothers replying to in a timely manner when it comes to texts is Harley since she's the only one of us that doesn't live in his residence," He was convinced this was just a wild goose chase. "he has a different ringer for her and everything considering he doesn't see the appeal in speedily texting back people he shares a home with due to how he can often just rather quickly converse in person whatever could be exchanged through written words within the day, and he prefers verbal face-to-face conversations unless it's urgent." 

"It IS urgent." Selina argued at that. 

"That's debatable." Jonathan countered plainly. 

"Are you not even the least bit worried he's gone off alone to meet up with one of my copycats that's going off of an interaction where I held him hostage?" Jerome scoffed bitterly, shoving his hands in his pockets and moving a few steps away from Jonathan, flashing the other an aggravated smile that wasn't at all nice. 

"I most certainly have a rather low trust for the copycat," Jonathan admitted, returning the unkind smile with a glare. "but I trust Wayne's judgement to meet in a public place with him, and I doubt he'd accompany Rome through any private vehicles or buildings." 

"Wayne's caution doesn't mean shit if he puts wanting to please pushy people before his own damn comfort..." Jerome grumbled under his breath, earning questioning looks from both Selina and Jonathan. "I'm just saying it doesn't matter how wary Wayne is with this bullshit when he doesn't know how to react to pressure." 

Selina and Jonathan exchanged looks, the girl hesitantly asking, "Did something happen with Rome and Wayne that we're not aware of?" 

Jerome paused, but knew he'd already been caught and would just be called out if he tried to brush it off or lie, figuring this would at least get Jonathan more seriously involved if he just admitted what had happened on Wayne's date with Rome, and he could trust Selina of course, but having to talk about something Wayne probably wanted private... 

Jerome hesitantly decided to just be vague and say, "When Wayne and Rome got back from their last date, I heard Wayne tell Rome to stop something and Rome didn't stop for a good while, so I had to go outside and usher Wayne in before things escalated, and the kiddo was defending Rome the whole damn time." There, that should be enough of a hint. 

Jonathan did look a little uneasy at that, Selina looking even more panicky than before, Jerome having to keep his smile forced up, because in all honesty- shit... in all honesty, Jerome was freaking out. 

Wayne on the other hand found Rome cooked pretty good food as he was halfway through his blueberry pancake with homemade strawberry syrup. 

"So what did you wanna' talk about?" Wayne asked through a mouthful of pancake, earning a smirk from Rome and embarrassedly swallowing it down with milk, ears heating up. 

"You sure can fit a lot of stuff into your mouth, huh?" Rome snickered, earning a tilted head and letting out a laugh at the naïve stare while trying to cover up his grin by taking a sip of coffee as he muttered, "Never mind." 

Wayne took another bite of the pancakes while grumbling, "What's that supposed to mean?" 

Rome gave a shrug and wide smile. "Nothing." Wayne couldn't help but feel self conscious for some reason, giving a glare that was more of a pout than anything, not wanting to talk with a full mouth but wanting to convey he wanted Rome to elaborate on the statement. "It was just a joke." Rome shrugged off, clearly amused by Wayne's innocence. 

"You can't just tell a joke and then not explain it." Wayne huffed after taking a sip of milk. 

"Joke's aren't funny if you have to explain what they mean." 

"Fine, I don't care what you meant." Wayne said under his breath, directing his upset gaze to his meal. 

Rome's eyes rolled, grinning nonetheless as he sighed, "Fine.", and leaned forward, Wayne freezing up with how the other still didn't seem to have a concept of personal space as he got a little too close, supposedly not noting Wayne's antsy behavior as he didn't bother backing up a bit, pressing his lips against Wayne's ear and explaining what he'd meant- 

Wayne gave Rome a slight shove, face heating up as the other gave a snicker, the fourteen year old glaring up at the fifteen year old and murmuring, "That's not funny..." 

They'd only had their first date, and Wayne had outright said he was unsure about how fast he wanted to take things while making it clear he was still new to this stuff, and it was obvious he was attempting to get comfortable with things, so he REALLY didn't appreciate Rome making comments like that about him. 

Nonetheless, perhaps Rome was just testing the waters to see how comfortable Wayne was with certain aspects, and hadn't meant any harm. 

That, Wayne could understand and not be uneasy about. 

However, when Rome laughed, "Come on, it was just a joke.", Wayne couldn't help but not be okay with that. 

"I don't want you making jokes involving that stuff about me." Wayne requested as politely as possible, fork scooting around the food on his plate as he averted his sights down to it so he could avoid Rome's gaze, hoping not meeting the copycat's eyes would make it easier to not feel so... guilty for telling Rome to stop doing stuff he wasn't comfortable with. 

Rome wasn't trying to make him feel guilty on purpose, was he..? 

"We're dating," Rome persisted, resting a hand on Wayne's knee and earning a fidget that just made him give a squeeze rather than pull back. "we're supposed to say stuff like that." 

Wayne couldn't tell if Rome was trying to make him feel reassured at the gesture or just naïve for not realizing his advances were supposedly normal for general relationship starters. 

Rome in fact knew Wayne didn't know better-- he knew Wayne was less experienced than he was, and he knew Wayne wouldn't be able to argue very well because of that. 

Rome knew what he was damn well doing, and he knew Wayne didn't want to accept that the same way Rome wouldn't admit he was doing this shit on purpose. 

"Dating doesn't have set rules," Wayne argued, Rome's eyes narrowing. "all you have to do is be interested in each other and check up on each other and not cheat on each other," He set his fork down, although he didn't raise his eyes. "romantic stuff can be doing stuff like holding hands-- it doesn't have to be saying stuff like... what you said." 

"You just want to hold hands?" Rome scoffed, Wayne inwardly wincing at the mocking tone. "That's boring, you can just up and expect this to be puppy-love shit all the time," Rome drew his hand back from Wayne's leg. "next thing ya' know you'll be telling me we both gotta' be wearing proper pants that go down to our ankles and turtlenecks that reach our jaws." 

"That's an exaggeration," Wayne commented, not backing down. "I don't care how you dress, I just care how you act towards me," He began fidgeting with his sleeves. "and I wasn't saying we have to just hold hands and stuff like that forever, but I'd prefer having a chance to get comfortable with where we're at now rather than progressing to something too quickly that could be regrettable." 

"Yeesh," Rome sighed, eyes rolling. "didn't realize you were so girly..." 

Wayne instinctively looked up at Rome questioningly. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

Rome put up his hands defensively. "Nothing, nothing," He assured with a shrug. "just didn't expect you to care so much about making sure we have a vanilla relationship," Rome knew how to make people doubt themselves. "and you talk A LOT about some pretty sappy stuff," He knew how to make people wonder if they were in the wrong to make it seem like he was in the right. "kinda' surprised you feel like you need to give us couple counseling so soon," He knew how to manipulate people. "not that there's anything wrong with that..." Rome made sure to use an unconvincing tone for that last part. 

Planting seeds of uncertainty in people was something Rome was VERY good at. 

Seeing Wayne become less and less confident during their debate was delightful to Rome; it would be easy to shape Wayne however he pleased when the other was so impressionable and naïve and eager to tiptoe around disagreeing with Rome to make sure he didn't upset the copycat he'd oh so easily fallen for. 

Jerome on the other hand was a lot more stubborn. 

It would take time for Rome to show Jerome how FUN it would be to make Wayne a loyal pup, because for a reason Rome couldn't fathom Jerome had become so aggravatingly set on making sure no one had the chance to influence Wayne into the perfect plaything, and Rome just had to subtly do so over time until Jerome figured out what was going on, and by then Wayne would be too dependent on someone else making his choices to speak out against it and that would give Rome the PERFECT opportunity to convince Jerome how much more amusing a corrupted and obedient toy would be by forcing Jerome to come to him about Wayne. 

Wayne was entertaining as himself because he at least would be a bit of a challenge to take over, but by the time Rome was done implicitly training him to do as told he'd be Rome's own trophy of success that clung to his every word. 

Jester had gone about impressing Jerome all wrong-- he had dismissed Wayne as a disposable source for fun that could be gotten rid of if needed, but Rome could see Wayne and Jerome were practically inseparable and the real way to get to Jerome was through Wayne! 

All Rome had to do was craft Wayne into his own object, show Jerome what he'd perfected him into, and prove to Jerome that corrupting Wayne into something that would be new and fun is much more entertaining than having Wayne be so good and decent and independent. 

There was a time Jerome knew how fun it would be to corrupt Wayne, and Rome just had to remind him of that. 

Wayne was going to rely first on Rome and secondly Jerome, and then even Mayne would be brought into the picture, and the four of them would paint Gotham into a place of vibrant entertainment with the blood of all the other insignificant copycats and boring citizens. 

Jerome would have so much fun with them, that Rome could even get rid of that annoying little cat girl the clown prince had gone and began growing fond of, because Rome would make it clear she wasn't part of the picture. 

Selina, Alfred, Jester... they'd be tossed aside like the garbage they were, because it would only be the four of them that would be looked after by one another in the end. 

Rome would turn Wayne and Jerome against anyone other than him and Mayne, and they'd be the kings of Gotham. 

It had been easy enough to get Mayne pulled into his web-- how hard could it be to lure in Wayne and Jerome? 

Rome snapped out of his daydreaming when Wayne- who had been staring at his food quietly- finally spoke up to say, "You can hold my hand, put your arm around me, flirt with me, kiss me, and sleep next to me," Boundaries were always good to have in a relationship, right? "but anything else I want you to ask about before you try it." 

Wayne didn't know if Rome had even heard half of what he stated when the other just hummed, "I can kiss you?" 

Wayne felt his cheeks tint pink. "Yes." 

"Where?" Rome teased with a wink, earning a slight glare that was more embarrassed than anything. 

"Collarbone and above." Wayne huffed, arms crossing as he looked off to the side. 

"Ooh, collarbone, eh?" Rome chuckled, reaching out to grip Wayne's chin, forcing the other to look at him. "Gotta' admit, I was hoping you'd say below the belt, but-" 

"I said you could flirt," Wayne instantly interjected, uncomfortable at the advance. "not make comments like that." 

"-but-" Rome continued, more or less dismissing what Wayne had said. "-I'm still fairly satisfied with collarbone." 

Wayne didn't know where to avert his gaze to, their faces centimeters apart. "I- um-" He found himself suddenly getting rather shy, earning a smirk and tensing up as Rome pressed their lips together. 

For a while, it was okay. Rome kept one hand cupping Wayne's jaw while the other gripped his hip, one of Wayne's hands on Romes' shoulder while the other held onto the collar of his shirt, the kiss actually turning out quite pleasant when Wayne got used to it and even began kissing back while leaning forward a little. 

However, Wayne began to feel a bit dizzy and tired, at first figuring it was just him swooning at the affection he wasn't used to before gradually registering something was wrong when realizing he was starting to drift in and out, brow furrowing as he pulled back from the kiss, vision blurring then focusing a few times. 

"I don't feel-" Wayne started, frowning as Rome just pressed their lips back together, pushing the older one back by his chest and saying, "I feel... weird...", while swaying in his chair, speech somewhat slurred, grasping at Rome's upper arms for support as he stood up, the other standing with him and catching Wayne by his waist as the younger one stumbled back. "I'm pretty sure I'm sick?" Wayne groggily murmured rather confused while leaning into Rome to assure he didn't fall. "Can you- can you call Alfred?" Wayne's vision kept fading in and out to black. "I don't know what-" 

"Maybe it was something you ate?" Rome suggested in a strangely calm tone. 

Wayne let Rome tug him over to the couch to sit down, leaning heavily against the taller one while yawning, "I just ate some of Alfred's eggs and toast... and some fruit." His eyelids were so heavy. "Oh, and your pancakes." Rome didn't comment on that, Wayne feeling oddly cozy and calm against the copycat wrapping his arms around him and rubbing his palms soothingly against his back- 

Pancakes. 

The pancakes Rome had made. 

... 

... Shit. 

Rome had put something in the pancakes. 

Wayne jerked away from Rome, tripping over his own feet as he tried and failed to stand, falling in a sitting position on the floor before just flopping to his side, dread filling him up as his limbs began to feel numb, it getting harder and harder to stay awake the more he struggled. 

"Easy," Rome coaxed as Wayne managed to scramble against the wall by forcing himself away with heavy limbs scooting and sliding against the hardwood floor, staring up at Rome wide eyed. "you probably just got a bad batch of blueberries is all." He assured, getting up to stride over towards Wayne. 

"Get away from me!" Wayne warned, forcing his tingling legs to heave him up, leaning against the wall for support while attempting to make his way towards the door, barely getting a few feet forward before having Rome step in front of him and grasp his upper arms. "Don't-" He pleaded, helplessly sinking to his feet in attempts to be too heavy to hold up and force Rome to release him, his knees hitting the ground before the older one yanked him back up. 

"Relax," Rome eased, practically dragging Wayne towards a large and cushiony recliner, setting the shaking boy down in it. "you need to get some rest-- you don't look well." 

Wayne didn't listen, just shoving his hand into his pocket, fingers fumbling and brushing against his phone, managing to push it out with his numb palm and pressing heavy fingers against the area's needs to finally get to 'contacts' after having to do a few double takes, shakily scrolling down to his butler's name and- 

Rome snatched up Wayne's phone, the fourteen year old staring up at him taken aback and in distress at the realization he probably should have kept his phone in his pocket until Rome had left the room, weakly begging, "Please-" 

It was like Rome was a cat playing with a fallen bird, waiting for the bird to hop and limp its way back to its nest before swatting it all the way back down to the ground right when it nearly managed to crawl in. 

"I'll call him," Rome chimed, Wayne trying to figure out if the other had even pressed the call button as Rome held the phone up to his ear while justifying, "your speech is a little off." 

Wayne tried to argue, but he was so afraid and fatigued and in shock that only pathetic noises came out, and the next thing he knew he was out cold in Rome's empty house at a part of Gotham he wasn't familiar with.

No one knew where specifically Wayne had gone. No one knew where Rome lived. No one knew how to get into contact with Rome other than him. 

Jerome did however have an idea of how to find Wayne as he waited for Mayne at the restaurant while Selina and Jonathan searched the last few places Wayne could possibly be. 

Mayne was about ten minutes early, although Jerome had been waiting at the table for half an hour, wanting to speak to the other as soon as possible. 

Resisting the urge to pull out his knife and press the blade against Mayne's throat while interrogating him about Rome's home address in front of a nearly full restaurant and risking the chance of them seeing through the disguise Harley had made him was a lot harder to do than it should have been. 

In all fairness, Jerome's attraction to Mayne had plummeted considerably, and all he wanted to get out of this date was Wayne's location. 

Jerome's impulsive ass had to be subtle about how he handled this, which would at least be relatively good practice at pretending to be an upstanding citizen. 

Nonetheless, it was lunchtime, and there was a chance Wayne was fine and back at the mansion by now like he said he'd be now, and Jerome would know if he was if the little shit just answered his damn phone at least once a day rather than replying a week later with 'Sorry I didn't see this.' to everyone other than Harley. 

Normally, Jerome didn't mind that, although if Wayne was doing this for whatever reason on purpose when their was clearly an urgent matter going on, he couldn't help but find it irksome. 

Nonetheless, Jerome would rather Wayne just be ignoring his text messages or not seeing them rather than not answering for some other reason... 

"You're here early." Mayne greeted with a slight smile, taking a seat across from the Jerome forcing a grin. 

"Ditto." Jerome replied, wondering just how involved Mayne was with Rome considering the pair had seemed rather close. 

"Any idea on what you're going to order yet?" Mayne mused, opening his menu and scanning the items. 

"The scallops look good." Jerome answered with a shrug, taking a sip of his coke while studying the nearly emotionless Mayne, the other rather skillful at wearing an unreadable expression. 

Mayne nodded, keeping his eyes on the menu as Jerome stared at him. "Your disguise looks good, by the way." 

"Thanks," Jerome chuckled, trying to act normal. "do I rock being a brunet?" 

Mayne smirked vaguely, closing his menu and glancing up to eye the wig. "Not bad," He commented, reaching out to run his fingers through the realistic accessory. "but I personally prefer red on you." He admitted, hand moving down to brush his palm against Jerome's cheek for a brief second, locking their gazes before pulling back. 

Jerome would have found Mayne alluring if he wasn't supposedly Rome's little lackey. "I'd say just about anything would look good on you." Jerome charmed nonetheless, giving a wink and cracking a smile, wanting to get Mayne nice and comfy before he casually interrogated him. 

"Oh?" Mayne flirted right back, eyelashes batting. "Is there something in particular you want me to try out?" 

Jerome admittedly couldn't tell if Mayne was talking about hairstyles or something else at that, going with the safe and teasing answer of, "Maybe.", with a chuckle and shrug. 

"Like what?" Mayne inquired, as though he was up and offering something. 

Part of Jerome couldn't help but wonder if this copycat was really dedicated enough to change whatever Jerome told him to change about himself in all honesty... 

Jerome was saved from having to answer when a waiter came to their table and asked if they were ready to order, the pair nodding at that, Mayne ordering coconut shrimp with asparagus and Jerome ordering grilled scallops with carrots while slipping the waiter a hundred bucks to convince him to not ask for their IDs when ordering two margaritas. 

A drunk Mayne would be a more honest Mayne, and that's exactly what Jerome wanted to have to find out where Wayne was at. 

While Jerome and Mayne flirted over lunch, Wayne woke up on a bed with fresh sheets in an unfamiliar room, taking a few lengthy seconds to figure out where he was after recalling and processing what was going on, groggily getting up and ignoring the exhaustion spreading throughout him, forcing his sluggish legs to sway their way to the door, regretting to find he was right about the handle not budging and examining it, giving a shaken up sigh whence realizing it had been locked from the outside. 

Wayne rubbed his eyes and gave a yawn as he scanned the room, noting a barred and tinted window that he walked over to, almost tripping but managing to catch himself, still not fully waken up. 

While the window could be clearly seen out of from the inside, it was one of the types that looked dark from the outside, causing Wayne to frown and reach his hand through the bars, pressing against it and finding it was rather thick glass that wouldn't break easily, unable to raise it due to it being bolted down. 

Wayne bit his lower lip and continued taking in his surroundings, realizing there was both a nicely folded up pair of blue pajamas and a camera in the corner of the room, glaring at the camera after looking back and forth between them, mouthing some rather rude words at it before tossing the pajama shirt over it to cover the lens, quickly looking around for something to use as a weapon and spotting a lamp, shaky fingers hurriedly unplugging it and wrapping around it before he speedily but quietly walked over to the side of the door, holding the lamp up and waiting for it to open. 

Within a minute, it did. 

"Whoa-" Rome objected as Wayne swung the lamp at him, crashing it against his jaw and cussing under his breath as it just made the copycat fall to his hands and knees while letting out a grunt of pain rather than managing to knock him out, briefly debating on hitting him with something else to make sure he stayed down but resorting to just hopping over him and sprinting down the hall to the door in the living room when deciding he had no time to waste and not wanting to risk Rome blocking a second attempt at knocking him out, sliding the chain lock off before clicking open the door lock, letting out a noise of distress when realizing he didn't have the key for the bolt lock, eyes darting around for any sign of a key and- 

"What the hell was that for, Wayne?" Rome groaned while spitting out blood, Wayne's eyes widening as he turned to face the other, taking a step towards the door and pressing his back against it, looking around for something else to defend himself with and seeing a wooden chair at a desk. "Hey-" Rome started, taking a step forward. 

Wayne darted towards the chair, grabbing it as Rome sped walked towards him and holding it up so its legs were facing the other as he warned in a hoarse voice, "Back off." 

Rome halted, glancing at the chair before returning his gaze to Wayne's, raising his hands up in a defenseless manner while calmly asking, "Come on Wayne, what's going on? Why are ya' freaking out on me all of a sudden-" 

"You put some kind of drug in my breakfast and locked me in a room!" Wayne scoffed, not lowering the chair. 

"I what?" Rome questioned with a raised brow. "What are you talking about-" 

"You know what I'm talking about!" Wayne snapped in disbelief, because if Rome REALLY believed he could just magically convince Wayne he wasn't attempting to kidnap him after the shit he pulled- 

"Listen, we both got a bad batch of blueberries, all right?" Rome calmed, earning narrowed eyes. "I just woke up like an hour ago-- blueberries can knock ya' out if you get a spoiled bunch is all." 

"Oh bullshit-" 

"You've never heard of that?" Rome asked with a surprised expression. "You really are a rich kid..." 

"That doesn't mean I'm ditsy!" Wayne huffed in aggravation and fear. "Blueberries don't do that-" 

"The organic kind do," Rome insisted, Wayne giving him a look. "they don't have all the preservatives to get rid of the gene that can do that if you eat them or some shit." 

Wayne wasn't about to get into a heated argument about blueberries. "Fine, let's say you're not being a lying asshole," He retorted, earning a quirked brow. "what about locking me in a room?!" 

"Listen, just put the chair down and stop freaking out so we can talk about this like a normal-" Rome bargained, hands reaching out, pausing as Wayne raised the chair warningly and causing Rome to just lower his hands and sigh, "That room's door gets stuck all the time-" 

Wayne knew arguing about that wouldn't get them anywhere, instead bringing up, "The tinted barred windows?" 

"I already told ya' the windows are barred because this is a bad neighborhood where a lot of places get broken into," Rome answered without missing a beat. "we tinted the windows because we like to have some privacy and not let potential robbers have an easy time figuring out whether or not we're home," He gave a casual shrug, as though there was nothing to be freaking out about. "plus a lot of annoying kids around here find it fun to peep for dares." 

"Fine," Wayne said through clenched teeth. "the camera?" 

Rome stared at Wayne as though he'd missed something obvious. "Security measures in case the house gets broken into." 

Dangit. "All right, what about the pajamas?" Wayne persisted. "Why did you lay those out like you expected me to be staying here?" 

"Sometimes bad blueberries can make you sick," Rome answered instantly. "I just wanted you to have some comfy clothes in case you weren't feeling well." 

"They were my size," Wayne countered. "you were planning on me wearing those-" 

"I have a little brother that wears your size." 

"You called me over here to talk," Wayne finally brought up, ready to ram the chair forward if Rome tried anything. "but we never talked about whatever was going on," He continued to study Rome's expression while interrogating, "assuming you weren't just trying to lure me here, what did you want to talk about?" 

That time, Rome took a few seconds to answer rather than having something to say right after, eventually going with, "It's kinda' personal, and not something I wanna' talk about when you're freaking out at me." 

Fair enough, but Wayne wasn't convinced. "Where's my phone?" The fourteen year old asked, throwing question after question at Rome in attempts to make him slip up. 

Rome rubbed the side of his neck sheepishly, giving an apologetic grin. "I accidentally dropped it when I tried to call Alfred and it shattered." 

Wayne gave Rome a look. "Oh wow, how convenient." 

"I can totally get you a new one-" 

"Just move and let me leave." Wayne interjected, knuckles white from clenching the chair that was growing heavy in his grasp. 

Rome blinked, seemingly not planning for that. "What?" 

"I'll believe everything you just said if you stop blocking off my way out of here, unlock the door, and let me go home." 

Rome paused, glancing between the chair and Wayne before bargaining, "How about we just sit down on the couch and talk about what we came here to talk about first?" 

"You mean the thing you keep avoiding telling me about?" Wayne asked skeptically, assuming Rome didn't really have anything to say. 

"I've been hesitant," Rome laughed defensively and a bit annoyedly. "it's not exactly easy to talk about." 

"Then we can talk about it in a public place." Wayne said without leaving room for argument. 

"It's private-" Rome emphasized. 

"Then we can talk in a private public place!" 

"What the hell is a private public place?!" 

"I just meant we can go somewhere like the park with other people and talk under a tree no one else is around or something!" Wayne exclaimed frustrated. 

Rome didn't know how to manipulate his way out of shit like this when Wayne was actually calling him out on his bull-crap. 

So, Rome instead straightened up and raised his chin, stepping forward and causing Wayne to threaten, "Get away before I-" Rome quirked a brow, not listening and resulting in Wayne ramming the chair at him, going wide eyed as Rome grabbed the chair legs before they could hit him and ripping the chair out of his hands, Wayne cowering against the wall uncertainly and eying the fifteen year old as he tossed the chair to the side. 

"If I wanted to keep you here," Rome spoke in a tone and smile that was still assuring, but also much colder. "then I would have just broken your damn legs," He gave a shrug, observing the boy who didn't even realize how badly he was trembling before leaning down to meet his eye level, Wayne wincing away. "wouldn't exactly be hard-" Rome mused, hands going on either side of the fourteen year old that just scrambled closer to the wall, back pressed firmly against the surface. "-considering breaking Tommy's arm was like snapping a twig." 

Wayne felt his gut drop. 

Tommy had been telling the truth. 

Wayne didn't know what the say, just swallowing dryly and squeezing his eyes closed, turning his face away from the other much to close for comfort while slightly sliding against the wall just enough to get at least somewhat away from the towering other, the only thing coming to mind being the need to shut Rome out- 

"Hey," Rome crooned, Wayne's breathing becoming erratic. "easy now," He coaxed, reaching out to grip Wayne's chin gently and earning a fidget, Wayne turning more so away from him and pressing the side of his face against the wall. "I wouldn't hurt you," The grip tightened warningly nonetheless, forcing Wayne to reluctantly turn to face him, staring up at Rome with a glare. "you can be a little too damn stubborn sometimes, but that doesn't mean I'm about to bruise up one of my things." 

"I'm not one of your anything, jackass." Wayne spat, abruptly kneeing Rome where it counts and shoving the older one back by his chest, Rome leaning on the wall and feeling like all the air had just been forced out of him as Wayne ran towards the front door, desperately ramming the whole right side of his body against it several times and earning a bruise along his whole arm, giving a frustrated huff and resorting to attempting to yank the lock off of it, hands shaking when instead switching to trying to just prying it open by grasping at the handle while pulling back with his whole body. 

Wayne was about to look around for anything resembling a crowbar when he felt an arm wrap around his waist, an irked Rome with a pissed off smirk dragging a kicking and flailing Wayne over to the wall, ramming him against it hard enough to bruise, but not fracture or break. 

"Ya' know, I've been pretty nice to ya' all things considered," Rome laughed with venom laced in his voice, one hand gripping Wayne's hair and craning his neck back so he had to look up at him, the other holding both of Wayne's wrists in front of the stubborn boy's chest. "I mean, first you ram a lamp against my jaw, and then you kick below the belt, all while I've been nothing but nice to ya'-" Wayne spit at Rome, the other gritting his teeth and closing his eyes, taking a few good seconds to contain himself before looking at Wayne once more and tightening his grasp threateningly. "Are you trying to piss me off?" Rome inquired with an icy chuckle, leaning down to meet Wayne's glower. "Because it's working." 

"If you're expecting me to show gratitude for being kidnapped by you-" Wayne grumbled with glossy eyes. 

"I'm not kidnapping you," Rome denied, Wayne's pulse rushing under his fingertips. "I'm just trying to get you to calm down and stop being delusional so we can talk about what we agreed to talk about." 

Rome was trying to gaslight Wayne into believing he was the one in the wrong. 

Wayne knew if he argued Rome would just keep making it sound like he wasn't doing anything wrong, so instead Wayne asked in as steady a voice he could muster, "I can leave after we talk?" 

Rome's gaze actually softened a little at the way that Wayne's eyes brimmed with water, hesitantly moving a hand down to gently cup at Wayne's jaw rather than tightly grip his hair while his other hand firmly around his wrists loosened. "Yeah, if you want to then of course you can." 

Wayne wasn't sure if he believed him, but quietly agreed, "Okay." 

Rome gave a satisfied grin at that, suddenly seeming much warmer and dipping down to kiss the smaller one and show there was nothing to be all riled up about, smile falling when Wayne turned his cheek towards him. 

Wayne wanted to be a rude ass? Fine, Rome could be an ass, too. 

"Let's talk after you've cooled off," Rome sighed at that, pulling back and earning a look of disbelief from Wayne. "I'm not gonna' talk about this with you if you're going to be all bitchy about it," He shrugged off, walking towards the couch. "go finish taking your nap or some shit so we can talk like adults without you being all cranky." 

One second Rome was being all sweet on Wayne, the next he was back to acting like Wayne was doing something bad. 

Not wanting to bother getting into another argument where Rome refused to admit he was being a jerk, Wayne just did as told and stormed off to his room, wanting time to himself to come up with a backup plan. 

Jerome found his own plan seemed to be going rather smoothly as Mayne downed the margarita they'd gotten to go. 

Mayne's seventh margarita, at that. 

The pair were admiring the view from the harbor docks, just messing around and having fun, doing normal date things. 

Or at least Mayne believed that's what they were doing, not knowing Jerome had an ulterior motive of finding out where the hell Wayne was. 

"You know," Mayne slurred with a smirk, leaning heavily on the Jerome that had only had one drink. "if I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to get me drunk." The sixteen year old purred, hand resting on the other's leg as they both sat on the dock, feet in the water. 

Jerome forced a laugh, vaguely uncomfortable with the notion he seemed like the kind of guy to have a heated night with someone by getting them drunk, but not about to ruin the mood by saying he preferred sober partners and risk not having Mayne complying about Rome. 

"I definitely don't mind the behavior." Jerome chuckled with a mutter, placing his hands over Mayne's and giving a squeeze. 

If Jerome wanted to keep Mayne unsuspecting, he had to return the flirts. 

Mayne arched a brow, pulling back to examine Jerome to study him, the seventeen year old giving a cheeky smile at the stare. 

"Oh?" Mayne mused, hand moving to rest a little higher on the older one's leg, locking their gazes. 

Okay, yeah, maybe a bit too much. 

Jerome reached down to pry Mayne's hand off of his thigh, instead intertwining their fingers to hold it so it didn't seem suspicious. "Mhm." If Selina and Jonathan had managed to find Wayne and he was doing this for nothing he was going to kick their asses for not telling him. Heck, for all he knew Wayne, Selina, and Jonathan were watching this from a hiding spot far away and snickering at him. 

Mayne leaned forward, and in all honesty Jerome would have gladly kissed him if he hadn't started hating this guy for being best friends with a creep like Rome, but instead he had to force himself to not lean back, relieved when Mayne paused before their lips got too close together while saying, "How about we go somewhere a little more private?" 

How about they didn't. 

"Sure," Jerome reluctantly agreed with as much enthusiasm as possible. "but uh- well... He flashed an award winning smile. "is it all right if we go visit Rome's place?" 

That made Mayne's expression fall, Jerome taking that as a bad sign something really had gone down with Wayne and Rome. "Why?" 

Jerome didn't dare lay off the charm, leaning down so their faces were only centimeters apart. "He's grown on me is all." Wait, no, that came out wrong-- he didn't want Mayne to go and be jealous. "I uh- I just mean-" 

"Really?" Mayne asked ecstatically, a pleasant look of surprise meeting his features as he perked up. 

Jerome hadn't expected... that reaction, giving an unsure smile. "Yes?" 

Mayne leaned forward, planting one right on the taller one's lips, earning a VERY tense Jerome that just stared at him taken aback as he pulled away and exclaimed, "Fantastic!" 

Jerome parted his lips to say something before shutting them, pausing and then opening them again to agree with an uncertain laugh, "Yep..." 

Mayne's smile turned into a worried look, biting down on his lower lip and admitting, "But I'm not sure now is the best time to go visit Rome..." 

Jerome tried to not look too pissed. "Oh?" He cupped Mayne's cheek, ushering the other to look at him as he asked with a smile, "Why not?" 

Mayne averted his gaze, blush tinting his cheeks. "He's... busy." 

Bullshit. 

Jerome continued trying to get info from Mayne, Selina and Jonathan continued searching for him, and Rome waited for Wayne to stop throwing such a tantrum and hiding in his new room. 

Around dinner time was when Wayne finally came out. 

"I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier," Wayne apologized softly earning a taken aback stare. "I understand I was jumping to conclusions and behaving poorly," He rubbed his upper arm. "I believe you were just trying to help calm me down, and I'm sorry for being cruel and accusing you of something as delusional as kidnapping." Wayne shuffled around, gaze averted and body language timid. 

Rome was skeptical, yet assured, "Its all right.", with a friendly grin. 

Wayne chewed the inside of his cheek. "Would you like to talk about what's been bothering you now?" He forced himself to meet Rome's gaze. "If something's concerning you I'd like to listen and help if that's what you want." 

There it was. "I'm too tired now." Rome scoffed, and he should have figured Wayne was just trying to get this over with so he could get away. 

Wayne had seen that one coming, but it was still regrettable to hear. "Would you rather I go home and come back tomorrow?" 

Rome was pissed at Wayne, and his innocent façade didn't mean shit when he knew what he was up to. "You can stay here tonight; I'm too tired to walk you home, and I don't know where my phone is-- not to mention yours broke, so it's not like you can call your butler to come get you," He looked back towards the movie. "you shouldn't walk through this neighborhood at night... it's dangerous, so feel free to go take a shower and get some rest." 

Wayne hadn't expected much else, and knew better than to attempt arguing. "I'm not tired." 

"Not my problem, I already told you it's too dangerous to walk back from here at night." 

Wayne swallowed thickly, hesitantly asking, "Can I stay up with you?" 

It was becoming more and more obvious Wayne was probably just going to have to play along and get on Rome's good side so he could escape whenever the other got too trusting and comfy with him. 

Rome arched a brow, returning his gaze towards Wayne. "You wanna' watch this?" Wayne nodded and continued just standing there awkwardly, Rome hesitantly scooting over and gesturing towards the area beside him, Wayne pausing before sitting beside him, Rome not expecting the way the younger one cuddled up to him. 

Had Rome really already broken Wayne this much? 

Wayne rested his cheek on Rome's chest, letting the other wrap a satisfied arm around him as he scanned the room for any sight of something he could pick the lock with. 

After ignoring the movie for five minutes and taking that time to visually search the room, Wayne found he had no luck, holding in his exhale of disappointment and resorting to reluctantly sitting up somewhat to press a kiss against Rome's cheek. 

Rome smirked, turning to look at the smaller one while remaining on his guard, yet musing, "You're certainly being more touchy feely than usual." 

"Am I?" Wayne murmured, nuzzling against Rome's neck, that managing to get the fifteen year old to dip down to press their lips together. 

Wayne easily got in Rome's lap after about a minute of that going on, Wayne's pawing hands wandering down to Rome's jeans, pressing his palms sneakily against the other's pockets, and for the love of- empty. Nothing. No key. Wayne had snogged Rome for absolutely no reason other than disappointment. 

Rome took Wayne's hands against his lap as an invitation to grip Wayne's hips, Wayne furrowing his brow and forcing himself to not push away to avoid suspicion, relieved when Rome briefly pulled back for air. 

"What are you up to?" Rome mused intrigued while smirking up at the Wayne looking like a deer caught like in a net. 

"Am I not allowed to kiss you?" Wayne muttered defensively in a soft voice, earning a questioning gaze and leaning down to kiss Rome more to avoid being interrogated, only bothering with doing so for about another minute before pulling back. 

Rome had been wondering how far he could make a rather suddenly doting Wayne go when the other pulled back and let out a noise of discomfort, breathing shallow. 

"Hey, what's-" Rome started to ask concerned, reaching up to cup Wayne's face scrunched in pain and earning a hoarse and quiet reply. "Huh?" 

"Inhaler," Wayne coughed, Rome's eyes widening. "I need my inhaler." 

"Your what?" Rome questioned in disbelief, because this couldn't be- 

"Asthma," Wayne wheezed, slipping off of Rome's lap and onto the floor, doubling over as he began seemingly hyperventilating. "I have asthma." 

Shit. 

"Did you not bring your inhaler with you?!" Rome laughed in a distressed voice, said laugh more anxious than joyful. 

"I haven't-" Wayne choked, Rome kneeling beside him. "I haven't had an attack in-" He gasped for air. "-in three years-" He let out a sob. 

"Well what do you want me to do?! I don't know what to- can you just- can you just take steady breaths or something like that?!" 

"Help-" Wayne pleaded, trying to stand up shakily before just stumbling backwards, falling on his side near the front door. "Rome please-" 

Shit shit shit! 

"I'll run to the drugstore!" Rome assured while pulling out a chain containing the key around his neck, because he couldn't call 911 when there was a chance Wayne would accuse him of kidnapping. 

This was something Rome couldn't just sit around and do nothing about nonetheless-- he had to hurry and not waste any time. 

Rome quickly unlocked and opened the door, about to sprint out it when feeling Wayne kick his legs from out underneath him, falling on his back as Wayne scrambled up and bolted outside. 

Wayne yelled for help and ran as fast as he could, but only got halfway to the gate when Rome tackled him, covering his mouth with a white cloth he'd had in his pocket, holding it there with ease for a good while until the struggling Wayne went limp. 

The escape plan was foiled within minutes. 

It had been a good fake out to be fair. 

After carrying Wayne back inside and locking his door along with re-locking the front door, Rome went to finish his movie, being interrupted by a knock at and cussing under his breath while turning off said movie, glancing towards the door and listening for any kind of sound, pausing before getting up and grabbing the knife on his end table, wondering if someone had seen the struggle and was wanting to be a nosy little annoying investigator, quietly getting up and tiptoeing towards the door, hesitantly undoing the locks and readying himself to stab whoever- 

Mayne stepped through the door, pressing his lips against Rome's as an instinctive greeting before pulling back to mutter against his lips, "We need to talk." 

Rome looked Mayne over concerned. "What's up?" 

While Mayne had managed to sneak away from the Jerome attempting to follow from far away after excusing himself from the date with the clown of crime and refusing to talk about Rome's location, Selina- who had been protectively watching their date from afar while Jonathan searched for Wayne- had managed to track him with ease, the girl noting what house he'd gone into from across the street and texting Jerome and Jonathan her location. 

Maybe this was where Rome was... and Wayne. 

Rome gave a sigh when hearing a knock ten minutes after Mayne had left, figuring the other had realized there was something else he should know and opening the door while saying, "What is it now-", before going quiet from surprise. 

Jerome was more than just pissed off as he walked towards the backing up copycat and rammed Rome against the wall, holding the other up by his shirt. "Where is he?" 

Rome held up his hands defensively, giving an anxious laugh. "H-hey, easy now-" 

"Where. is. he?" Jerome repeated though clenched teeth. 

"Where's who?" Rome asked as innocently as possible, eyes widening as a rather furious Selina and enraged Jonathan stormed off to look for him. 

"You know who I'm talking about," Jerome scoffed, raising Rome inches off the floor and holding him there menacingly. "I know Wayne's here-" 

"Wayne?" Rome gave a uneasy laugh. "He left hours ago-" His eyes widened, Jerome throwing him to the side, his body flying against the floor. "Shit!" He laughed, his rib colliding with the wooden boards and cracking. 

"Lie to me again and I'll carve a frown into your damn face instead." Jerome warned, placing a shoe against Rome's jaw threateningly. "Now where the hell is he?!" It was one thing when Jerome just wasn't smiling... but when he was glaring... that was never a good sign. 

"He's fine!" Rome assured, smiling anxiously as Jerome put pressure on his jaw. "I swear! I- I didn't hurt him!" He gave a nervous laugh. "He wanted to stay here, so I let him!" 

"Bullshit," Jerome nearly damn well growled, Rome wincing as he dug his heel down. "where. is. he?" 

Whether Rome was laughing or hyperventilating was hard to tell as he managed to get out, "He's just- just getting some shut eye! He was tired, so I let him lay down." 

Jerome felt his gut sink, unsure as to whether Wayne was tired from sleep deprivation or something worse... like blood loss. "Where did you 'let him lay down' at?" He snapped, bringing his foot back and reaching down to yank the other up by his shirt, keeping him on his knees. 

Rome gripped Jerome's wrists, trying to push the other away and just feeling the grasp tighten. "It's not like I laid him down in a ditch..." 

Jerome narrowed his eyes. "Is that a joke?" He ignored the urge to just cut this guy's throat open, unsure as to whether or not they needed him alive to find wherever Wayne could be. "Because it's not funny." 

Rome's expression fell at Jerome's distaste for his humor, and it's as though that's what finally did it. 

Jerome didn't find him funny? 

"You know," Rome gave a laugh, his overly gleeful expression settling back in almost as quickly as it left. "Wayne really is a lot of fun," Rome was hilarious! "really-- I see why you're so possessive over him now," Rome was just as funny as Jerome! "but something I just don't get is why you're bothering with keeping him around for just a bit of friendly conversation," No-- Rome was FUNNIER than Jerome! "I mean, I'm sure that mouth of his can probably do more than just talk, if you know what I-" 

Rome wasn't even sure when he started laughing, and he wasn't sure when Jerome started swinging at him either, but either way he didn't have a chance to finish his sentence. 

"I swear, if you laid a hand on him-" Jerome warned, fists halting, whether Rome was on the floor wheezing from laughing so hard or from the punches Jerome had given him unknown as Jerome didn't bother resisting the urge to swing again. 

"He really is a little tease, I don't see how you resist not-" Rome didn't get to complete his joke, Jerome slamming his knee into his jaw, nearly dislodging it as Rome fell back onto his side, laughs turning into coughs. 

"I'll keep breaking bones until you tell me where Wayne is." Jerome spoke in a dangerously calm voice, reaching down to heave the other up by his throat. "So I'm going to ask you nicely one more time: where-" 

"Don't get mad at me," Rome chuckled, hands raising defensively. "you're the one that let rich boy out of your sights," If Rome couldn't get Jerome amused around him, he'd take the next extreme-- pissed at him. "it's his own fault for being so trusting," He winced, grinning so wide it hurt as Jerome slammed him with his back against a wall. "but that's why you like him, right?" Jerome was seething! He got the non-stop smiler seething! "Because he can't help but trust you to not drive a knife through his pretty pink neck, so that's exactly what's got you so interested in him-" Jerome gripped his throat menacingly, Rome laughing hoarsely. "-he's just a loyal pup to you, right?" He grasped at Jerome's wrists, air supply going low, smile faltering before growing. "Who wouldn't like that?" It was getting hard to talk. "I mean, if loyalty is what gets you going, then Wayne sure is doing a good-" 

Jerome yanked Rome towards his knee, ramming the other in a stomach, Rome choking out air and blood. 

Part of Rome felt exhilarated with how he'd managed to get the king of laughter so enraged. The other part of him just felt regret as literally every area in his body seemed to ache, and Jerome certainly didn't seem even close to being done with him. 

"You know, there's only been four people I've REALLY wanted to kill," Jerome didn't sound amused in the least as he referred to Lila, Cicero, Theo, and Jester. "but you've managed to make five-" He spoke, reaching for the knife in his pocket. 

"Jerome!" Selina called out, causing the other to pause. "It- it's Wayne, I don't-" Silence. "I- I don't know what..." 

Shit... that didn't sound good. 

Jerome glanced at Rome, making sure the wheezing, laughing, bloody heap of a copycat wasn't going anywhere soon before cautiously jogging to where Selina had called for him from the room she'd pick locked, freezing up at the sight of Wayne. 

"Is he-" Jerome asked concerned, warily walking into the room. 

"I- I don't know what-" Selina swallowed thickly, trying to shake the unconscious Wayne awake. "He's breathing normally and he has a normal pulse, but I- I don't-" 

"He should be fine," Jonathan finally spoke up in assurance, gesturing towards a bottle near the bedside table while pushing by Selina to examine the kidnapped boy. "it's only chloroform." 

Jerome felt relief wash over him at that. "We're leaving," He stated, moving by the pair to pick up Wayne, gathering up the stirring boy in his arms. "now." 

"What about Rome?" Selina scoffed, Jonathan's expression growing irked at the mere mention of the other. 

"If one of you want to finish him off, be my guest," Jerome answered, Wayne giving a tired mutter and burying his face against Jerome's chest. "but I'm getting Wayne out of here before Rome tries anything else." He turned, walking off and making it clear it wasn't up for debate. "If you don't kill him now, then I certainly wouldn't mind coming back and murdering him later." 

Selina and Jonathan glanced at one another, exchanging nods before following Jerome out. 

"Wait-" Rome choked out with a laugh, his ribs too fractured to stand. "he chose to come here, he doesn't- he doesn't want to go with-" Jerome halted, looking down at Rome with a glare so spiteful it made Rome go quiet, his expression turning into a frown. "with..." Maybe pissing off the guy who laughed at nearly everything wasn't exactly the best idea. 

Jerome didn't even give Rome the chance to finish whatever it was he wanted to say, looking forward again and continuing onwards, pausing when he got out the door but Selina and Jonathan stayed inside, looking over his shoulder at them and noting their cold expressions, giving a nod of understanding as they gave a knowing nod back and shut the door. 

They could deal with Rome-- Jerome just wanted to get Wayne home. 

About a quarter of the way back, Wayne began to wake up, and it wasn't until they were less than a block of the way there Wayne abruptly jerked out of Jerome's arms, shoving the other away disoriented and still half asleep, shakily calling out for help while shoving himself away from the other, Jerome falling on his knees beside the frightened kicking boy to make sure he didn't hit the ground too hard as Wayne fell on his ass at the same time. 

"Wayne-" Jerome tried to calm, the exhausted and terrified Wayne swatting at him, trying to push him away. 

"Help!" Wayne shouted louder, not realizing this was Jerome and not Rome, everything a groggy blur. 

"Wayne!" Jerome spoke up firmly, gripping Wayne by his wrists and earning a frightened stare, Wayne freezing up and trembling. "It's me," Jerome said quieter, hesitantly moving his grip to the other's upper arms and earning a terrified wince, frowning as Wayne furrowed his brow. "it's okay, all right? You're okay." 

Wayne just sat there in shock for a few seconds as he gradually began to wake up from being half in a dream state and half in reality, vision focusing and rationality settling in while he attempted to figure out what was going on- 

Oh... 

"Jerome-" Wayne choked out, eyes brimming with water, relief filling him as he practically fell towards the other despite the pair of them already kneeling on the ground, grasping at Jerome's arms and letting out a shaky breath, burying his face against Jerome's neck. "I'm sorry-" He instantly managed to get out shakily. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have-" 

"It's okay," Jerome sighed, wrapping his arms around the other and not even hesitating despite generally watching how touchy feely he was with Wayne and whatnot, because right now he just didn't care about that since all he cared about for the time being was that Wayne was SAFE and by his side and away from Rome. "it's okay," He assured, tightening his grasp as Wayne let out a choked sob, trembling against him, practically clinging to Jerome's shirt. "it's not your fault." 

Every time Wayne seemed to be doing better about not crying so damn much, shit like this happened. 

"Yes it is-" Wayne argued, knowing if he hadn't agreed to go to Rome's place... 

"No, it's not," Jerome interjected, having none of that. "he's the one at fault, not you." He felt teardrops hit his neck. 

"But if- if I'd listened to you, then-" 

"Well you can just listen to me more often now, then." Jerome mused, giving a weak smile as Wayne laughed softly at that, reaching up to run a hand through Wayne's hair and sigh, "Shit... I'm- uh- I'm... really glad you're okay..." 

That... made Wayne feel a little bit better. Sure, Jerome was SHOWING him he was glad he was okay, but actually saying it meant... meant a lot. 

"Thanks," Wayne spoke up quietly, Jerome nudging him at that. "thank you-" 

"It's not like I was just gonna' let you stay stuck with that creep," Jerome waved off, and Wayne expected him to say because Jerome was his 'bodyguard' or because he'd never want Wayne listen to such bad jokes from a store brand copycat or something funny like that, but instead he said, "I- uh-" Jerome cleared his throat. "I just-" Jerome seemed to be looking for the right joke to say. "I-" He sighed, pausing and just holding Wayne for a few seconds before finally muttering, "I don't exactly have a lot of people to give a shit about, so I really do prefer keeping you around." He laughed hoarsely, giving up on trying to find a good jest, knowing being too much of a jokester was probably the last thing Wayne wanted then and there. 

Wayne was relieved Jerome hadn't pulled away yet, knowing the other was both trying to calm him down, and also just as glad to see him as he was to see Jerome. 

"Your jokes are getting sappy." Wayne hoarsely chuckled back, earning another laugh, Jerome giving a squeeze to the other before finally pulling away, looking Wayne over to make sure he was all right, gripping Wayne's upper arm and giving another reassuring squeeze, waiting for the smaller one to nod and say he was okay before Jerome stood and offered his hand to Wayne, earning a small word of thanks while helping the younger one get up. 

"You uh-" Jerome rubbed the side of his neck, clearing his throat. "You wanna' go home, or you wanna' go to the police station and file a report?" 

Wayne quirked a brow. "I'm not sure it's the best idea for you to go to the police station." 

"I could wait on the other side of the street." Jerome offered with a shrug, Wayne averting his gaze and chewing his lower lip with an uncertain frown, Jerome tilting his head at that. "Do you not want to file a report?" Wayne shrunk into himself, rubbing his upper arm and giving a shrug. "What-" 

"I'm not sure it should admit I was willingly romantically hanging out with one of your copycats..." 

Jerome smirked. "Fair enough," He paused, and Wayne knew what was coming next- "so does that mean you agree I was right?" 

Wayne crossed his arms, giving Jerome a defensive glare. "Right about what?" He grumbled oh so conveniently cluelessly. 

Jerome scoffed, amused nonetheless. "About how my copycats aren't exactly the most suitable people for you to be around," Wayne looked towards the grown, refusing to meet the other's cocky stare. "particularly when they're going off of an interaction where I held you hostage-" Wayne murmured something under his breath. "Oh? Hm? What was that?" Jerome hummed with a grin. 

Wayne gave Jerome a look before he let out a long exhale and started to stomp off, snapping, "I said you were right-" 

"Can you say that a little louder?" Jerome chimed, speed walking after Wayne cheekily. 

"No." Wayne huffed, Jerome catching up to him. 

"Aw come on buddy, I just wanna' make sure I didn't mishear-" 

"You didn't mishear me." 

"Okay okay, ya' got me-- I heard ya'," Jerome gave a grin. "but a guy's gotta' cherish the little things!" 

Wayne rolled his eyes. "I'm not repeating-" 

"Not repeating what?" 

"You know what I'm not repeating, and asking me that isn't going to magically make me accidentally say it again." 

Jerome swung an arm around Wayne's shoulders playfully. "I mean... I am a magician, so technically I could 'magically'-" Wayne gave Jerome a soft shove before he could finish, the other snickering and putting his hands up defensively. "Joking." 

Wayne let out a long and slightly annoyed breath, pushing his hands into his pockets and averting his gaze again, chewing on the inside of his cheek, glancing at Jerome and hesitating before shuffling closer to the other he'd shoved away, swallowing dryly and muttering, "Really... thank you," Jerome arched a brow, looking down at him taken aback. "for helping me." 

Jerome paused, looking Wayne over and giving a slight smile. "No problem kiddo," He placed a hand on Wayne's shoulder. "I've been wanting to punch Rome for a while now, so-" 

"Not just for Rome," Wayne interjected, Jerome quieting at that. "for helping me get away from-" Wayne frowned as Jerome tried to meet his eyes concerned, just glancing to the side at that and continuing, "-from everyone..." Wayne swallowed thickly. "... Tommy and the other bullies, those guys at the docks, the men at Penguin's fight club, Theo, Silver, Galavan's men, Jester, and now Rome," Wayne briefly tried to recall if there was anyone he was forgetting before deciding to not ponder too heavily on that and continuing, "I got into a lot of bad situations, and it means a lot you've bothered to help bail me out of them." 

Jerome still wasn't sure how to accept much less react to genuine compliments, settling with clearing his throat and putting on a grin while chuckling, "I had to find some way to make up for me kidnapping you-" 

"I'm being serious, Jerome," Wayne sighed, and for an instant it seemed like he was upset at the other. "I'm grateful for everything you've done for me, and I-" He let out a long breath and stopped in his tracks, Jerome halting while eying the smaller boy over. "I plan on finding a way to repay you someday, because I don't know how to repay you now, but I really am-" Wayne kept his gaze to the ground as Jerome stared at him patiently. "I'm glad I have you as a friend, okay?" 

Wayne wasn't frustrated at Jerome-- he was frustrated at not knowing how to pay Jerome back for all he'd done. 

"You don't-" Jerome hesitated, deciding this would be as good a time as ever to consider his wording as he gave an amused smirk, stepping forward and ruffling up Wayne's hair while musing, "You don't have to pay me back," He let his hand fall onto Wayne's shoulder, giving a squeeze. "I stopped expecting favors for favors a while back, ya' know-- friends don't exactly keep tabs on friends." 

Their friendship had started out that way-- professional, and neither really caring much for the other, both only sticking around each other for self gain; Wayne wanted answers, and Jerome wanted fun, so Wayne would give Jerome entertainment through reluctant adventures with the ginger, just as Jerome would give Wayne answers about Maniax in return. 

It had started out cold, and uncaring, and selfish... 

... 

... but then they grew on one another, and the next thing Wayne knew he was risking his life to rescue Jerome from Penguin's men, and that had resulted in the pair considering one another friends rather than business allies, and then poor Wayne had even fallen for Jerome, and despite his feelings not being returned they had stayed friends and were closer than ever. 

It hadn't started out nice, but it had ended up nice. 

"I know you don't expect me to pay you back anymore," Wayne exhaled, feeling Jerome's hand leave his shoulder. "but it's not fair that you're always doing things for me, and I'm not-" 

"You're giving me a home," Jerome countered, Wayne blinking and finally looking up at the older one. "and you're giving me three hot meals a day, and warm water to take showers in," It was Jerome's turn to avert his gaze. "and that- uh-" He gave an unsure laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "that's a lot to give, if you ask me." 

For seventeen years Jerome hadn't had any of the things Wayne had given him. It was going to take more than almost a year of knowing the kiddo to get used to it. 

Sure, Lila would be as sweet as could be when she was sober and do things like give him a candy bar or ten dollars to go spend at the arcade in whatever town the circus visited. When she wasn't drunk, she'd take him out to eat and lend him her coat so he wasn't cold. When she was in her right mind she'd tell him how much she loved him and hug him and tell him he was the best son a gal could ever ask for. 

When Lila was drunk, she'd steal the little Jerome had while accusing him of being a greedy bastard. When she had more than one drink, she'd let him eat only the scraps from her plate, and often there wouldn't be any scraps, or if he did the smallest thing to piss her off she just wouldn't let him have anything and throw it away while screaming at him about why he needed to be punished for doing something like coughing too loud. When she was drowning in alcohol, she'd shout about how she never asked to have him and how she should have thrown him out on the streets with how much trouble he was, calling him a bastard and spewing hate about how his father would despise him if he'd seen what a disappointment their son was. 

Cicero on the other hand would give him a biscuit every once in a while if he was looking particularly starved, and he'd start small talk with him to see how things were, but he'd always be sure to not get too close and would even defend Lila's actions by insisting it wasn't her fault she couldn't stop drinking and she truly loved Jerome when sober.

Until Jerome turned nine Cicero kept him convinced what Lila was doing was okay since she supposedly just couldn't help it. 

The guy in the circus would constantly listen to Jerome blabber on and on about his problems, and he'd buy Jerome nice things like a jacket for cold winters and whatnot every once in a while, and he'd give Jerome a place to stay whenever he was kicked out of his trailer. 

He'd always keep track of what he did for Jerome and expect something like a make out session in return though. 

Theo... for a while, Theo had been someone that had given Jerome what he was convinced was what a real home was supposed to be. He'd given him a nice bedroom where he felt safe, and made sure he had three meals a day, and praised Jerome's vision for the future while encouraging his interest in comedy, and there had been a few times he just talked warmly with Jerome to see how he was doing, and he didn't get pissed off when Jerome would joke around all the time. 

Heck, Jerome was so unused to someone being as welcoming as Theo was that he admittedly even began to get a slight crush on the guy that had clearly realized he had an interest in him and used that to coax Jerome into giving him his full trust by making it seem like Theo actually cared for him, and the next thing Jerome knew Theo had taken the fragile trust Jerome had finally given someone and stepped on it by betraying him and killing him. 

Jerome had given the last slivers of trust he had left to Wayne and Selina. 

When it came down to it, Lila was kind towards Jerome when sober because she wanted to make up for what she'd done to him drunk, and Cicero was kind towards him because he felt guilty for convincing Jerome what Lila had done was okay, the guy in the circus was kind towards him because he wanted Jerome to give him something in return, and Theo was kind to him because he wanted to use an unsuspecting Jerome to look like Gotham's hero. 

That's why they'd give Jerome a shelter, food, and attention back then-- because they either felt guilty for their cruel actions or were using him. 

Wayne gave Jerome those things because he liked being around him, and Jerome still wasn't used to someone wanting to be by his side because they actually enjoyed his company, and he wasn't used to someone trying to look out for him and trying to return favors out of care, and Jerome just wasn't used to someone not expecting him to keep quiet about things he didn't like or expecting him to pay them back for their generosity. 

Wayne on the other hand also wasn't used to someone looking out for him the way Jerome did; Jerome wouldn't hesitate to do ANYTHING to make sure Wayne was safe, even if that meant putting himself or others in danger, and while it was... humbling, it was also a bit anxiety inducing at times. 

When it came down to it, Wayne wasn't used to someone caring about him to the extent Jerome did, and Jerome wasn't used to someone caring about him all the time rather than just some of the time. 

Wayne stared at Jerome for a few lengthy seconds, not wanting to make the other too uncomfortable with sappy talk since he knew Jerome wasn't exactly the best at knowing how to take sincere gestures, and in all honesty Wayne wasn't either. 

"I'm glad you're satisfied with just being a part of the manor, but-" Wayne finally spoke as he rubbed his upper arm, also averting his gaze. "but I meant I wanted to repay you by doing stuff like-" Wayne paused to contemplate on the best way to put this, letting out an exhale. "-like protecting you, too." 

The fourteen year old innocent kiddo under six feet wanted to protect Jerome of all people... it was sweet. Amusing, but sweet. 

"If you really wanna' pay me back so bad, then just do us both a favor and stay safe, yeah?" Jerome mused, reaching out to ruffle up Wayne's hair and earning a stare. "You have good intentions, but you're always getting your ass in trouble, and-" Jerome paused, averting his gaze and clearing his throat, Wayne expecting him to say it was tiring to have to look after him all the time- "-and I don't exactly want to lose ya'." 

Wayne felt his face heat up, looking towards the ground taken aback and shuffling around. "Oh." 

Jerome glanced at Wayne, giving a smirk and humming, "Don't go off make this all sappy now," He swung an arm around the fourteen year old's shoulders while the pair continued on their way back to the manor. "I don't wanna' have to regret saying that because you start acting all cheesy." 

"You're the cheesy one." Wayne huffed, earning a snicker. 

"So what story should we make up to tell Alfred?" Jerome asked while looking down at the Wayne shuffling closer to him. "Assuming you don't want to be forced to fill out a police report after admitting the reason you were out so late was because you were being kidnapped by my copycat you were dating and all that." 

Before Wayne could answer, he froze in his tracks, Jerome raising a brow and also halting, following Wayne's stare to figure out what he was looking at and tensing when seeing a distressed Mayne running towards them, finally reaching the pair and doubling over while trying to catch his breath, hands on his knees and eyes wide as he frantically said, "Selina and Jonathan are in trouble!" Jerome ushered Wayne behind him, giving Mayne a skeptical and questioning gaze. "Jerome, Wayne, please-- you have to believe me, I- I'm not trying to pull a Rome and trick you here, I just- oh it was never supposed to go this far..." Mayne was all over the place with his wording. 

"What are you talking about?" Jerome inquired warily, ready to push Wayne back if the hysterical Mayne tried anything. 

"I didn't realize how far gone Rome had become with this whole thing!" Mayne answered with watery eyes. "We were just trying to have a fun open relationship kinda' thing, and-" 

"You two were in a relationship?" Wayne scoffed in disbelief, earning a sheepish look. 

"And you didn't tell us?" Jerome added with narrowing eyes as Mayne slumped his shoulders at that. 

"Look, that's not what we need to talk about right now," Mayne waved off. "I knew Rome was acting different, but I didn't know he was even wanting to kidnap Wayne until half an hour ago when I went to his place to find out was going on and he showed me Wayne trapped in that room!" 

"We should believe that why?" Jerome snapped both unconvinced and protectively, not about to let Mayne even attempt to get near Wayne. 

"Because I need you to believe me when I say your friends are tied up in Rome's house!" Mayne answered in aggravation, holding up his phone with Selina and Jonathan laying on the floor with ropes around them. 

Wayne's eyes widened, Jerome giving Mayne a glare while wasting no time to step forward and grab him by his shirt collar while growling in a low and menacing impatient voice lacking his usual joy, "What the hell are you two-" 

"Not us!" Mayne quickly defended. "Him! Rome's the one saying this is a good idea, okay?! Not me!" He was shaking. "I never wanted anything this serious to happen..." Tears were gathering in his eyes. "I never wanted to lose Rome to something like this, but- but he's gone too far, and... and..." Mayne slumped in defeat. "... and told me to be there in fifteen minutes to help him kill them and then send pictures to you two, and if he sees police then there's nothing I can do to save them, but maybe if he sees you he- well... maybe that could make him hesitate or... something." Mayne didn't know what to do. "I can't- I can't save them by myself... Rome is a lot stronger than I am, and..." 

"We have to go-" Wayne spoke up. 

"No." Jerome stated. 

"No!" Mayne said at the same time, earning quirked brows. "Wayne, you're much too young... together Jerome and I should be able to take Rome out-- you need to go home." 

"Agreed." Jerome murmured, taken aback by the concern for Wayne. 

"What? No way! They're my friends, too-" 

"Go home." Jerome directed, letting go of Mayne's shirt and turning around to walk off with the other that gave Wayne an apologetic expression. 

"No." Wayne grumbled stubbornly while jogging to catch up with them, causing Jerome to roll his eyes and pull out his phone, scrolling to something before showing Wayne he had it ready to call Alfred. "No!" 

"Then go back home." Jerome threatened, thumb hovering over the call button. 

"It's dangerous to walk alone at night-" Wayne insisted. 

"I've got less than fifteen minutes to get there, and Rome would probably be considerably more dangerous," Jerome countered. "now you have ten seconds to get your ass out of here before I call Alfred and tell him what's going on-" Wayne gave an over dramatic drawn out groan, turning around and storming off, Jerome placing his phone back in his pocket satisfied. 

Of course, Wayne was stubborn, and did not give up easily, which was obvious with how he sneakily followed them from far behind. 

When an angry Jerome and concerned Mayne finally entered Rome's house, Wayne wasted no time in sprinting after them, bravely shoving open the door and blinking at the sight of a tied up Selina, Jonathan, and... Jerome. 

Wayne tried to quickly figure out what had happened, a bandaged up Rome looking up at him from the couch he was laying on, and he didn't look like he was in any realistic state to manage to take down both Selina and Jonathan and then Jerome and Mayne when it was doubtful he could even take down just one like that- 

Wait. Where was Mayne- 

Wayne got what his gagged friends were trying to say through the cloths in their mouths too late, Mayne shutting the door he'd been behind and giving a mockingly apologetic shrug accompanied by a smug smirk, his previously panicky expression being replaced by a much more calm one. 

Oh for the love of- 

Wayne couldn't dodge the needle the lunging Mayne sunk down into his neck, a tingling sensation consuming him in mere seconds. 

"Aoh jhoy thish ish justh fantasthic." Jonathan said in a muffled voice. 

"Pissh ohff, jackassh." Jerome grumbled beneath his cloth. 

"Ih reahlly neehd toh fihnd meh sohme behtter friendsh." Selina groaned from her gag. 

Wayne gave them a look before warily returning his gaze towards Mayne as the copycat leaned over with ropes and a gag in his hand, smiling much too softly at Wayne and patting his cheek while musing, "I figured you'd follow along." 

That made the boy spit at Mayne, earning an unamused stare as Rome sighed, "He tends to do that." 

Mayne wiped the saliva off of his cheek, gagging Wayne and receiving a glare as he sarcastically congratulated him on how he was going to get chloroformed first for that. 

It was time for Rome and Mayne to show everyone how things were going to begin going around Gotham, starting with Jerome and Wayne first... Selina and Jonathan, however, could be disposed of like the plain ol' garbage they and anyone else that wasn't the four of them were. 

It was apparent the kidnapped teens didn't quite assess just how much danger they were in with how rude they were being, and while Jerome and Wayne could make all the jests they wanted give or take, Selina and Jonathan would not be so lucky or given even close to as much lenience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!!!!!Spoiler!!!!!!! 
> 
> Fun fact, originally Mayne was supposed to genuinely be a good guy that really did go against Rome when he went too far, but I decided it would be more fun to write a character who's good at playing innocent rather than actually being innocent ;) 
> 
> Additionally, Selina and Jonathan were supposed to just give Rome a good beating and then return to the mansion to get a good night's rest with everyone else, and while the kiddos were sound asleep Jerome was supposed to sneak out and finish Rome off and later on face the consequences of killing someone after doing so well at controlling his impulses and whatnot. 
> 
> However considering I love angst and conflict, I scrapped that since that plot was originally about a year old, and decided to go with Mayne being a part of Rome's plan and the four kiddos getting kidnapped together instead :)


	33. Errors of a Billionaire and His Butler

"Move over." Jerome grumbled with an irked smirk, tied up wrists and hands resting in his lap, legs straight out due to his ankles being tied as well. 

"You move over." Jonathan huffed, elbowing the older one and earning a shove that Jerome gave with his whole body, making the sixteen year old topple over on his side, the hands behind his back not being able to stop him from hitting the concrete ground sideways, cheek against the cold floor as he huffed, "For shit's sake, Jerome!", finding he couldn't shimmy back up and irritatedly kicking at Jerome by colliding his feet against the jokester's ribcage. 

"Johnny I swear I'll knife you..." Jerome chuckled with an aggravated tone as he tipped over against Wayne, earning a grumble from the smaller boy that nearly fell on his side like a domino, Jerome shimmying back upright. 

Wayne straightened, restrained in a way in which his tied up legs were tucked to his chest, tied up arms wrapped around said legs, and chin resting on his knees. "Any luck, Selina?" 

Selina- who was the only one standing due to her tied up hands being connected to a rope on the ceiling while her ankles were tied to two heavy cement blocks on the floor- had been attempting to get out of her binds for half an hour since she was the one who knew how to break out of confinements better than any of the other three, hence the more extreme precautionary measures. 

"Jen's the one who's good with knots," Selina sighed frustrated, having no luck in even loosening her restraints. "I'm not used to getting out of stuff that doesn't have a lock..." She was a good escape artist, but she still had a few years to go until she knew everything about such; she and Jen could more or less sneak their way out of anything together, but without each other the two only had their skill set alone, and usually they relied on Selina knowing how to do one piece of the puzzle while Jen could do the other. 

"So Jen's pretty good at bondage, huh?" Jerome mused with a smirk. 

"Yeah-" Selina blinked, looking at the snickering Jerome and giving a glare while embarrassedly huffing, "Not that kind!" 

"Not what kind?" Wayne asked cluelessly intrigued as Jerome tried to stifle his chuckle and Selina said something under her breath. 

"Nothing." Jonathan interjected before Jerome could answer, kicking the older one as he parted his lips to reply and receiving an unamused smirk. 

"Stop kicking me." Jerome warned with a scoff before looking back at the blushing Selina and quirking a brow. "Wow, haven't ever seen you this flustered before," He commented smugly before teasing, "aw... you don't have a crush on Jen by any chance, do ya'?" 

"No!" Selina denied rather quickly, she being the one to take a kick at Jerome that time, only hitting air due to just barely missing him thanks to the rope around her ankle that was attached to concrete only letting her foot go so far. 

Jerome arched a taken aback brow at the defensive tone, saying more seriously, "Wait, DO you have a cru-" 

"I don't have a crush on her!" Selina interrupted, whole face going pink. 

"I mean, you sure are blushing pretty bad..." Jerome mused with a shrug, the corner of his right lip tugging upwards. 

"Anyone would blush when you make comments like that!" Selina argued, cheeks bright red. 

"You're just acting a lot more defensive than usual." Jerome hummed, flashing a grin. 

"I am not!" Selina said through clenched teeth. "Stop being a jackass or I'll leave you here when I'm done getting out of these and just escape with Wayne and Jonathan!" She warned, gesturing towards the ropes she was having little to no success with. 

"I favor that." Jonathan chimed in. 

Jerome gave an over exaggerated hurt frown. "Ouch Selina, a bit harsh." 

"You mean if you manage to get out of the ropes..." Wayne muttered, emphasizing the 'if.' 

"You know what? You can stay here, too, Wayne," Selina snapped, resorting to yanking on the rope in hopes the ceiling would be old and crumble, yet having no luck. "I'll just escape with Jonathan and-" 

"Oh come now," A new voice spoke up, Selina freezing up and becoming tense, Wayne going wide eyed and scooting closer to the brick wall, the smirk on Jerome's lips falling and being replaced by a scowl, Jonathan swallowing dryly and keeping his eyes on the pair of figures walking down the creaking wooden steps leading into the basement they were trapped in. "don't use such a harsh word like 'escape'-- you're not prisoners here," Mayne assured mockingly, striding down the stairs calmly, Rome using crutches and walking beside him. "you're guests!" 

"It truly is quite terrible host etiquette to drug, tie up, and lock away your so called guests." Jonathan stated plainly and earning a hoot of laughter from Rome and an unamused look from Mayne. 

"Looks like your humor's rubbed off on your new buddies some, Jerome." Rome crackled, wearing a white long sleeved unbuttoned shirt with said sleeves rolled up to make sure the bandages wrapped around his ribcage and arms didn't have any other constraints on them, fresh stitches that were clearly home-done on his chest, bruises on his stomach. His left lower arm and right upper arm were in bandages as well, a few stitches here and there on the parts of them that weren't covered. Despite wearing loose jeans, it was clear his legs were fractured due to the crutches he had to use. Additionally, he had a bruise on the right side of his jaw and another one below his left eye, one small bandaid over his nose and a larger one on the right side of his neck, and one cut on his lower lip while a different one was on his chin. 

Some of the damage was from the beating Rome had gotten from Jerome, while the rest of it was what Selina and Jonathan had managed to do after Jerome had left with Wayne until Mayne walked right through the front door and drugged the girl and boy before going off to lure in Jerome and Wayne next. 

The only injury Mayne had was a bruised cheek due to being punched by Wayne when trying to wrap rope around his ankles and wrists after capturing him. 

"I truly would prefer you didn't carelessly compare my humor to Jerome's crude sense of so called comedy." Jonathan said under his breath, earning a look from Jerome as Rome released another series of laughs. 

"Jonathan-" Wayne warned, not wanting the other to get himself much less the rest of them in trouble with the Mayne not smiling in the least. 

"So why do you keep this guy with the stick up his ass around?" Rome mused, gesturing towards Jonathan with his crutches while keeping his eyes on Jerome like a cat, Jerome returning the hawkish gaze, the pair like two animals cornering one another, the only thing being Jerome was in a trap and Rome was injured, so it was hard to tell who would be more dangerous in such conditions. "Need a pet to remind you to be humble?" He chuckled, tapping the right crutch against Jonathan's chest. 

"I'm not a 'pet'-" Jonathan replied from his place on the ground, Selina staring at him with a look trying to convey to him he needed to shut up, not sure why such a usually cautious Jonathan was foolishly trying to act tough in a situation like this. 

"No, you're really not," Mayne commented in agreement, glancing at Wayne and sending a chill throughout the boy. "pets are something people keep around for amusement, loyalty, and attention all in return for the adoration they dish out to keep that pet around," Jerome narrowed his eyes, shifting in front of Wayne protectively. "in reality Wayne's the so called 'pet' here." Mayne tore his gaze away from the anxious Wayne to meet Jerome's glare of warning while adding to Jonathan and Selina, "You other two are more of toys at best," He held out his hand, Rome pushing one crutch securely under his arm and leaning heavily on it so he could briefly give the other one to Mayne. "you see, pets are something you care for and take care of for however long they stick around and behave," Mayne looked down at the tied up Jonathan laying against the floor on his side. "toys on the other hand are things you throw away whenever you get too old for them, or whenever better versions come out." He suddenly whacked the crutch against Jonathan's jaw without warning, earning a wince and looking bored as Rome gave a grin at the sound of a crack. 

"Stop!" Wayne instinctively shouted, eyes wide and body shaking against his will, turning his head and squeezing his eyes shut to look away when Mayne repeated the motion, Jonathan letting out a pained noise. 

"Hey-" Jerome objected, smile falling more and more into a scowl with each hit, objecting, "That's enough!", when Jonathan received a third blow. 

Lila would do shit like this when Jerome was little. She'd have a few glasses of cheap wine, gradually settle into being a dorky drunk, and then Jerome would do something as simple as tripping over the trailer welcome mat and she'd suddenly be screaming at him about ruining the furniture and beating him with a damn broom the same way Mayne had gotten pissed off at Jonathan for speaking out of line and beating him with a crutch. 

It was sickening to watch. 

"Screw off!" Selina warned, the ropes around her ankles that were attached to the cement blocks holding her feet down being just long enough to allow her to successfully kick Mayne in the side of his leg, making him stumble but not fall, pausing the beatings and glowering at the girl. 

Selina's expression fell, gulping at that and shuffling around nervously, tugging her arms down one more time in a desperate attempt to manage to luckily slide her wrists out of the restraints to no avail. 

Mayne gave a sigh, gripping the crutch in his hand and turning his back to Selina, making sure a terrified Wayne and incredibly pissed off Jerome were watching while saying, "These two-", and gesturing at Selina and Jonathan. "-are disposable." A pause, making sure they'd heard him, as though there was a chance the pair somehow hadn't when the only sound in the eerily silent basement was water dripping against a puddle on the other side of the room from a leaky pipe. "They're discards, all right? That's what you call both of them; not their names-- they don't have the privilege of having names here, got it?" He gave a shrug while waving off, "Call them discard one and discard two for all I care." This was so much different from the innocent Mayne that had been begging Jerome and Wayne to help him get their friends out of Rome's custody while crying about how much he missed the old Rome... he was colder, and crueler, and not at all meek. "When they do something we don't like, they get hurt," Wayne felt like he was going to be sick. "Jonathan spoke out of line three times, so he gets three swings against the jaw, and he's damn well lucky I didn't fracture it." Mayne straightened up, neck cracking from side to side and shoulders rolling. "Selina, on the other hand, didn't just speak without being spoken to-- for one, she also kicked me," He weighed the crutch in his hand, as though he was testing how heavy or hard it was. "and spoke out of line, too," He tightened his grasp around the crutch, holding it rather still. "not to mention she tried to escape," A pause, Mayne examining the crutch. "how many swings would you say she should get for that and where?" 

Wayne felt his gut drop. "No-" 

"Mayne, I swear if you-" Jerome started in what was practically a growl. 

Mayne quirked a brow, noting, "Oh? More fond of the tough bitchy gal than the guy who acts like he's above everyone with his sassy remarks?" He gave an indifferent shrug while continuing, "Interesting thing to take note of.", before abruptly turning around, Selina letting out a choked up noise of pain as the crutch collided against her ribcage, Jonathan attempting to say something to get Mayne to stop as Selina tried to bring her arms down to shield herself from the next trio of quick but hard blows that drowned Jonathan's words out, the girl not being able to free her hands from the rope attached to the ceiling. 

The quad of blows stopped almost as quickly as they'd started, but it still hurt like a bitch, and Rome's crackling at her pained expression certainly didn't help. 

Mayne returned his attention to Jonathan, inquiring, "You were saying?", referring to whatever the other had started to utter before his voice had been muffled by the whacks against Selina's ribs. 

Jonathan pursed his lips. "I was saying that if you pair of brutes truly have to rely on physical violence to earn obedience, then you're not damn well worthy of our respect-" That earned another blow to the jaw, Jonathan going quiet, not wanting to test what it would take to make Mayne decide to dislodge it. 

"Anyone else have something they'd like to say?" Mayne threatened, skimming his eyes the four kidnapped teens while Rome gave a sadistic grin, clearly hoping someone would dare open their mouth. 

An enraged Jerome was trying to get out of his restraints, Wayne only sitting there and staring at the scene that had unfolded in shock as he gradually began to realize just how dangerous of a situation they were in, Jonathan keeping his mouth shut as his breathing became shallow while Selina began shaking terribly, and it was hard to tell whether she was shaking from fear or the pain of a bruised ribcage at that. 

When receiving only silence, Mayne handed the crutch back to the amused Rome, afterwards smoothing over his shirt properly and striding towards Wayne, resulting in Jerome struggling against the ropes around his wrists and ankles even more, the copycat kneeling in front of the uncertain fourteen year old boy and reaching out to pat his cheek while assuring, "There's no need for you to worry too much about yourself and Jerome here," Mayne rested his hand on Wayne's shoulder, even offering a friendly smile in attempts to calm the scared boy. "you two are welcomed here, but the pair of discards have to earn their stay." He explained, referring to Selina and Jonathan. "All right?" He questioned to make sure Wayne heard him, the boy swallowing thickly and nodding at that, shakes going throughout him, causing Mayne's expression to soften even more and reassuring, "Hey now, no need to go and look so sad-- we're not going to hurt you or Jerome-" 

Jerome didn't like how Mayne's hand casually raised to cup the side of Wayne's neck as he spoke, resulting in him bringing his legs up to his chest while angling himself at Mayne, kicking his feet against the copycat's hip and sending him flying a few feet back as he nearly growled, "Screw off!", while scooting towards Wayne and attempting to shield the smaller one the best he could with his shoulder protectively. 

Mayne used his elbows to sit up, giving a glare at Jerome as Rome offered a crutch to him, Mayne gripping said crutch and allowing Rome to help heave him back to his feet, brushing off his long sleeved gray shirt and black pants while informing in an eerily calm voice, "Just because harming you two would be a last resort doesn't mean you won't still get punished for being out of line." 

"I say we let the girl take on Jerome's toll." Rome spoke up with a smirk. 

"Why not?" Mayne agreed with a shrug. "Wayne's consequences can be taken on by the boy." 

"Sounds good to me." Rome hummed, striding over towards Selina the best one could stride when limping. 

"Harming restrained victims that have absolutely no defense or way of retaliating is cowardly-" Jonathan started to object as Rome approached the girl. 

Rome brought the crutch down on Jonathan's cheek while snickering, "By all means, keep opening that mouth of yours so you can keep getting your ass beat.", before redirecting his attention back towards Selina, giving a wicked grin and looking over his shoulder at Jerome as well as Wayne while musing, "You get it, right?" Jerome gritted his teeth as Wayne felt his eyes gloss over. "If you do something we don't like, they pay for it." Rome returned his sights to Selina while adding, "The gal has to deal with Jerome's mistakes, and the guy has to deal with Wayne's.", before crashing the crutch against the girl's leg, making it briefly give out, the poor thing letting out a yelp as her roped wrists stung from the weight of having to keep her up, Rome carelessly turning back around to give Wayne and Jerome a sickly sweet smile while damn well chiming, "So I suggest you don't piss us off assuming you want your friends to stick around for as long as possible," He leaned in his crutches, expression shifting into something menacing. "because Mayne and I would really just hate to have to resort to personally punishing you two if they just so happened to die and not give us anyone else to take this kinda' stuff out on..." 

Wayne had really messed up when agreeing to go into Rome's home after only going on one date with him and not even letting anyone know where exactly Rome's home was, and he'd gone and dragged his friends into his mess of a mistake... 

~*~*~*~ 

Alfred opened the door, Harley popping her pink bubblegum while giving a big grin and friendly wave as she greeted, "Hiya' Alf, is Wayne 'n Ivy 'n all the others home?", while sanding on the tips of her toes and leaning to the side in attempts to look into the manor for any sight of her friends as she chewed her gum. 

"No, Wayne is not here." Alfred exhaled exasperated, his hopes that the repetitive knocking at the door had been Wayne being met with disappointment at the sight of the girl. 

Harley's smile melted into a frown. "Oh..." She perked up almost as quickly as she'd slumped. "Is Ivy or any of the others here at least then?" 

"I'm sorry Harley, but now is not a good time," Alfred informed, beginning to shut the door. "I'm very busy and need to keep an eye on the children here to make sure no more go running off anywhere, so I'm afraid Ivy can't play-" 

Harley stuck her foot in the threshold and grasped the door to keep it from closing, peeking through the sliver of said door left open as Alfred gave her a look, staring up at the butler while curiously asking, "Is somethi'n wrong?" 

Alfred thinned his lips into a line, staring at Harley broodingly for a few good lengthy seconds, eventually letting out a long breath and admitting, "Wayne's gone missing," He didn't see a reason to keep it a secret. "so has Jerome, Selina, and even Jonathan." Alfred didn't want the police involved until he knew what was going on and whether he absolutely needed to inform Gordon of the situation considering he didn't want to risk the GCPD having a chance of finding out he'd been allowing Wayne to be in the company of criminals since that could very well result in child services taking the poor boy away to the local orphanage, and Alfred doubted Harley would run off and tell the police of what was going on due to how she could get into trouble herself for hanging around with said criminals. 

Harley's eyes widened. "Selina?!" She tried to shove the door open with her shoulder, straining against it with her whole body as Alfred kept it shut the best he could. "We gotta' go looki'n for 'em!" 

"No," Alfred objected, trying and failing to shut the door. "I have to go looking for them," He corrected, emphasizing the 'I'. "Ivy and Jen are staying here, and you need to run on back home." 

"But-" Harley insisted, shoes sliding against the flooring somewhat as Alfred kept pushing on the door. 

"Goodbye, Harleen." Alfred interjected firmly, giving one more hard push and shutting the door, huffing as Harley kept jiggling the handle even after he locked it; what a stubborn little gal... 

Alfred had only gotten about halfway to the door to the next room when he heard the window slide open, halting in his tracks and looking over at the persistent girl clamoring inside while stating, "I wanna' talk to Ivy!", determined to go find her missing friends. "Oh, and um... Jen, too, of course-", as Alfred walked over towards the girl with both her hands on the window frame and one leg outside. 

"I already told you that Ivy and Jen are staying here," Alfred snapped, trying to usher the girl back out the window by gently but firmly gripping her upper arms and keeping her from climbing in anymore than she already had, softly attempting to push her back out. "I'm not going to have the rest of you go missing." 

"Ivy!" Harley shouted, Alfred wondering why Wayne couldn't make friends with polite children. "Jen! It's me, Harley!" Alfred managed to shoo the girl out. "Where are ya' guys-" Alfred shut the window before anymore could be said, locking it and receiving a pout as he went around locking the other windows in the room. 

Harley perked up, Alfred arching a brow as she abruptly ran off, and wondering what- 

Oh for the love of... 

Sure enough, an exasperated Alfred- who had jogged to the main back door of the mansion which connected to the kitchen- found Harley in said kitchen. 

"Young lady, you are trespassing and you need to march right on out of here before I-" Alfred scolded impatiently, Harley suddenly making a run for the door behind him, attempting to grab her and missing as she fell on her knees and slid right under his fingertips before hopping back up and sprinting through the door while calling for Ivy. 

All of Wayne's friends were rude little bastards. 

~*~*~*~ 

"I'm not eating your food." Wayne grumbled, staring down at the plate containing a lunchmeat sandwich, holding in his lap with his tied up hands. 

"What's wrong?" Rome mused with a smirk. "Worried it'll make ya' a little sleepy?" 

"Screw off, Rome." Jerome grumbled, earning a laugh from the fifteen year old, Mayne however narrowing his eyes and tightening his grasp on the baseball bat he had in his hand while gesturing towards Selina threateningly, Jerome going quiet and averting his gaze. 

"Aw come on, Mayne," Rome waved off with a chuckle, swinging an arm around the other. "let Jerome and Wayne give a few sarcastic comments! There's no fun in them behaving too nicely." 

"Where exactly do we draw the line at the sarcasm?" Mayne inquired without amusement. 

Rome gave a so-so hand gesture and laugh. "Eh... use your best judgement." 

Mayne let out a long exhale. "Right..." He decided to do as suggested and shrug off Jerome's words. "In any case we can't have them skipping meals and starving," Mayne commented. "so I say we give them an hour to eat, and if the food isn't gone by the time we get back, then we kill one of their friends'." 

Jerome kept from saying some rather foul words to the pair, instead going with, "If we eat this, then will you give them food, too?", gesturing to Jonathan and Selina since they hadn't gotten anything. 

"Food without any poison." Wayne added just to be safe. 

Mayne and Rome exchanged glances before redirecting their gazes to Wayne. "You don't get to ask for rewards when you just do something you're told to after refusing to at first," Answered a calm Mayne. "if you act nicely enough without being too stubborn, then we may consider it," His leaned on the baseball bat. "and if they piss us off then it doesn't matter what you ask for if it's meant for them, because they won't get it." A pause. "Understood?" 

Wayne averted his gaze, Mayne narrowing his eyes and leaning forward, tightening his grasp on the baseball bat menacingly, face to face with the boy refusing to look at him as Jerome muttered, "Hey-" 

"I asked you a question," Mayne interjected icily, Jerome clenching his jaw and going quiet, not wanting to piss him off and put Selina in harm's way. "did you not hear me?" 

Wayne swallowed dryly, keeping his sights off of Mayne for a few lengthy seconds before forcing them to look at the copycat and shakily answer, "Yes," He felt numb, probably as a coping mechanism to not be hit by the horrors of what was going on all at once. "I heard you," Wayne just wanted to go home. "and I understand." If he didn't answer, there was a chance Mayne would hurt Jonathan for his mistake. 

Mayne's chilling expression melted into an all too warm one, ruffling up Wayne's hair in a manner a bit too friendly while chiming, "Good." He noted the obvious way Jerome fidgeted when he touched the boy, knowing it was a protective reaction and smirking as he chose to not comment on it, instead reaching down to grip Wayne's chin and muse, "Maybe we'll even let you use one of the guest rooms upstair if you don't act up and-" 

"Let go of him." Jerome warned through clenched teeth. 

"Do you want me to break the girl's ankle?" Mayne instantly threatened, grasp tightening on Wayne's chin as he redirected his attention to Jerome. "Because I would gladly do so without hesitation." Jerome didn't reply, and didn't smile in the least. "I mean really, Wayne's three years younger than you, and he's acting more proper..." Wayne did all he could to not shy away from the hold on his chin. "Don't you know it's rude to interrupt people?" 

"Grabbing people's faces without their permission isn't exactly proper." Jerome scoffed, earning narrowed eyes and defending, "Am I wrong?", in attempts to make sure Selina wasn't harmed for his sass. 

Mayne gave an irked smirk, looking towards Wayne and not releasing his grasp while saying, "You don't mind, do you, Wayne?" When receiving no answer, Mayne tightened his grasp with an almost bruising grip and repeated in a much sterner tone, "Do you?" 

"No," Wayne answered, the hold loosening slightly in satisfaction. "it's fine." 

"See?" Mayne hummed, patting Wayne's cheek. "He's all right with it." 

"Aw, give Jerome a break," Rome chuckled, giving a wink at the clown of crime. "I'm sure he's just jealous we've been giving Wayne so much attention." 

It was less of being jealous and more of being cautious; Jerome knew Mayne and Rome were planning on not harming himself or the boy, but at this point Jerome couldn't quite tell what qualified as harm to them considering making him uncomfortable clearly wasn't something they had trouble doing, and even more disturbingly so it wasn't that they didn't realize Wayne was uncomfortable with the advances-- it was the fact they obviously knew their actions were making Wayne tense, and they seemed to enjoy that. 

Rome and Mayne were quite literally treating Wayne like a pet meant to be used for entertainment. They were like a pair of kids cornering a kitten they'd found in their backyard, and poking at the poor thing for fun to see how it would react, and finding its distressed actions so amusing that they wanted to make it more timid, as though forcing a kitten to let them handle it would manage to get it to grow on them, rather than giving it space and allowing it time to approach them and get comfy. 

Jerome wondered if they wanted him to join in on the fun with them and make Wayne even more cautious, or if they considered him- their idol- a pet as well, and simply viewed Jerome a protective guard dog they'd chained up just out of Wayne's reach to make sure he couldn't protect the frightened other he'd promised to watch over, as though watching Jerome freak out about not having the chance to look after Wayne was just as amusing as watching Wayne be defenseless and at their complete mercy. 

To make matters worse, these two childish bastards seemed to view Wayne as no more than Jerome's own personal pet meant for amusement, because why else would the big bad wolf travel around with a tiny justice-seeking kitten? For what reason other than entertainment would a canine that could rip a feline to shreds allow that feline by his side? Wouldn't Jerome only be hanging around Wayne for personal gains after all? The monster had already murdered so many innocents much like the innocent he refused to harm, so what was so peculiar about the boy? 

Surely Jerome just kept Wayne around because he wanted to keep a single good person by his side just to see how they acted up close, like a fascinating bug under a microscope. Or perhaps there had been something different about Wayne... had Jerome liked his challenging stubbornness in being a goody-two-shoes? Had Jerome been intrigued at Wayne being his total opposite? 

Originally Jerome had befriended Wayne because he found the boy amusing and wanted to attempt corrupting the boy set on doing good, and that was clear. What wasn't clear was the reason as to why Jerome had obviously changed his mind on making the kiddo his project, and suddenly made the choice to instead protect him from anyone intending to negatively influence him. 

Perhaps it was all an act and Jerome had an ulterior motive? That was Mayne and Rome's theory, yet it was a false theory, because none of the copycats- even the ones good at acting and looking and even sounding like him- could seem to manage to just realize Jerome genuinely wanted to make sure Wayne- the first person that had stuck by his side- wasn't forced to change by him or anyone else, because he didn't want to change the qualities of the first person he had CARED about while having that care returned. 

It was because Jerome couldn't figure out what exactly Mayne and Rome believed his relationship was with Wayne that Jerome was cautious, because he did know the pair viewed Jerome as either a pet like Wayne that they found amusing when he'd become so protective of the kiddo, or someone more superior than the boy that should help them keep Wayne in line, neither option satisfactory. 

While Jerome didn't know what Mayne and Rome viewed him as, he did know Wayne was viewed as a pet, while Selina and Jonathan were viewed as sentimental trash that would be eventually thrown out. 

If Jerome wasn't careful, Selina would pay for his mistakes and be killed, and then Jonathan, and then the focus would be on Wayne, and while Jerome believed Wayne likely wouldn't be harmed with a crutch or baseball bat beating, there were other ways he could be punished... 

So, Jerome and Wayne reluctantly ate their food when Mayne and Rome left, and they also felt themselves get rather drowsy. 

~*~*~*~ 

"If you don't stay right here in this mansion, then I'll call up your mum and pops to let them know about you breaking on in here and trespassing," Alfred warned, Harley's eyes going wide. "and you'd better make sure these two rascals stay put as well if you want me to keep quiet about you barging in when I told you to bugger off." He added, gesturing towards a sulking Ivy and Jen. 

"No!" Harley objected, that threat finally managing to make her too frightened to talk back or run off again like a stubborn little shite. "Ya' can't call my dad! He'll kill me!" 

"Then you best do as told and not answer the door until I get back." Alfred retorted, turning on his heel and walking towards the door. 

"I'm not joki'n around!" Harley continued in a distressed hoarse tone, chasing after Alfred. "Please, ya' can't use my own dad against me here-- that ain't fair!" 

Alfred scoffed, not even bothering looking at the girl with a cracking voice as he grabbed his coat off the coat rack. "If you don't want to get a spanking from your old man then just do as I say and stay inside." 

Harley grabbed Alfred's arm desperately, tugging him away from the door and insisting, "Ya' don't get it!" Her eyes were brimming with salty liquid that stung and made her vision blurry. "You're not listeni'n!" 

"Stop acting as though an adult telling you that you can't do something is the end of the world,". Alfred scolded, shrugging Harley off and putting on his coat. "I have more important things to do than listen to your whining." He had to find Wayne quickly with how much time he'd already wasted listening to this girl's silly arguments. 

"But-" Harley exclaimed, large droplets of water dripping down her cheeks.

"No buts!" Alfred snapped, swatting Harley's reached out hands away as he opened the door and started to exit. "Now grow up for one damn second and just stay-" 

"He'll do more than just spank me or ground me!" Harley interrupted with a sob. 

That made Alfred pause, briefly taking a few seconds to soak in what the girl had just said before looking over at her questioningly, expression going from stern to concerned when noticing the bruises under the foundation makeup that had washed away from Harley's stream of tears that were still going as she wrapped her arms around herself tightly in a defensive hug, Ivy glaring at Alfred and clearly knowing what was going on as Jen stared at Harley in shock due to the realization dawning on herself and Alfred. 

"Please don't use dad to make me listen," Harley begged choked up, body shaking. "that's not fair..." 

Alfred let out a sigh as Harley kept crying. "Oh dear..." 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome groggily forced his eyelids to stay lifted as he gradually woke up, only allowing them to briefly fall every once in a while, attempting to register where he was and what was going on as quickly as possible, trying to compose himself calmly without freaking out, eventually managing to soak in what was more or less going on and hesitantly straightening up in the chair he was tied to, eyes meeting Rome's as the copycat sat across from him with a grin. 

Jerome swallowed dryly, swaying somewhat and coming up with what would be the best thing to say before wetting his lips and hoarsely going with, "How long have you been sitting there watching me like a creep?" 

Rome gave a loud laugh, not being insulted in the least as he rather gleefully answered, "About ten minutes," He gave a smirk. "you sure do call out Wayne's name a lot in your sleep..." 

Jerome didn't smile, sarcastically grumbling, "Funny." Shit, he felt dizzy and stiff. "I was having a nightmare you and Mayne put us in a maze," He explained defensively, not appreciating the suggestive comment. "we were trying to follow the sound of each other's voices is all." It was true, but the snicker Rome gave just showed he chose to not believe it like an ass that cherry picked what he did and didn't like to hear. 

Nonetheless, Rome at least gave Jerome enough of a break to change the subject and say, "How'd you like the sandwich?" 

"Oh, you mean the one you filled with sleeping medicine?" Jerome scoffed, earning a cheeky smile. "Tasted like shit." 

Rome gave an over exaggerated hurt expression, palm pressing against his chest dramatically. "You don't like my cooking?" 

"You call that cooking?" Jerome retorted icily, earning a hoot of laughter and clenching his jaw impatiently as he awaited for a reply from the kidnapper doubling over with how hard he was crackling. 

"Are you always this feisty after naps?" Rome chuckled, having to wipe away a tear from the corner of his eye, grin wide. 

Jerome didn't bother giving Rome the satisfaction of an answer, instead changing the subject by saying, "Is there a reason I'm sitting at the dining table instead of the basement?" 

Rome took the icy reply as enough of an answer, effectively pissing Jerome off more than he'd intended to piss him off as he said with a careless shrug, "Just reckoned it would be better to talk out here alone than down there," He leaned back on the hind legs of his chair, fingers locking behind the back of his neck. "more private and whatnot." 

"Is there something you wanted to discuss then?" Jerome interrogated irked. 

Rome gave a hum of confirmation. "Yes..." 

Jerome decided they could go back to that later, not sure how long it would take to talk about whatever the hell Rome wanted to, instead getting to a question he believed was more important and finally asking, "Where's Wayne?" 

Rome perked up, smile stretching much too far before letting out a laugh, chair slamming back into the floor as he declared, "Wayne's exactly what I wanted to talk about!", rather than revealing where Wayne was, earning a glare and huffing, "Yeesh, don't be so serious-- it doesn't look good on you..." Jerome just gave a more menacing glower at that, Rome casually waving off, "Oh don't worry, he's being taken very good care of right now." 

Jerome narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to-" 

"Now then!" Rome interjected excitedly while slamming his hands down on the table with enthusiasm, making a reluctant Jerome go quiet. "Let's talk about what I brought you here to discuss!" 

Jerome was tired of this bullshit. "Which is?" 

"Were you not listening earlier?" Rome scolded with a tsk and smirk. "Wayne!" 

Jerome kept from saying some rather insulting things to the copycat, instead going with, "What about him?" 

Rome's cheerful smile abruptly melted into a much more menacing smirk, even his voice becoming dangerous as he went from chiming out his words to speaking in an icy tone to say, "Why you decided to keep him around as a pet rather than slitting that pretty pink throat of his like you did to every other person that got in your way." 

So Rome was intrigued about Jerome's behavior towards Wayne. 

It was fair enough; Jerome knew it had to seem strange to go from wanting to mercilessly kill a boy he'd held hostage for Theo, to wanting to corrupt him for fun, to wanting to look after him out of genuine care. 

Nonetheless, Jerome didn't feel like giving Rome the satisfaction of an explanation and replying, "Sorry, but it's a long story, and you're not someone I exactly wanna' bother telling it to." He would have bitterly smirked if he wasn't so irked at Rome's very existence. 

"I figured you'd say something like that," Rome admitted with a shrug, eyes rolling as though Jerome was being the ass here, and sure-- Jerome was being an ass, but all things considered his kidnapper was being more of one. "and I've already made the choice to start with breaking Selina's left wrist if you don't spill the beans." 

Jerome tightened his fists, once more attempting and failing to get his wrists out of the ropes keeping him contained. "Excuse me?" 

Rome gave an all too pleased smile at the reaction. "Then her left arm, then her right wrist, then her right arm," He continued on casually, Jerome's scowl just seeming to fuel his amusement. "and next her left ankle, left leg, right ankle, and her right leg next," Rome was acting as though Jerome's growing anger was something to view the same way a child would view an enraged and hungry lion behind bars at a carnival. "after that I'd have to break her right ribcage, and after that her left ribcage, and after that her jaw, and after that I suppose her nose would be the last thing to break..." It was like Rome was daring Jerome to try and break free of his restraints on pure will, and while it was vastly improbable it would have been a sight to see. "If you still acted like an ass after that then I'd have to break her neck and kill her of course, but only if she hadn't already bled out, and not before driving a knife through her stomach and making her beg for help," He gave a laugh. "in reality, me killing her at that point would be an act of mercy if you-" 

"I get it." Jerome growled through clenched teeth as he tried to keep steady breathing, calm façade getting harder and harder to uphold, rage boiling to the brim deep inside the pit of his very core and threatening to spill over, and it was getting to where Jerome was convinced the funniest thing in the world would be making this store-brand copycat suffer immensely, bringing harm to him being even better than making Wayne laugh. 

Rome paused, eying Jerome over with a smirk before offering, "If she ended up dead and out of the picture, would you like to know what I'd do to Wayne if you kept misbehaving?" 

Jerome jerked forward, chair going with him, leaning forward as menacingly as possible while saying in an eerily low and icy voice, "If you do as much as even jokingly consider laying your damn clownish hand on Wayne, then I swear I'll cut your throat with your own shitty knife and leave you choking on your cheap laughs and blood." 

Rome's smirk broke into a large smile, crackle leaving his lips, Jerome not smiling in the least as the copycat exclaimed, "There you are!" Finally, it had taken Jerome long enough. "I knew there was still a bit of the maniac you in there somewhere!" He'd gotten a big part of what he'd wanted with Jerome's reaction alone. "Now if we could only get you to smile a little..." 

"I smile at a lot of things," Jerome replied coldly. "because I find a lot of things funny," He gave a shrug. "but you're not one of them." 

Rome's smile did fall at that, a look of irritation meeting his expression. "You just chose to let Selina get her left wrist broken," He warned, Jerome fuming but quieting. "so unless you want more than that to get broken when we're done talking, I suggest you start being a little more polite, and I recommend not lying about anything since we'll be asking Wayne many of the same questions, so if what you two say doesn't match up..." 

"If you want 'polite' then just talk to Wayne." 

"Didn't I just tell you to be careful about what you let leave your mouth?" Rome snapped, Jerome thinning his lips reluctantly and Rome's smile returning. "Now then! About your relationship with Wayne-" 

"We first met at the charity event, I got sent to the GCPD autopsy room alive after playing dead to get out of there without being chained up or killed for real, Wayne was at the GCPD, I held Wayne hostage so the cops would let me leave, Wayne managed to catch me before the cops could because Selina had been showing him alleyway shortcuts or some shit in Gotham, we made an agreement where I gave Wayne answers about the Maniax and he gave me stuff to get better from the knife wound, I wanted to corrupt him at first for fun and because I didn't see him as anything other than a toy or pet, we ended up growing on each other after a while so I didn't want to corrupt him anymore and looked after him instead." Long story short, that was more or less it. "Next question?" 

Rome gave an intrigued stare. "So you two are just friends?" 

"Yes." 

"Huh. Fair enough..." Rome made it known he wasn't convinced that's all they were by his tone despite it being the truth. "Why'd you get so close to him?" 

"It's not like I meant to," Jerome didn't want to talk about personal shit like this, but he also didn't want Selina to be harmed for his mistakes. "we just ended up growing on each other after he got me out of a bad situation with some guys that had beat me up pretty badly, and I wasn't used to that, all right?" 

Rome smirked. "Wasn't used to what?" 

Jerome felt like a book being forced open to prying eyes. "I guess having someone making the choice to stick by my side without expecting anything just caught me off guard or some shit." He felt damn well exposed like this. 

"Ooh, I see," Rome said while perking up, as though he was beginning to soak in what was going on. "you're not exactly used to having someone care about you, hm?" When Jerome just averted his gaze, clenched his jaw, and didn't answer, Rome felt his smile grow. "Well? Is that it? Huh?" Jerome swallowed thickly and tensed up, breathing ever so slightly quicker than usual. "Do you want me to break Selina's left arm?" Rome threatened, causing to Jerome purse his lips, not replying for a few seconds, pausing before hesitantly giving a reluctant nod. "Oh? What was that? Am I right? I couldn't hear you-" 

"Yes," Jerome admitted through clenched teeth while finally returning his gaze to the grinning Rome. "you're right." 

"How sweet," Rome chuckled, giving a content sigh at the answer. "you have managed to find a pet to your liking, haven't you?" Rome didn't wait for an reply, instead commenting, "A rather good one at that with how well you have him trained-" 

"He's not my pet," Jerome interjected, Rome quieting. "he's not my toy," He continued without leaving room for argument. "he's not my possession," Jerome was going to make this clear. "he's not MY anything," A pause, Jerome making sure Rome was listening intently before adding, "and he sure as hell isn't your's or Mayne's." 

Rome gave a chuckle, and that really pissed Jerome off because he wasn't trying to be funny- "How noble," Rome mused, looking Jerome over. "going off and trying to return Wayne's care he's given you by turning around and attempting to treat him so nicely?" Apparently treating people like individualistic humans was super nice in Rome's standards. "That's sweet," Rome admitted, soaking in Jerome's annoyed stare for a while before taking his time leaning forward as he paused for a few lengthy seconds and then adding, "but we both know this little charade you're keeping up just doesn't suit you." 

Jerome had to find out what Mayne and Rome's views were here if he wanted to get a better idea of what he was up against, so despite not wanting to converse anymore he asked, "What do you mean?" 

"Oh, you know..." Rome began while standing with the help of his crutches, Jerome eying him warily from his place tied up on the chair. "just how it never works well for people like you and me to act all nice and good for long," He elaborated, limping around the table. "and how playing house for the sake of someone that's not quite like us just because we enjoy their amusing company never turns out good." Rome continued casually, circling the cautious Jerome like a fox would circle a hen. "I mean, for a while it may be fun to just mess around with your 'normal' friend and pretend to be like them because they like that, and you enjoy doing stuff they like as a way to thank them for being so entertaining," Rome halted behind Jerome abruptly. "but eventually things go bitter if you let it go on too long since all sweet things eventually sour," He placed his hands on Jerome's shoulders, earning tense muscles. "and when things go bad they rot and become weak, which will lead to you snapping after not being strong enough to play pretend anymore," Jerome really didn't like that Rome was out of his viewing range in all honesty. "and when you snap, you can either take it out on your poor innocent friend that can't defend hisself," Rome's hands drew back. "or you can corrupt them and have them slip into madness with you so you can both just let go and start having a lot more fun with each other outside of playing house." A needle sunk into the side of Jerome's neck, making him jolt and cuss under his breath, Rome hushing him. 

"What-" Jerome questioned uncertainly, not having the slightest clue as to what Rome had just injected him with as the copycat drew back his syringe almost as quickly as he'd driven it in. 

"Easy," Rome coaxed while setting the empty syringe on the table. "no need to panic, this won't kill you," A pause. "I mean, unless you're allergic of course..." Jerome gave a scoff. "but you're probably not!" Rome assured, patting Jerome's cheek while limping around on his crutches to face the other. "It's just benzodiazepine," He explained, sitting on the table. "do you know what that is?" Jerome only glared at him. "Right, of course you don't, Lila probably didn't bother teaching you much science with homeschooling, huh?" That name earned an even more pissed off glare, Rome dismissing it to continue, "In any case, it's more or less a truth serum," Jerome's expression fell. "and it's one of the ones that are supposed to work pretty quickly, which means you'll probably be- well..." Rome flashed a grin. "...more or less showing us the REAL Jerome Valeska in just a few minutes-- maybe even seconds..." 

"'Us'?" Jerome inquired uncertainly. 

"Yep!" Rome confirmed, gesturing towards the security camera facing the dining table they sat at. "Wayne and Mayne should be watching this just about now," He was absolutely gleeful at Jerome's look of dread. "so say hi!" 

Jerome felt sick. "Why are you-" 

"Look," Rome interrupted knowingly while leaning forward from his place on the table, inches away from Jerome's face. "we both know the real you is down in there somewhere," He gave a grin. "only difference is I can admit that, and you're trying SO hard to keep the real you contained so you don't scare away your pet." 

Jerome gave a scoff, too anxious to tell if the drug was settling in. "And what exactly is the real me, Rome?" 

"A maniac!" Rome laughed, throwing his hands in the air as though it should be obvious. "A criminal! A murderer! A bad guy! A villain!" 

"You ever heard of anyone turning over a new leaf?" Jerome said under his breath. 

"That's the thing! You're just showing the nice green, smooth, clean side of your leaf, and you're trying to keep the browning, crisp, ruined side hidden!" Rome gave a grin. "The bad side of the leaf is still there, even if you don't show it!" He gripped Jerome's hair and forced him to crane his neck so he could examine the needle entry on said neck, earning a glower. "Just a small gust of wind can turn it back over to its original side, though," He tightened his grasp and pulled Jerome forward by his hair so their faces were inches apart as he said with a wicked smile, "and I'm that gust of wind." 

Jerome glanced at the camera before returning his gaze to Rome. "And how exactly does Wayne fit in this plan?" Was Rome trying to make him bring harm to Wayne? Because there was no way he was about to- 

"Haven't you been listening?" Rome scoffed, nonetheless giving a smirk and knowingly assuring, "You're not going to kill Wayne or anything like that," He let go of Jerome's hair and continued with enthusiasm, "you're going to make him slip down into madness with you, me, and Mayne!" Rome was ecstatic. "He's going to be forced to accept there's no way a pet can leave this place, and he's going to have to give in to adapt and survive here until we get to where he's too dependent on us to even consider leaving when we finally let him out!" To wrap up his explanation Rome declared, "You're going to finally have a chance to do the fun thing and go all the way through with corrupting Wayne this time! There will be no backing out just because you want to be the silly knight in shining armor meant to guard him, because Mayne and I are going to make sure both of you become wicked enough to where neither of you will even have to bother looking out for the other one!" Wayne was a cutesy friendly pup, but he'd make a nice unquestioningly loyal guard dog when they were done with him. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Now perk up, Miss Harleen," Alfred coaxed, the sniffling girl bundled up in a blanket as she sat curled up on the couch with her shaking hands cupped around a glass of chocolate milk. "you don't have to worry about me going and calling home to say what went on here this morning, all right?" Harley hesitantly met the eyes of the butler that was kneeling down to her level. "We can just keep quiet about this whole incident, yeah?" Harley didn't reply, but she did swallow thickly and nod. "But I still have to go find Wayne and Selina and the others, and I need you to stay here so I don't have to worry about you, Ivy, and Jen going missing on my watch, understood?" 

Harley stared back down at her beverage, softly muttering, "Okay..." 

Alfred glanced at Jen as she awkwardly watched from the other side of the room, and Ivy who was curled up and laying down right next to Harley. "You two better keep her company now, you hear?" Jen gave a sigh and Ivy just glared at him, still upset about the butler making Harley cry. "No running off and leaving the poor thing by herself." 

"I won't." Ivy promised with a scoff, because it really should have been obvious she wasn't going to make her best friend stay all by herself when she was like this. 

Alfred directed his attention to Jen, causing her to shrug defensively and huff, "What?" Alfred gave her a look, the girl snapping, "Fine, yeah! I guess I'll stay here, too!" 

Harley, Alfred, and Ivy all quirked brows, not at all used to the quiet and generally emotionless girl getting the least bit upset. 

"Jen-" Alfred started unconvinced. 

"What?" Jen interjected, a trio of taken aback eyes on here. "I said I'd stay here, didn't I?" Alfred gave her a knowing stare, causing her lips to purse and shoulders to shrug yet again. "Whatever," She threw her hands up once more. "believe me, don't believe me," She gave Alfred a rather nasty look. "see if I care," She abruptly spun on her heel and stormed towards the exit. "either way you're not the damn boss of me, and I'd be more than glad to just walk on out of this shite place and onto the streets again if it inconveniences you to have more than one bastard child not listening to your rules." 

For the love of- this was just peachy... what was wrong with this child now? 

"Oi," Alfred called out, speed walking after the girl stomping towards the front door in the next room. "oi!" He scolded, jogging to catch up with the girl refusing to reply much less look his way, grabbing her wrist before she could grab the doorknob. "Now just what's gotten into you all of a sudden-" 

Jen yanked away her hand, shoving Alfred back by his chest with both of her palms. "Piss off!" She warned, Alfred arching a brow and parting his lips to question her, Jen speaking before he could and frustratedly saying, "I know you're just going to look for Wayne," She took a step back, glaring up at the butler. "you don't even care about the rest of them!" Jen's hands went into fists, accusing, "I see the way you look at Selina, and Jerome, and even Harley, and every one of us other than your billionaire child employer," She eyed the quiet butler over, her head shaking in distaste. "you don't like us hanging out with the only damn family you've got because the lot of us aren't 'prim and proper' like the boy you look out for is supposed to be, and you've gone off and convinced yourself it's our fault he disagrees with you sometimes instead of swallowing your pride and admitting he's a teenager just acting like other moody teenagers, because you want someone to blame for him not obeying your every rule." Jen managed to get Alfred's expression to fall, the girl giving him a sour look and backing up towards the door. "Don't say you're worried about Selina, and Jerome, and Jonathan," She stepped over the threshold, still facing Alfred. "not when all you care about is saving Wayne and couldn't give less of a shite about the rest of us." Jen spun around and began to speed walk off, Alfred running after her. "Oh I said piss off already, you old sod-" 

"I promise I am not nearly as harsh as you may believe I am-" Alfred tried to assure, not wanting to be responsible for the girl going off and doing something dangerous. 

"Oh, you're not, are you?" Jen scoffed, halting in her tracks to look at Alfred in disbelief. "If you ask me slapping Selina was pretty harsh."  
Alfred felt his gut drop, eyes widening somewhat and Jen giving a nod of confirmation at his questioning and surprised expression of horror. "Yeah, she told me about the slap and you warning her to stay away from Wayne," Alfred had never seen Jen so hateful much less emotional before... "so you go off and look for your Wayne, and I'll go off and look for my Selina," Jen gave Alfred a shove for good measure before walking off while adding, "because I sure as shite know you wouldn't be bothering searching for her nearly as much as him if you didn't reckon they were both together." 

Alfred found his mistakes were catching up with him... 

~*~*~*~ 

"Let's start with something easy," Rome hummed, examining the groggily swaying Jerome who looked half asleep as he slumped in the chair he was tied up in. "who was the last person you killed?" 

Jerome was so out of it he felt like he was just having a common conversation with a friend that he could tell absolutely anything to, not realizing murders weren't everyday talks anymore and not taking in the fact he was speaking to Rome, not recalling Wayne was watching the whole thing from the security camera in the dining room. 

"Theo's men," Jerome answered with words that slurred together. "Alfred convinced me ta' kill 'em so Wayne would be safe when they came back home from Switzerland," Jerome gave a shrug, feeling dizzy. "I was itchi'n to kill since it had been a while, too, so it was a win-win." 

Rome gave a pleasantly surprised grin, not expecting it to be somewhat recent and figuring it would have been someone at the charity event. "Does Wayne know you killed them?" 

"Nah," Jerome answered, and every time he tried to recall what was going on things got even fuzzier, making him focus less and less on such due to not wanting to make things too out of focus. "Alfred wanted me ta' keep it a secret." 

"Does Wayne have any loved ones you want to murder?" 

Jerome hesitated, a part of him knowing it wouldn't be a good idea to answer, but when he couldn't manage to piece together why that was he just did the easy thing and gave up on searching for an explanation since he wasn't sure why it would make sense to do anything else thanks to lacking common sense in this state and answering, "Yeah," He had just confessed to that, so why not admit who? "Alfred 'n Jonathan," He gave a sluggish shrug, figuring he should elaborate. "they've pissed me off enough ta' make me wanna' jus' stab 'em ta' make 'em shut up," He yawned. "but it's not like I've been itchi'n ta' kill 'em as much as I've been wanti'n to kill Jester 'n Tommy 'n Jimbo." 

Rome had already gotten a lot out of one easy question! This was going great... "Aren't Tommy and Jim loved ones of Wayne's, too, though?" 

Jerome just wanted to get some rest, but this guy was keeping him up, so maybe the quicker he answered his questions the quicker he could get some shut eye. "Jim is," Jerome confirmed exhausted. "not sure about where Wayne stands with Tommy or whatever, though." 

"Fair enough," Rome chuckled satisfied. "so why do you wanna' kill Jim, then?" 

Jerome felt like that should be obvious, yet nonetheless explained, "Jus' 'cuz he's the jackass that got me caught," Jerome would have given a bitter smirk if he wasn't so out of it. "and didn't seem ta' give a shit I killed that whore because she was a cruel bitch," Jerome was mostly fatigued, yet felt a tinge of anger rise in him discussing this. "because apparently a kid murderi'n an adult that's been nearly killi'n them with beatings for years makes that kid worse than the adult." 

Rome was getting a rise out of Jerome. "Why not just kill Jim then?" 

Jerome felt like the other was asking questions he already knew the answer to. "Because Wayne cares about 'em and he looks out for Wayne." 

"So all your impulse control relies on Wayne?" 

A pause, Jerome clearly not as ready to talk much about Wayne as he was with the other subjects. "Most of it, yeah," He confessed at that. "some of it relies on Selina, an' the rest of it I can manage on my own." 

"Do you like having to control your actions?" Rome continued, easing Jerome into a more comfortably unaware state. "I mean, after you became a Maniac you were free to do whatever you wanted for fun," Rome looked Jerome over. "isn't having to act so proper boring to you now?" 

"Yeah, it can be pretty boring sometimes," Jerome felt his eyelids go heavier, staring down at the patterns in the wooden table. "but I prefer doi'n stuff with Wayne, ya' know?" He wasn't sure quite how to put it when just forming words into sentences was tiring. "More fun ta' do stuff with a friend than alone or with people ya' don't really like." Jerome wasn't very fond of his fellow Maniax other than Babs and Tabs, and even they weren't someone he considered allies much less friends... they were just less aggravating than people like Greenwood. 

Rome was getting closer to what he wanted to discuss. "Why not just get Wayne to do some of the stuff you want to do?" 

Jerome vaguely caught onto where this was going, brow furrowing. "He does-" 

"I mean the stuff you REALLY want to do," Rome corrected, nonchalantly giving the example, "like going on a killing spree and all that.", with a shrug and grin. 

Jerome slightly felt something in him become cautious. "Wayne wouldn't be okay with that." 

"He's dependent on you to an extent, isn't he?" Rome persisted. "Why are you trying to make sure he becomes more independent when you could make him rely on you even more if you wanted to?" He examined Jerome. "Why not just take how much the kiddo looks up to you and use that to corrupt him so you two can have so much more fun together?" 

Too many questions were being thrown at Jerome. "I wouldn't-" 

"Come on," Rome coaxed. "you wanted to corrupt him before, so why go off and change your mind just because you ended up giving a shit about him? You could still look out for him if the two of you went on a killing spree, couldn't you? It's not like you'd be harming him or anything-- you'd just be setting yourselves free from playing this silly game of house and pretending it's always going to be fun!" 

Rome was countering Jerome's reasoning, and he wasn't sure how to reply when he was so drugged up. "I don't..." 

Mercilessly, Rome was planning on continuing to attack Jerome's rationality in attempts to make the other's doubts grow until Jerome questioned his own rationality, and Rome would do so this whole session if he had to in order to make Jerome snap the same way he'd snapped when Lila went too far, and the old him would be back! 

Rome planned on making Jerome regress and lose all the progress he'd made since befriending the boy that had helped him get better bit by bit. 

"What other reason is there to convince yourself to not corrupt Wayne when corrupting him doesn't mean harming him?" Rome asked, doubting Jerome had any other answer to give. "Do you even have another reason, or do you just not want to accept that the thing you've been convincing yourself of for nearly a year is pointless?" Rome was going to break Jerome, and then he was going to break Wayne afterwards. "Well? What's-" 

"I don't exactly want 'em ta' become like me, all right?" The words felt strange on Jerome's tongue considering it wasn't something he'd ever admitted aloud, much less even mentally to himself. "Being a Maniac was fun, an' carefree, an' never boring at all, but-" Jerome swallowed thickly, not at all used to using wording that was so damn honest and serious. "but it was dangerous, an' I was barely grounded while havi'n trouble holdi'n onto reality, an' everythi'n you did or had happen to you or interacted with was cold and cruel, and-" Jerome wasn't even sure if what he was saying making sense whatsoever. "-and I'm not maki'n Wayne..." He trailed off, trying to figure out why he was acting like this and what was wrong with him- 

"You're not making Wayne go through that." Rome exhaled with disappointment. 

Jerome kept attempting to recall why he was so tired, and what was making him so honest, and why he wasn't joking around, and who he was even talking to as he instinctively confirmed, "Yeah." 

Rome went with a different approach, staying quiet for a few lengthy seconds and just examining the fatigued Jerome before abruptly standing up and slamming the palms of his hands down on the table surface while giving a smirk and exclaiming, "Come on, you're Jerome Valeska!", that being the first time he managed to get Jerome to blink and look up at him. "You got known as Gotham's prince of crime after only one charity event killing spree!" Jerome looked Rome over questioningly, beginning to recall and register what was going on. "You have killed dozens of people for nothing more than fun because your number one trait is your desire to be amused, and entertained, and always laughing!" Rome was going to force the old Jerome to come back if he had to. "You don't care about the world or anyone in it because you know they don't care about you, and you know silly emotions make everything about this shithole place a lot less funny!" Rome would force Jerome to give up this charade of pretending to be good and playing house. "Your whole purpose is to be a virus of chaos on this city, and you can't change that because it's something that reaches the very core of your being!" Rome grinned as Jerome averted his gaze by looking down and not staring Rome in the eye. "Face it, you're just not a damn good person, and you can't keep up this façade of pretending you are forever, because we both know the real you is clawing for freedom just underneath the surface, and sooner or later you're going to be forced to let him snap out," Rome leaned forward, trying to catch Jerome's expression and getting much too close for comfort while concluding, "and after you finally accept that when you're drowning and sinking into madness too quickly to get back to the surface, it can either be too late at that point and result in you hurting Wayne, or it can be you taking him down with you so it's not too lonely at the bottom." 

Jerome had finally registered what was going on, and for a long while of seconds that felt more like minutes he just stayed quiet and didn't reply, not allowing Rome to see his expression as he stared at his lap for a lengthy amount of time, Rome growing impatient and about to pester the other to look at him or say something if he didn't want Selina to get hurt anymore than she was already going to- 

Jerome let out a brief and quiet laugh, Rome blinking taken aback and quirking a brow as the other finally looked back up at him with a sour and rather pissed off smirk, expression much more menacing and tone quite a bit more wicked as leaned forward even more to get dangerously close to Rome and muse in a voice that sounded more mocking than joking, "You wanna' see me snap, is that it?" He didn't wait for an answer, just giving an unsettling grin and saying, "Then by all means, let me go and I'll gladly gut you and Mayne like a fish without so much as blinking an eye." 

Well, okay... Rome had gotten Jerome to act more like a maniac... just not particularly the way he wanted to... 

Wayne felt sick as he watched the video feed on a flatscreen television mounted on the wall from inside the bedroom he was in with Mayne. 

"Well, that certainly could have gone better," Admitted Mayne while letting out a long breath. "but we weren't expecting amazing results the first round," He waved off, reaching for the bedside table and pulling open the drawer to reach inside. "there's always tomorrow...." 

Wayne felt his gut sink, eyes widening as he looked away from the live video to stare at Mayne and question with a frown, "What do you mean-" His eyes widened at the sight of a syringe, attempting to scurry off the bed he was sitting on, but not getting very far due to being tied up, Mayne grabbing his wrist. "Wait-" 

"Don't worry," Mayne hushed, stilling the squirming arm and sinking a needle into it. "it'll take a while for the serum to settle in, so you'll have a while to prep yourself." 

"For what?!" Wayne scoffed uneasily, Mayne injecting the serum as gently as possible. 

Mayne reckoned that would be obvious. "For doing the same thing Jerome just did." He glanced down at the phone he had confiscated from Selina with several texts from some girl named Jen. "I have an errand to run, and Jerome should have the drug wear off before we start recording considering your answers should be something he hears when he's fully aware," He grabbed Selina's phone while getting up. "so take some time to prepare yourself for the drug effects." 

~*~*~*~ 

Jen had felt relief wash over her at the text message. 

'Jen: So what do you feel like doing later on? 

Jen: Hey, what time are you coming home? 

Jen: Are you staying out tonight? 

Jen: Is everything okay? Are you upset at me or something? 

Jen: Did you go out with the guys? Ivy and Alfred said they're not sure where any of you are either, and none of you are answering your phones. 

Jen: Did something happen? It's not like you to not tell me when you're going somewhere and not text back... 

Jen: If you don't feel like texting that's fine, but can you please just let me know you're all right? 

Selina: I'm okay, don't worry :3 I was hanging out with the boys and we got jumped by some jerks that stole our phones, so we've been out all night trying to find them and just did. We're gonna' get some burgers at the place by the park near Wayne's school before we come back home, wanna' come? I'll buy to make up for worrying you :3' 

Jen had confirmed she'd meet them there and was on her way when a car pulled up beside her, the girl rolling her eyes and stuffing her hands in her jacket pockets as she scoffed, "What do you want?", while the tinted window came down. 

"If you get in the car I'll drive wherever you reckon Selina and Wayne and the others may be." Alfred offered from the driver's seat. 

Jen gave him a skeptical glare. "I don't need your help." 

"I didn't say you did," Retorted Alfred. "but it sure would be quite a bit faster to find them by car rather than by foot." 

Jen chewed on the inside of her cheek, because she just wanted to see Selina ASAP, but... "So you just wanna' be on my side all of a sudden?" Why was this ass that had been trying to get rid of them constantly suddenly being the least bit nice? 

"Yes," Alfred confirmed, Jen halting and the butler stepping on the breaks. "I do," Jen gave him a questioning look. "and if you want to march right on and not believe me, then that's fine and I don't blame you," He assured, Jen narrowing her eyes and looking him over, as though she was searching for a trick. "but I would greatly appreciate it if you'd allow me a chance to apologize, even if I very well may not deserve that." 

Jen looked around at her surroundings, weighing her options, taking a few lengthy seconds to decide on what would be best to do before returning her icy gaze to the butler. "Fine." She agreed with a grumble, reaching out to open the door and get in. 

She just wanted to see Selina as quickly as possible. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne was smaller and younger than Jerome, so the drug had hit him faster, which meant it was already wearing off ever so slightly by the time Mayne got back since he'd taken a while, so Wayne was vaguely aware of what was going on, but not by much more than Jerome had been at first. 

Mayne gave the first question, which was easy enough. "You ready?" 

"No." Wayne answered, and while it was the truth there was a hint of sarcasm in his words. 

Mayne gave a smirk. "At least we know you're honest..." He glanced at the camera facing them, making sure there was a green light to signal Rome and Jerome were watching from the living room T.V. before saying, "All right, first thing's first," He looked at the tied up boy glaring at him from his sitting place on the bed. "how'd you and Jerome go about being friends?" 

"I convinced 'em ta' give me answers about the Maniax in exchange for products ta' help keep 'em alive since he was in a weak state, we grew on each other, 'n then I stopped making everythi'n havi'n to be so professional around us when I found out he'd let some of Oswald's rogue men searchi'n for me beat 'em up rather than givi'n up my location since they wanted to injure me." Wayne couldn't tell whether or not he was slurring his words, because it SOUNDED fine to him, but it FELT like his mouth was numb, and his ears were ringing so he wasn't too sure about relying on what he heard himself say. 

"Is that when you found yourself attracted to him, then?" Mayne inquired bluntly, earning a taken aback stare. "It's obvious you-" 

"I-" Wayne started to defend. 

"Don't interrupt me," Mayne interjected warningly. "and don't bother with trying to lie either, unless you want Jonathan to get hurt." 

Wayne pursed his lips, and he'd already gotten to the point of exhaustion where he'd forced himself to stay up and resulted in feeling wide awake in a dissociating kind of way. "No," He reluctantly answered, feeling as though Mayne was reaching forward to grab at the words being held down inside of Wayne only to wrench them forcefully out of his throat, the truth spilling from his lips against his control. "that didn't happen until Galavan's niece came over an' Jerome and I shared a bed." He really didn't like the feeling of being out of control in his own body that the drug was giving him. 

Mayne's brow arched. "Just what happened in that bed-" 

"Nothi'n," Wayne huffed, and just because he couldn't stop himself from telling the truth didn't mean he couldn't at least do so in a snappy tone. "I jus' realized I had a crush on 'em and made up an excuse to sleep with Silver instead after that." He would have said some rather rude things to Mayne for being invasively suggestive if he wasn't worried Jonathan would get hurt for such, and he definitely would have given a well deserved punch to Mayne's unbruised cheek if he wasn't tied up and his limbs weren't numb with heaviness. 

Mayne made the choice to be nice and drop the subject about the bed, since apparently to him being oh so nice meant the same thing as just being decent and not a jackass. "What made you take an interest in him?" Wayne just shrugged, Mayne's eyes narrowing. "I said-" 

"I heard what ya' said," Replied Wayne defensively. "but I honestly don't know the answer to your question, okay?" He was clearly uncomfortable with Mayne's interrogation, and Mayne clearly didn't care. "I don't have a type if that's what you're aski'n-- Selina, Silver, Jerome, Tommy, Rome... they're all pretty different." Selina was tough and independent, Silver was a pretty flirt, Jerome was funny, Tommy was a bad boy, Rome was a bubbly extrovert... maybe Wayne was just a lovesick puppy who fell a bit too easily for people that showed him attention considering he'd gotten used to most kids keeping their distance due to not knowing how to act around an orphan or figuring Wayne was just a stuck up kid that would act like he was too good for them... and due to Tommy spreading shitty rumors about him at school, and while he had stopped that the damage had already been done. 

Mayne eyed the pondering boy over. "You consider Jerome and Rome different?" 

Wayne couldn't stop the words falling out of his mouth like an avalanche, finding the serum made him too truthful as he admitted, "Yeah, Jerome can actually make me laugh.", hearing a snort of laughter from somewhere in the house at that and realizing Jerome was no more than a few rooms away. 

Mayne was not laughing, however. "Now Jonathan's left wrist is going to be broken, so unless you want his arm to break with it, I suggest you try to watch your wording." 

"You're the one that gave me the truth serum-" 

"You can tell the truth without being an ass." 

"Well you could try ta' make friends without kidnapping 'em like an ass." 

"One more quip like that and Jonathan gets his arm broken, too." Mayne threatened, Wayne pursing his lips and going quiet. "Good boy." 

"I'm not a dog-" Wayne grumbled, shutting his mouth when earning a look. 

"Next question," Mayne sighed, realizing it was going to take time to shape Wayne to the perfected vision he and Rome had, and possibly even longer than it would take to do so to Jerome with how stubborn the little bastard was. "have you ever wanted to kill anyone?" 

"Yes." Wayne answered instantly, as though he'd been prepared for the answer. 

Mayne hadn't expected the quick reply. "Who?" 

"You 'n Rome." 

For the love of- "Fine, have you wanted to kill anyone other than us?" 

"Yes." Wayne easily answered again. 

Mayne chose to reword his phrasing. "Have you ever seriously considered going through with a murder or have you ever attempted a murder, or even committed one?" 

Wayne paused at that, gritting his teeth to keep his mouth shut, yet finding himself nodding and realizing such a bit too late. 

Mayne smirked; now they were getting somewhere... "Who?" 

Wayne felt like he was going to begin fidgeting uncontrollably if he didn't answer, the discomfort in him growing, words pushing down on his chest with a suffocating weight, throat closing up and making it hard to breathe, and while Wayne managed to keep quiet for almost a full minute he eventually had to open his mouth to let everything the serum had building up in him out and admit, "Matches Malone," His throat was dry. "the man that killed my..." Wayne trailed off. 

Dangit, Mayne had heard about that guy committing suicide on the News... "Anyone else?" He'd only heard allegations of the man being a murderer on the News, but Wayne just confirmed his suspicions. 

"Whoever hired him." 

Mayne gave a hum as Wayne averted his gaze, reaching out to grip his chin and forcing the other to look at him. "And just who is that?" 

Wayne didn't want to talk about any of this. "I don't know who it was..." 

Mayne had expected as much. "Oh you poor thing," He crooned suddenly sympathetically while pushing a stray strand of hair away from Wayne's eye, doing so the same way one would speak to and handle an injured animal. "you've been looking for the man that hired him for quite a while now, haven't you?" He sighed, hand cupping his cheek. 

Wayne could barely feel anything due to being numb, but he didn't want Mayne touching his face, and he was fairly sure he was shaking from something akin to fear as he heard himself answer, "Yes." 

Mayne lowered his hand to Wayne's neck, cupping it and leaning forward a tad bit too close while musing, "If Rome and I managed to catch the man that hired this Malone fellow, would you like us to kill him?" It was hard to tell if Mayne found Wayne's uneasy facial quirks amusing or concerning as he studied the boy's face. "Or would you rather Jerome kill him for you?" 

"I'd want ta' kill him." Wayne felt as though he was taking a backseat and allowing a much different part of him to speak, as though his lips were both moving on their own and having a mind of their own, the words leaving them doing so without even allowing Wayne to have a chance to consider shaping them first, said words instead coming out already structured and with such a tone of certainty it felt and sounded like someone else completely. 

Both Wayne and Mayne were not at all expecting such words to leave the boy's mouth, even with the truth serum. 

"But I don't know if I'd be able ta'," Wayne quickly added when gathering himself, and it was truthful but it didn't make what he'd just said any less frightening. "and I would most likely restrain myself in any case." 

Mayne gave a smirk, looking Wayne over much too pleased at the handiwork of the drug and tsking, "Ah ah ah," He resorted to holding Wayne by the jaw. "you already said you WANT to kill him, and regardless of whether you WOULD doesn't matter to me right now," Mayne was being much to touchy feely with Wayne as he tightened his grasp on his jaw. "because now all Rome and I have to do is snap any restraints you may have and let you have a go at whoever this man is when we find him," Wayne was glaring at Mayne more scared than anything-- not that he'd admit it. "and once we've gotten you all nice and corrupted, Jerome won't have anything else keeping him grounded, and it'll be so easy to make him fall with you..." 

Wayne wasn't sure if the serum made him more honest when it came to his impulsive actions as well, or if he was just feeling ballsy, but either way he gave Mayne a glare and yanked back from his grasp to bite down on the webbing between his pointer finger and thumb, earning a noise of pain and a backhand to the cheek that sent him off the bed and onto the floor, the tied up boy laying on the carpet already feeling his cheek bruise as he glared up at the pissed off copycat. 

It was worth it. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jen knew it was best to recall what had happened and try to figure out what the situation was before opening one's eyes after waking up and not being sure of where you were or why you had a slight migraine so you could prepare yourself for whatever could be awaiting your sights. 

First thing's first... what was wrapped around Jen's torso to her knees? It felt like metal chains... 

Okay... as for what had happened... she'd gotten into the car with Alfred, he'd given a strangely genuine apology awkwardly while they drove to the burger place Selina had texted her to meet up at, neither could find them so Jen insisted they split up to make the search quicker despite Alfred's objections, and the next thing Jen had known some kid that looked like a sixteen year old Wayne was holding a white cloth up to her nose and muffling her mouth, and... 

Oh. That hadn't been Selina that had texted her, had it? The bastard was good at imitating people's writing patterns considering she hadn't doubted it was Selina in the least sending her that message pertaining to where to meet up, and he must have known what she looked like thanks to Selina having her picture saved... 

All right, Jen had figured that much out, and she had little to no idea on why this guy would have kidnapped Selina and the boys unless Jerome had gone and pissed someone off he shouldn't have, or unless they were holding Wayne for ransom, and they were probably trying to keep a low profile with how it wasn't like this had been all over the news... 

Nah, Wayne wasn't being held for ransom-- they would have called Alfred by now if he was, so maybe Jerome had gone and done something shitty to someone important, and they were probably trying to keep it under the radar since they'd bothered with kidnapping Jen most likely due to how persistent she was being when texting Selina, not wanting to risk her calling the cops. 

Alfred generally only texted Wayne once, and if he didn't answer that text alone then Alfred freaked out and took it as a sign something was wrong and didn't usually bother being too persistent with messaging since there would be little point in sending them considering that would just take up precious time figuring out where to look for him. 

Ivy wasn't much of a techie, and always found herself losing her phone in her garden, so she rarely texted, and Harley got distracted easily so she would often send a text or reply to one, but then forget about it for a while. 

That explained why Jen was the only one whoever this guy was had bothered kidnapping her considering how many texts she'd sent Selina. 

Now then... who could this guy be? If he did end up having to do with Jerome, it could be a corrupt cop, or someone with relations to Theo, or a copycat, or one of Oswald's rogue men, or just someone he'd pissed off on the street by making a badly placed joke. 

When Jen made sure that was was about all she could figure out when pretending to be asleep, she carefully opened her eyes to scan her surroundings, and felt her eyes widen at the sight of a sleeping Jonathan and teary eyed Selina. 

"Jen!" Selina exclaimed in relief at seeing the girl's eyes open. "I- I was trying to get you to wake up half an hour ago, but you wouldn't..." She trailed off and swallowed thickly. "are you all right?" 

"I'm fine," Jen assured, not feeling any injuries other than a scraped up knee and chin. "are you okay?" 

Selina ignored the throbbing against her ribcage, nodding and saying, "I'll be all right." 

Jen examined the concrete and brick interior while asking in an uneasy voice, "Where are we?" 

"At Rome and Mayne's place," Selina answered, earning a look of disbelief. "Rome kidnapped Wayne and we came looking for him and-" 

The door swung open, Mayne and Rome walking down the staircase with a struggling Wayne and scowling Jerome, Mayne yanking Wayne down the steps by the nape of his neck and making the boy stumble, Rome holding Jerome back by his hair whenever Wayne would make a noise of pain and Jerome would jerk forward in attempts to kick Mayne's feet out from underneath him. 

Mayne shoved Wayne down on the ground, making the boy let out a soft grunt as he hit the wall, Rome trying to help Jerome sit down and being shrugged off by the clown prince of crime that fell on his ass. 

The tied up Wayne couldn't sit up from the position on his side he'd been shoved into, resorting to resting his cheek on the cold floor next to Jerome, the restrained older one settling for shimmying closer to Wayne since he couldn't reach out and help him sit up. 

"I'm breaking Jonathan's left wrist and arm." Mayne informed irked, hand bandaged from where Wayne had bitten it, storming over to the other side of the room where his baseball bat was. 

"Selina's getting those broken, too," Rome hummed, tightening his grip around his crutches. "plus her right wrist." 

"Well that's not precisely a lovely thing to wake up to and hear." Jonathan exhaled tiredly. 

"Now you're getting both wrists broken," Mayne threatened while grabbing his bat and stalking back over. "and if you don't shut your mouth I'll break both of your arms, too." 

"Wait," Wayne objected, bruised cheek aching. "please, wait-- I'm sorry, I won't talk back-" 

"You should have considered that before getting him in trouble," Mayne snapped, pointing the bat at Wayne menacingly before glancing at Jerome and adding, "you both should have." 

"Don't take it out on her," Jerome muttered. "I'm the one who said it-" 

"Rules are rules, Jerome." Rome chuckled with a shrug, approaching the wide eyed Selina. 

"Why are you-" Selina started shakily, eyes squeezing shut as Rome raised his crutch. 

"No!" Jen screamed, struggling against the chains around her. "Don't! Please- Don't- don't hurt her-" 

"Wait," Mayne spoke up, Rome raising a brow and hesitating, keeping his right crutch in the air while leaning heavily on the other one. "they're right," He let the baseball bat on his shoulder clank to the ground, Selina wincing at the loud noise. "our guests should have a choice in what kind of entertainment they consume." Mayne leaned on the bat, directing his attention towards Jerome and Selina. "We either break their bones," He offered, gesturing to Selina and Jonathan. "or we kill the new girl." 

Rome gave an approving grin at the new deal, chiming in, "We torture and kill the new girl," He lowered his crutch, leaning on it. "or one of you can give her a mercy kill." 

Mayne gave a satisfied nod of agreement. "There, now you have three options." 

"Tell them to break our bones." Selina pleaded, Wayne looking sick and Jerome looking uncertain. 

"Yes," Jonathan reluctantly agreed. "as of now the most favorable given option would be one which preserves each of us." 

"You two shut up or I'll break every bone in your body right now." Mayne snapped, Rome grinning amusedly. "I'm counting down from ten, and if I haven't gotten an answer from either Jerome or Wayne then we do every option-- break their bones, torture the newbie, and make you both kill her afterwards." A pause. "Ten." 

"I- I don't-" Wayne stuttered with glossy eyes. 

"Nine." Mayne interjected coldly. 

"Don't forget we may just go off and accidentally cause some internal bleeding if we break their bones," Rome hummed, Jerome clenching his jaw. "so that could mean two dead friends instead of just one..." 

"Eight." Mayne continued casually. 

"Wayne..." Jerome muttered unsure of what to do. 

"Seven." 

"We should break their- their..." Wayne couldn't say it. 

"Six." 

"If Selina and Jonathan get internal bleeding then they both die, but at least with Jen it's just..." Jerome gave a sigh, weighing his options. 

"Five." 

"At least Selina and Jonathan would have a chance!" Wayne argued. "Jen wouldn't have any!" 

"Four." 

"Fine," Jerome exhaled exasperated. "what do you want to do?" 

"Three." 

"I- I don't know!" Wayne sighed distressed. 

"Two." 

"Do you want me to call it?!" Jerome questioned impatiently. 

"One." At that, Mayne just swung his bat over his shoulder as Rome made a buzzing noise and chuckle. 

"You didn't say zero!" Wayne objected, stalling for just a bit more time- 

Mayne's eyes rolled. "Fine, ze-" 

"Choose me or I bite my own tongue anyways!" Jen threatened, Mayne glaring over his shoulder at her and looking about ready to- 

"Jen," Jerome answered at that, Mayne and Rome looking back at him. "kill Jen." If she was going to just off herself if Selina got hurt anyways then there was no use to try and save her. 

"You want US to kill her?" Mayne inquired at that. 

"No," Jerome answered, Wayne's expression falling. "I'll do it." Better to give her a quick death than have Mayne and Rome give her a gradual one. 

Rome grinned and Mayne smirked, the pair exchanging stares and nodding, Mayne saying, "Good enough for me.", as Rome knelt down to free Jerome from his restraints. 

"No!" Selina shouted, jerking in her restraints, Jerome glancing at her and feeling sick as their eyes met. "Jerome please, don't-" 

"Quiet." Mayne warned, tears pouring down her cheek and sobs leaving her throat. 

Jerome waited until he was mostly free, only his wrists being untied, ankles kept together, knowing he couldn't take the pair of copycats on alone without risk of himself or one of the others getting hurt in the process, or even killed as punishment if he failed or in the haste of things. 

"Weapon of choice?" Rome chimed. 

Jerome swallowed dryly, eyes on the frightened Jen. "Knife." Rome gladly brought out his own personal knife from his pocket, handing it proudly to Jerome with a cheeky smile. "I want to kill Selina, too."added Jerome without warning. 

"What?" Wayne questioned in disbelief, Selina staring at him wide eyed and the copycats exchanging stares, Jonathan fuming. 

"Jen's her best friend," Jerome reasoned. "she'll hate me for killing her and will probably attack me to get even, and she won't have a reason to live when she's gone in any case, so I don't want her to suffer." He caught the questioning gaze Mayne was giving him, hesitating before swallowing dryly and leaning forward, gently bumping together his forehead against the other's and meeting his eyes. "Please?" 

Mayne quirked a brow; maybe that truth serum had done more than he'd realized... "By all means." He easily permitted with a smirk, hand reaching up to rest on Jerome's chest and making Wayne avert his gaze and swallow thickly. 

"You piece of garbage!" Jen spat as Mayne and Rome helped the somewhat tied up Jerome shimmy over to the shaking Selina staring at them frightened. 

Jerome gave Selina an apologetic look and gripped the back of her neck, hand shaking as he held the knife up to her throat, meeting her gaze before briefly glancing upwards and then returning her stare of utter betrayal, hand shaking so badly the knife fell to the floor. 

"Hey, careful with that-" Rome scoffed irked as Jerome knelt down to grab it. 

Jerome sliced through the ropes keeping Selina's ankles tied to the concrete blocks, the girl using her claws to rip through the ceiling rope holding her wrists together, lunging over the kneeling Jerome at Rome and Jerome straightening up quickly to drive the knife through the center of Mayne's chest, earning an expression of disbelief and the words, "Well shit...", before drawing the knife back, Mayne collapsing onto his knees, and then with his cheek to the floor. 

And just like that, the hectic blur was over. 

Jerome had just had to piss off Selina enough to make her feline attributes come forth, and he'd say he did a fairly good job considering Selina slashed Rome by his throat pretty good. 

~*~*~*~ 

Selina had reverted back to her old self when she realized what she'd done, the bloody girl getting Jen free before the pair ran off and left Jerome to help the others, the girl too scared to explain the claws, and cat eyes, and fangs-- too scared to reveal what she had revealed to Jen and Jerome about what Hugo had been doing to her and why she was allowing it. 

The girls had grabbed the door's lock key around Rome's neck and just took off. 

Jerome acted like he didn't have a clue as to what she'd just done, not commenting on the event as he released Wayne and Jonathan, Wayne too in shock to ask questions and Jonathan knowing better than to pry for the time being, both just relieved they were free. 

On the way home Jerome carried Wayne on his back, and Jonathan walked close by their sides', none of the boys saying a word. 

It was a quiet walk home, and Wayne and Jonathan stayed quiet as Jerome explained to Alfred what had happened. 

No one was quite sure about where Selina and Jen had run off to, but it hadn't been the manor. 

They all had a quiet dinner, and quiet rest of the night, and no one spoke about what had happened, because everyone was still soaking it in. 

~*~*~*~ 

Selina just wanted to see the woman she'd been visiting in Arkham weekly then and there. She just wanted to see the reason she'd been letting Arkham do tests on her right at the very second she walked through the doors. She just wanted to see her mother ASAP. 

So Selina snuck by security to the room her mum was kept in, deciding she could just let them do tests on her afterwards, and they'd have to deal with it. 

Selina had been so scared she'd never get to see her mama again, and she wanted to calm that fear as soon as possible. 

The seeds of fear just grew thanks to the droplets of confusion that watered it when Selina burst through the doors with watery eyes and a weak smile only to be met with a bald man in her mum's clothing, and a man Selina recognized as a patient known as Clayface at that. 

For a brief instant, Selina had no idea what was going on, but the second the man instinctively crooned her name with an all too familiar feminine voice, Selina realized what was going on, and once again she found herself running from a place that had kept her prisoner. 

Selina had been giving her body to the tests of Arkham for no reason other than to speak with a phony that Hugo had convinced her was the real thing. 

She'd been wanting to save someone she'd believed was being held there unknowingly against their will, only to find out they'd been working with the man running cruel tests on her all along. 

So Selina ran to the awaiting Jen that had been patiently staying at their favorite abandoned warehouse, the girl not expecting Selina to be back so soon, nor expecting the sudden tackle that was really just a tight hug as the cat girl broke down and fell on her knees while crying. 

Jen of course quietly returned the firm hug and soothed her for what felt like hours. 

~*~*~*~ 

It was the next day, and no one knew what to say about what had happened, so they all acted normal and pretended there was no tension in the air. 

Wayne and Jerome almost seemed to be avoiding each other, only initiating small talk before making up an excuse to go off and do something else, oh so conveniently finding they unusually enough weren't in the same room most of the time, seeming awkward with any and all interactions. 

Things were tense, and while they'd both known why neither brought up what the other had admitted thanks to the truth serum. 

Heck, Wayne even went off with Gordon to investigate more about Hugo and whatnot without telling the other teen or asking if he wanted to tag along... 

At least Alfred was acting a bit nicer to everyone oddly enough by smiling more and checking up on Wayne's friends and even starting awkward small talk with them. 

One thing did force both Jerome and Wayne to finally face one another and discuss something at the end of the day however, and that something was what Wayne had found out when searching for clues about Hugo, and found out about a man named Azrael.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't really seen much new Valeyne content lately or met new members in the community, so I don't really have anything or anyone to promote :( 
> 
> If you guys want to discuss Valeyne or have fanart, a fanfic, imagines, theories, and so forth about Valeyne promoted on here then feel free to send me a message or ask to my Tumblr (in the link provided below!) 
> 
> quellines-stories.tumblr.com 
> 
> I'm not comfortable discussing or supporting Valeyne content that involves anything which pertains to either or both of them performing explicit activities underage, or abusive actions between the two, or romance as minors with the three year age gap, or sexual/romantic content of them as adults where Wayne's actor (who is a minor) is just portrayed as aged up rather than having an adult faceclaim (18+) for him. 
> 
> :) 
> 
> In any case, a sincere word of thanks all to those who have read this fic, a genuine word of gratitude to each of you who have given kudos, and a particularly huge thank you to all who take some of their precious time to comment!


	34. A Crumble of Trust

Wayne's hands were shaking as they unscrewed the bottle of foundation, trembling fingers knocking the lid off, the boy instinctively releasing the container to grab at it and resulting in both the top and holder hitting the floor as he missed. 

"Shit..." Wayne cussed under his breath, kneeling down to pick up the bottom part of the spilled makeup that had broken in half and its lid, only about a quarter of it left as he let out a sigh and stood back up, setting the lid on the bathroom sink before examining the bottle for instructions, trying to rub away the drying makeup and resulting in it smudging, pursing his lips and just pouring some of the foundation onto his finger and realizing he probably should have done this in a bathroom with a mirror all things considered. 

Nonetheless, Wayne had makeup that had spilled all over his hands and didn't feel like wasting it since it had belonged to his mom so- so... so he didn't want to waste any of it by just washing it off, and he didn't want to get it all over the door handle either. 

Wayne settled for taking in a deep breath to calm himself, trying to steady his shaking hand before swallowing thickly and looking up at the ceiling, closing his left eye and pressing two fingers coated in foundation against the area underneath his right eye and- 

A hiss of pain left Wayne's mouth through his teeth as he doubled over, the swelled and somewhat fresh bruise from where Mayne had backhanded him throbbing, clenching the bottle of makeup in his hand. 

Wayne swallowed thickly, glaring down at the foundation determined, clenching his jaw and ignoring the prickling of tears on the sides of his eyes, because it was time to man-up! Wayne dipped his fingers back in the broken bottle- 

A knock was heard at the door, Wayne jumping and cutting his pair of fingers on a chipped shard of the bottle. "Ouch!" 

"You all right?" Questioned Jerome's voice with concern at the yelp. 

"I'm fine." Wayne assured unconvincingly, makeup bottle slipping out of his hands mixed with crimson red and creamy peach, making a clank against the tile. 

"You sure?" Jerome inquired at that. 

Wayne's feet stepped on a broken piece of glass, slipping on the liquid makeup around it and falling on his ass, biting his lower lip to quiet his noise of pain while raking his fingers against the tile to ease the throbbing and assuring, "Yep!", in a wobbly voice. 

Jerome paused before sighing, "Can I come inside?", worriedly. 

Wayne limped up, letting out a long exhale and about to just say no, yet instead contemplating as he turned on the faucet, putting his hand underneath it to splash the blood off his hand and eventually saying in defeat, "Sure.", when realizing Jerome would just pester him about what was going on if he didn't. 

Jerome opened the door and stepped inside, brow quirking at the mess and examining the room before redirecting his gaze to Wayne unsurely. "Uh..." 

"I was trying to cover this up," Wayne huffed, gesturing towards the bruise with a dash of foundation underneath his eye. "I don't want the school going off assuming the worst and calling social services on Alfred." He couldn't very well tell them about the kidnapping and risk them finding out about Jerome and the other runaways. 

Jerome's felt his gaze soften at that somewhat. "Oh..." 

"Did you need something?" Wayne asked a bit snappily, clearly wanting Jerome to leave. 

Jerome forced a smile at the tone instead of frowning. "Just wanted to check up on you," He laughed with a shrug, trying to ease the tension. "I could help if you want-" 

"I don't need your help." Wayne interjected dismissively, squeezing his throbbing bleeding hand being held under the cool water. 

Jerome rubbed the side of his neck, averting his haze at the icy words. "Oh, uh-" He swallowed dryly. "All right..." 

Things hadn't been the same since Rome and Mayne's little scheme. Since the kidnapping. Since the cruel entertainment. 

Since the truth serum. 

Wayne felt like he was having a damn panic attack quietly sneaking up on him constantly since the event, hiding but ready to pounce at any second, eying Wayne teasingly while just waiting for the best time to practically explode right when the boy was feeling safe, and it got worse and worse until it was a sickening emotion of immense dread when Jerome was there. 

Jerome had killed Theo's men while Wayne was in Switzerland, and he hadn't even told the boy about it. It made Wayne wary to know he'd murdered someone despite acting like he'd been free of doing so since the charity event, because Jerome had been deceitful, and now Wayne was wondering if maybe being a killer was just in Jerome's nature and it really was just a matter of time before he couldn't play nice anymore. 

Rome and Mayne were quite good at planting seeds of doubt, and those seeds were beginning to take root in Wayne. 

It didn't help that the two boys refused to actually address what was going on, despite being fully aware of the conflict at hand, Wayne just being passive aggressive and Jerome taking it. 

"Do you need something else?" Wayne grumbled when Jerome hadn't taken his cold attitude as a hint to leave. 

Jerome could feel Wayne and him drifting away from each other with how their long conversations had shifted into small talk, and always sharing the same room even if they weren't doing the same thing had turned into regularly avoiding one another by making sure to be in different rooms, and how reluctantly having to stop messing around with each other because they had less fun matters to attend to had become making excuses to not do as much as interact with one another. 

Jerome could feel Wayne and him drifting away even more with how Wayne's tone got colder and colder with every word shared between them, and Jerome let each of those words hit him like a blizzard since he didn't see a reason or way to defend himself for his actions. 

So when Wayne asked Jerome if he needed something else in attempts to make Jerome go away, Jerome just answered, "Nope!", with a friendly tone and smile, because the least he could do was act nice to make up for taking Wayne's trust and misusing it by keeping secrets about his recovery and not letting Wayne know he'd relapsed and killed. 

Murdering was a dangerous subject to regress on, and Jerome didn't blame Wayne for being cautious when finding out Jerome had kept it a secret and acted like nothing had happened. 

Jerome had screwed things up. He'd had a choice to not kill and just get Jim to arrest Theo's men. He'd had a choice to tell Wayne what he'd done. He'd had a choice to kill the men quickly at the very least rather than making them suffer for daring to attempt to bring harm to Wayne. 

Jerome had done the easier thing. He personally dealt with the assassins. He had kept his backtrack of progress a secret. He tortured the intruders to make them regret their choices and to satisfy not having much to do. 

It didn't matter Jerome had done it for Wayne, because there was a better way to do it, and he chose the way he liked more. 

Jerome's actions may have been protective, but they were also greedy. 

So, Jerome didn't ask for Wayne to dismiss what he'd done, because he didn't want to ask the boy to forgive him for something that very boy had been trying so very hard to help him with. 

Instead, Jerome just started to respectfully leave an irked Wayne alone in the restroom to finish covering his injuries up, yet halted when Wayne let out a long breath and said, "It hurts." 

Jerome turned to face Wayne concerned. "Huh?" Oh no, was Wayne talking about his feelings pertaining to Jerome betraying his trust- 

"My eye." Wayne elaborated, as though it should be obvious. 

"Oh." Jerome felt relieved. Well, bad for the poor boy, too, of course. Nonetheless, mostly relieved that's what he was talking about. "Are you sure you don't want me to help?" 

"Would I be saying it hurt if I didn't?" Wayne muttered defensively. 

Jerome wasn't sure Wayne had ever quite been this pissed at him before. "I was just asking-" 

"I was just answering." Wayne scoffed, Jerome wincing at the tone and looking away, making Wayne actually feel vaguely guilty at that. 

Jerome knew Wayne wouldn't hit him. He knew Wayne wouldn't call him things like a bastard child to make him feel sick. He knew Wayne wouldn't threaten to kill him or throw him out whenever the next raging storm was. 

Wayne was justified in being upset at Jerome, because Jerome had abused his trust, and it wasn't like Wayne was just being a cruel drunk. 

Yet it still hurt to have the one of two people Jerome cared about making his disappointment in the other clear. 

Wayne wasn't Lila, but Lila had messed up Jerome enough to have him feel sick to his stomach whenever someone did as much as raise their voice at him, or give him a dirty look, or use upset phrasing, because that was all the stuff she'd do before beating him. 

Before, Jerome would just kill people for doing that stuff, but hearing and seeing Wayne do it just had him feeling awful.

"Sorry." Was all Jerome managed to hoarsely say with a weak smile apologetically at Wayne's impatient words. 

Wayne wanted to comfort Jerome, but he also wasn't about to act like Jerome feeling bad was going to automatically make up for the crime he'd gladly committed. 

"It's fine." Wayne murmured, turning off the sink and just staring down at the dripping water, looking at the droplets hanging onto the edges and slipping down the slick surface before sighing, "So you're good with makeup then?" 

Jerome gave a shrug. "I helped Lila with it whenever she was too drunk to put it on." 

Wayne felt his gut sink at the mention of her. "Oh." 

Jerome felt just as close to having a breakdown as Wayne did to having a panic attack. "I could bandage you up and then help cover the place on your eye after?" 

Wayne felt like he was talking to a stranger on the street offering him a bandaid for a scrape on his knee rather than a close friend as he said, "Sure." 

Jerome gestured for Wayne to follow. "It would be easier and more comfortable to do in the bedroom." 

Wayne gave a nod, not even looking Jerome in the eye as he quietly replied, "Okay.", and limped towards the door, not taking Jerome's offered hand. "I'm fine, just grab the supplies." 

Jerome let his hand fall to his side. "Right..." 

When Wayne was sitting comfortably on the side of his bed and Jerome was kneeling in front of him with the makeup and first aid kit by his side, it felt awkward, as though Jerome hadn't bandaged Wayne up dozens of times before. 

Jerome gripped Wayne's ankle, lifting it so he could examine the cut on his foot with a shard of glass embedded in it, Wayne averting his gaze as the other didn't give the usual joke to calm him and just went straight to grabbing a pair of tweezers, glancing up at Wayne who continued looking off to the side before redirecting his gaze to the injury and carefully gripping the piece of glass poking out from the skin with the tweezers, Wayne tensing up as he steadily pulled it straight out, being sure to not make a bigger cut. Jerome dropped the glass less than an inch big dripping in blood and foundation on a napkin, afterwards taking a bottle of sanitary alcohol and giving a small squeeze to the boy's ankle to ready him, pouring it over the wound and making Wayne's toes curl, letting it sit for about thirty seconds before squeezing a washcloth with cold water over it to wash away any remaining alcohol which hadn't settled, dabbing at it with a soft towel and earning quiet noise of pain Wayne tried to muffle, Jerome murmuring an apology and wrapping a sliver of a white bandage around it since a bandaid would probably rub off in his shoes. 

Next, Jerome sat beside Wayne and reached out his palm, Wayne hesitantly placing his hand in Jerome's, the older one looking over his two sliced fingers with makeup mixed in the cuts before looking up at Wayne and briefly meeting his eyes, Wayne pursing his lips and looking away, Jerome sighing and pouring the alcohol over them to wash out the foundation, Wayne biting his lower lip and giving a slight squirm, but refusing to do much more, Jerome letting the alcohol settle, squeezing water over it and dabbing the remaining blood away from the area, wrapping two small bandaids around his fingers, Wayne instantly drawing his hand back afterwards. 

Jerome had finally gotten to the makeup part, gripping the nape of Wayne's neck and gently tugging, causing Wayne to stare at the ceiling and crane his neck back, whether his eyes were glossing from not blinking or being on an emotional roller coaster since the kidnapping or pain being unclear, Jerome not wanting to embarrass the boy by commenting on it and instead just dipping two of his fingertips in the foundation and gently pressing the coated pads of his fingers against the bruise under Wayne's eye, holding him still by the nape of his neck while softly rubbing the makeup over the dark area until it blended with his skin, Wayne trying and failing to stop shaking in his grasp from the pain. 

"All done," Stated Jerome as he drew his hands back, Wayne finally relaxing and letting out a breath of relief. "you all right?" 

"Sure." Wayne answered, not even thanking Jerome as he got up and limped towards his school bag. 

Jerome swallowed thickly at that. "Hey Wayne?" He spoke up, the boy throwing the backpack over his shoulder while looking at Jerome. "Is it all right if we- uh..." Jerome cleared his throat, Wayne arching a brow. "Can we... talk?" 

Wayne didn't miss a beat as he just sped walked towards the door and said, "I can't be late for class." 

"Would after school be all right-" 

"Maybe." Wayne interjected while walking through the threshold, getting halfway down the hall and rolling his eyes when Jerome came jogging towards him and huffing, "What is it this time?" 

"I can walk you to school if ya' want!" Jerome offered, because that's what he did everyday to make sure the boy got there okay, and he was particularly worried about the other getting their safe and sound after the incident they'd just been through. 

"I feel like taking the limo with Alfred," Wayne informed. "so I won't be needing you to accompany me." 

"Well how about I meet you after and we can go do something fun? Like go to the movies-" 

"I'll probably have homework." 

"Then I could just walk you back after if you'd wanna' do that instead?" 

Wayne halted, turning to face Jerome and the other doing the same. "I don't need you holding my hand and walking me home," Wayne stated, Jerome's smile falling. "I'm almost fifteen, and I can look out for myself without you having to hover around all the time," He had this constant thing now where whenever he'd stare at Jerome, there would be this look of disappointment in his eyes, and it made the older one feel awful. "so just stay here and find something to do or go out somewhere, because I have more important stuff to do than entertaining you all the time." With that, Wayne turned back around and walked off, leaving Jerome where he stood. 

Jerome couldn't help but wonder if Wayne would even care if he stayed or left. 

The drive to school was mostly quiet, and it was about halfway there that the silence just became too uncomfortable and Alfred finally said, "You know you could take the week off, right Master B?" When not earning a reply, he added, "What happened to you and the others was traumatizing-" 

"I've been traumatized before," Wayne spoke up, referring to the night in the alleyway. "I don't need you to baby me." He was pissed off at Alfred, too-- his guardian had tempted Jerome to kill Theo's men, and while Jerome's actions were his own it still irked Wayne that Alfred even nudged him towards such a solution in the first place. 

Alfred knew why Wayne was upset at him, but- like the kids had been kidnapped- he didn't bring it up, because he hadn't quite come up with a good way as to how to do so yet. 

The refusal to address the problem at hand was just making things fester, and it needed to be put out like a fire before it grew more and more until finally it was engulfing each of them, but someone had to be the one to bring it up first, and none of them wanted to be that person, and so the sense of growing dread and betrayal just sat and clung to them tighter and tighter as time went by. 

"Have you heard anything from Miss Selina?" Alfred asked, changing the subject and allowing needed words to continue to be unspoken. 

Wayne stared out the window. "No." 

At that, Alfred let out a long exhale and stopped trying to ease the tense mood, only making things more awkward with each exchange of much too cheery sounding statements and returned cold replies. 

When they finally got to the school, Alfred didn't even have time to wish Wayne a good day with how quickly the boy got out the door without a word. 

At least in this case Alfred could admit Wayne was rightfully pissed off at him and it was his own fault and actions that had caused such rather than blaming it on one of the boy's friends... 

Wayne found his day just kept getting better and better when his Language Arts class revealed they'd be performing in a school play, and they were all required to participate unless they wanted their grade to drop down a letter, the teacher handing out scripts to each student while proudly talking about how it was an original screenplay made by the students of the academy. 

At least it was apparently something the teacher praised as the school's first LGBT play, which was nice to hear considering Gotham was generally the least progressive city out of pretty much anywhere, and Wayne's bi ass took the representation he could get. 

When lunch came around Wayne ate alone under a tree while reading the script, finishing it a few minutes before the bell rang, and he wondered if luck just REALLY hated him after reading what it was about. 

'Russ (Russel) is probably the most normal man and accountant you'll ever meet, until finding himself being invited to a business dinner party that goes terribly wrong when Jay- one of the top five most wanted men in the states- sneaks his way inside and attempts to blend in with the guests to lose cops hot on his trail! When Jay's confronted with being found out, he takes Russ hostage and makes a run for it, kidnapping the accountant and getting away. However, Jay finds there's something different about this victim when he finds whatever that something is prevents him from killing the man, and instead chooses to keep the reluctant Russ around. As time goes by, Russ finds there's more to the killer than meets the eye, and his stubbornness melts into something else much more affectionate... Will Jay kill Russ like all the other victims, or will love prevail?' 

That was the description, and the actual script was about as bad as it sounded. Wayne felt like he was reading a poorly written romance novel no had really ever heard about that was on sale for five bucks at a yard sale. 

Reluctantly, Wayne got up and missed lunch recess since the teacher had made it VERY clear they were all to meet up in the theater building for auditions during said recess, deciding he'd just ask to be someone who helped make the set or worked the sound effects or something, not about to even consider acting in the play. 

Wayne hadn't wanted to act in the first place, but reading the actual script made him want to act even less. 

Needless to say, when Wayne got there and a group of girls approached him that he'd seen around the school, but never really talked to or even knew the names of, he was taken aback as they excitedly asked who he was auditioning for. 

"I was just planning on offering help with setting up the stage or something." Wayne answered hesitantly, eying them uncertainly. 

"Oh, um, I mean, okay." A girl with black hair said disappointedly. "Um, are you sure? You seem like you'd be SUCH a good actor! Um, right gals?" They gave squeals of agreement. 

... O...kay..? 

Wayne was expecting a trick, readying himself for whatever that could be. "I... do?" The girls nodded enthusiastically. "I mean... I guess I would have auditioned for Jameson," He said with a shrug, referring to the detective character. "if Jay hadn't gotten away with killing him..." 

"... Really..? Wow..." A brunette brunette girl asked. "We all just... felt like you'd choose Russ..." 

Wayne didn't catch on. "Okay?" Were these girls mistaking him for someone else? Why were they trying to converse with him? "Why?" 

"You totally fit the description for him!" Answered a blonde girl. "Like, seriously... you walked through the door and we legit all agreed you totally fit our vision!" 

Oh. These were the screenplay creators, weren't they? 

Wayne didn't know whether to take that as a degrading insult or creepy compliment with the fact Russ was a kidnapping victim with Stockholm. "Thank... you..?" 

"Suh' ah' ya' gonna' audit'n f'er 'em 'er na't?" Asked a girl with red hair asked in either what was a very strong accent or just a bad mouthful of gum. 

Wayne took a few seconds to figure out what she'd said before realizing she was being persistent about him auditioning and answering, "Oh, uh, no... I'm not really comfortable with-" 

"Not comfortable?" Scoffed a girl with hair dyed multiple colors. "With what?" She snickered. "It's not like you'll actually be getting kidnapped here," The girl mocked. "it's just a play." 

That was... defensive sounding? 

Wayne parted his lips to retort the rude behavior about how she could have let him finish and not assume shit, yet paused, staring at the group of girls as something seemed to suddenly make quite a bit of sense before reluctantly asking, "What does Jay look like in your play?" 

"Red hair!" The girls all answered at once, before all of them yapped on about other physical traits that sounded rather familiar. 

... 

Bruce and... Ruce so... Russ...  
Jerome... J... Jay...  
Jim... James... Jameson...  
... 

For the love of- 

"I have to get going now." Wayne grumbled while walking away, realizing these asses had gone off and made a knockoff play about the event between him and Jerome at the charity, and if that wasn't bad enough being creepy as hell all things considered, it was also a play in which his character apparently got Stockholm, and Jerome's much more vile character got away with doing rather cruel things even Jerome wouldn't do, and for whatever reason Russ had continued to fall for Jay even when Jay killed the detective and Russ's uncle Al who suspiciously seemed like Alfred. 

The academy's first 'progressive' production was going to be about a relationship between two guys in which one was keeping the other hostage, and apparently it was written by a group of squealing high school girls who got off to something Wayne been traumatized by. Lovely. Ten out of ten. Fun for the whole family. 

At the very least they could have just kept their little screenplay between them, and it still would have been unsettling regardless considering the nature of it and how it was based on something that had actually happened to him, but at least that way it wouldn't have be out in the public, and the fact they had the balls to pretend they should be praised for bringing something fresh and new to the academy REALLY irked Wayne. 

Recently being kidnapped by Rome and Mayne didn't help ease Wayne's annoyance towards the Stockholm plot. 

In all honesty, Wayne was tired of people assuming how things were with him and Jerome by going off of one interaction they'd had on live T.V., because first his copycats were glorifying it and now these girls were, and to be fair Jerome had the potential to be quite a bad person, but there was even some stuff Jerome considered going too far, yet apparently his biggest fans didn't. 

Wayne had gotten in line to find his name on a clipboard and sign up for whatever position he wanted to fill, the options being actor, set decorator, or techie. Wayne didn't have a choice to sign up for any of those, however, because he saw someone had already put his name down as actor, and for shit's sake! 

Right as he was about to inform one of the staff members advising the auditorium that his name had been wrongly put down as an actor, Tommy swung an arm around Wayne and said, "Hey buddy!" 

Wayne's day just kept getting better. 

"I can't tell if you're genuinely being nice because your friends aren't around or if you're about to punch me as they lurk in the background and watch." Wayne stated in distaste. 

Tommy blinked, looking around and noting the few stares here and there being given their way, clearing his throat and drawing his arm back, nonetheless giving an assuring grin as he said, "Punch you? Nah, you don't have to worry about that-- I got my guys to agree to ease up on you a little!" 

Wayne eyed Tommy skeptically. "I'm assuming you have an ulterior motive?" 

Tommy's smile fell. "What? I can't just be a genuinely nice guy?" 

Wayne didn't falter. "It's doubtful." Tommy gave a frown. "I don't exactly find guys who can't take 'no' for an answer nice." He added, referring to the Valentine's Dance. 

Tommy rubbed the side of his neck at that. "You're still upset about that, huh?" 

"Sorry if I can't get over you locking me in a secluded room and trying to get in my pants when I told you to back off." Wayne retorted sarcastically. 

"You seem a lot snappier than usual today..." Tommy commented while looking the boy over unsurely. "Everything all right?" 

"Peachy." Wayne didn't want to talk to jackasses. He didn't want to talk with jerks like Tommy. He didn't want to talk with creeps like the screenplay writer girls. He didn't want to talk with manipulators like Alfred. 

He didn't want to talk with deceivers like Jerome. 

Wayne just wanted to be left alone rather than pestered by people like Tommy and the group of girls he'd just spoken to that viewed him as something they could treat however they pleased, and he didn't want to be bothered by people like Alfred and Jerome who kept secrets from him. 

Good news? Wayne was saved from being forced to speak with Tommy by the ring of the bell. Bad news? Wayne also had lost the chance to get his misplaced name off of the 'actor' ballot. 

The rest of school went by fairly uneventful, but it felt like it took forever to end, and every second Wayne pondered on the shit Jerome and Alfred had done, finding himself gradually getting more and more aggravated with each tick of the clock, and by the time he got home he was more irked than ever. 

"Hey Wayne!" Jerome greeted with a forced smile when Wayne walked in the door, and despite attempting to look casual lounging on the couch rather than looking like he'd been distressingly waiting for the boy to get home, it was obvious he wasn't doing a very good job at looking oh so normal with how the book he was reading was upside down. "How was school?" 

Wayne rolled his eyes, not giving a second glance much less a stare Jerome's way, just walking by him and towards the threshold to the next room. "Fine." 

Jerome's smile fell, hopping up from the couch and jogging over towards the smaller one that just kept on going, Jerome forcing his smile back on and saying, "So, uh-" He cleared his throat, rubbing the side of his neck. "can we talk now, or-" 

"I have homework." Wayne interjected coldly. 

"Oh, well... all right," Jerome swallowed thickly, smile still on. "after then?" Wayne just shrugged. "Wayne-" 

"I may have plans for after." Wayne defended plainly, Jerome parting his lips, but before he could utter a word he was interrupted by Wayne saying, "I don't have to tell you every little plan I have," His tone was icy. "I don't need you keeping tabs on me." 

"No, of course, I wouldn't- I know tha- I just..." Jerome let out a stressed sigh accompanied by a strained laugh. "I wasn't trying to-" 

"I don't have time to listen to you babble on when I have an essay to write," Wayne stated impatiently, his backpack getting heavy on his shoulder, and as far as he was concerned Jerome was lucky Wayne was even bothering to give him the time of day. "so either spit out what you're wanting to say or stop ranting." They had to address this sooner or later, and Wayne was convinced Jerome should be the one to do it since he'd been the one that made this whole mess by being deceitful. 

Jerome noted Wayne was getting much, MUCH colder. "I was saying-" Jerome eyed Wayne over, soaking in just how bad things were getting. "I didn't mean to-" 

Wayne gave a scoff. "What? You didn't mean to kill several men?" Jerome winced at that, and Wayne almost felt bad, but he refused to brood on that feeling for too long, because right now there were more important things than Wayne feeling a little guilty for scolding Jerome. "Or did you not mean to let me find out?" Jerome just stayed quiet, keeping his gaze averted. "You could have at least told me," Wayne continued, his brief tinge of guilt being taken over by rage. "but no-- you tried to keep it a secret, and waited until Rome was dosing you with a serum forcing to tell the truth-" 

"I was trying to protect-" Jerome attempted to defend, feeling sick as Wayne just gave another scoff, going quiet at that. 

"You weren't protecting me, Jerome!" Wayne felt sick, too. "I was in a safe house in Switzerland! You were supposed to be hiding out with Selina, not staying here!" Wayne's voice was raising. "Don't act like you didn't realize staying here was going to mean you had to fight Theo's men off-- you could have left, and let them realize I was gone, and they would have gone searching somewhere else in Gotham!" Wayne wasn't sure if he was angrier about Jerome killing the men, keeping it a secret, or risking his life doing so in the first place. "It wasn't an act of defense-- you waited for them here," Wayne's voice was quiet now, and somehow that was worse to Jerome. "you murdered them Jerome, and you didn't do it for me-- you did it for you," Wayne hated that he had to be the one addressing this instead of Jerome just admitting it. "you could have left and kept your impulses under control, but you stayed here so you could have some fun by killing them." 

"They weren't good men." Jerome spoke up, and even though he didn't see the glare Wayne was giving him as he looked to the side, he could feel it. 

"It's not up to you or me to judge whether they deserved what you did, Jerome," Wayne snapped, Jerome clenching his jaw and swallowing thickly. "what you did wasn't an act of defense, it was murder-- regardless of whether or not they were good." 

"That's debatable." Jerome grumbled under his breath. 

Wayne narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me?" 

Jerome crossed his arms, giving a bitter smirk, still not looking at Wayne. "You're acting like me killing off some pretty bad criminals is just as bad as me killing off innocent people." 

Wayne paused, looking Jerome over with a frown before hesitatingly correcting, "It might not be as bad, but it's unnecessary murder just the same, and it's not our place to make a call on when killing someone outside of defense is right or wrong." 

"It's your opinion it's not our call." Jerome retorted, finally meeting Wayne's stare, and it had been a while since Jerome had given Wayne such a sour smirk... in fact, he hadn't given Wayne one since before the thing with Silver... 

It was the kinda' smirk that wasn't at all amused or nice. 

"Are you saying we should have a choice in who lives based on our judgements?" Wayne questioned, because there's no way that's what Jerome really- 

"Why not?" Jerome challenged with a shrug. 

Oh. 

Wayne eyed Jerome slightly warily. "If everyone started killing people based on their judgements-" 

"There wouldn't be an over population, for one." Jerome joked, Wayne giving him a look of disappointment, which really got Jerome irked, because Wayne and him had been having so much fun before all of this, but now Wayne was being a stick up just because Jerome had killed some murderous kidnappers that had wanted to have Wayne in their clutches. "Aw, what's wrong? Too dignified to laugh at my jokes now?" 

Wayne wasn't fond of the mocking tone. "People's judgements aren't always right-- what if they start killing people they believe are guilty, but are innocent?" 

It was Jerome's turn to scoff. "I'm pretty sure the guys breaking into your house and wearing Theo's followers' uniforms weren't just some squatters." He was fairly certain he wasn't wrong about them being the guilty perpetrators looking for Wayne. Like, ninety-nine percent sure they weren't just some innocent potential renters. 

"That's not what I-" Wayne closed his eyes, letting out a deep exhale before all too calmly elaborating, "People have different values, too, and values influence our judgements, so-" 

"Well I have great values." 

Wayne could tell Jerome was trying to piss him off to an extent. "That's a matter of opinion, and we don't need to let people just start killing others based on their opinions considering a lot of people have bad-" 

"It's just your opinion a lot of people have bad opinions." Jerome countered cockily, earning a glare. 

Wayne wasn't doing this. "Nice talk, Jerome." He said sarcastically, turning and walking off towards the door across the room, regretting his agreement to even speak with the other about this, as if there was room for argument. 

Could Wayne be stubborn? Yes, usually. This wasn't being stubborn about whether Wayne's views on the GCPD's incompetence was a primary problem in Gotham that needed to be fixed before anything else, though-- this was about killing, and to Wayne that generally wasn't debatable, if ever. 

Jerome was pissed off, too. He was pissed off Wayne was acting like killing murderous kidnappers was somehow comparable to killing innocent people. Sure, Wayne admitted there was a difference-- that they at least agreed on. What they didn't agree on was the significance of that difference. Jerome saw no problem with taking the life of someone who was going to probably take other lives anyways. Wayne was convinced people like them should be contained, but not killed based on anyone's judgement other than the law. 

The law in Gotham was shit though. It was shit in a lot of places, if you asked Jerome, and Wayne would probably agree on that, too. 

Yet this was about what they didn't agree on-- not what they did. 

Jerome would be content with killing innocent people, but he bothered to wait for an opportunity to go after people like him, and he felt like Wayne didn't appreciate that. 

In fact, there were plenty of bad people Jerome could have sought out long before Theo's men in a place like Gotham, but he didn't act out until it was people that were a threat to Wayne. 

At that, Jerome even kept his impulses in check until it was Alfred- Wayne's caretaker- who asked Jerome to let those impulses go, and take out Theo's men for Wayne, yet Jerome didn't see Wayne yelling about morals at his butler. 

It was true Jerome had killed those men because he had been having an itch to do so for a while. Jerome could admit he'd done it for him. 

But he'd also waited to do it. He'd waited until it was people that were a threat to Wayne. So yes, Jerome had done it for himself, but he'd waited for Wayne, and Jerome didn't see how that was such a horrible thing. 

It was bad because Jerome kept it a secret so Wayne wouldn't feel guilty about that reasoning? 

It was bullshit. At least, Jerome was convinced it was. 

Wayne was convinced it was bullshit that Jerome was acting like he shouldn't be upset about the other pretending he was doing better about this stuff despite regressing, particularly when it was something that involved him-- that involved Jerome justifying by insisting it wouldn't have occurred if they hadn't been a threat to Wayne to an extent. 

Jerome had been progressively better about going from being possessive of Wayne to caring about him, but that didn't mean he was fully better, and before Wayne had had a good idea about where Jerome stood when it came to that progress, but now that he'd found out Jerome had been keeping his regression a secret so well, he wasn't sure what else Jerome had been good at covering up. 

"Good evening, Wayne-" Jonathan greeted when going by the other in the hall, giving a small wave at the other. 

"What?" Wayne snapped, Jonathan halting and quirking a brow, Wayne clearing his threat and correcting, "Hi." He rubbed his upper arm, asking in a rather distracted way, "How are you?" 

Jonathan hesitated, eying Wayne over intrigued before answering, "I'm doing well, and yourself?" 

"Peachy." Wayne answered in a voice that was not so fine. 

"Are you sure about that?" Jonathan wasn't asking a question-- he already was aware of the answer. It was rhetorical. 

"Yes." Wayne lied, looking impatient. 

Jonathan didn't see a reason to pry when it would be more interesting to just figure out what was going on. It was generally Jerome and Selina that got Wayne all hissy fitty, and considering Selina and Jen were still missing ever since the event with Rome and Mayne, it had to be Jerome that went and did something. 

In fact, Wayne had been rather uncomfortable around Jerome ever since finding out about Theo's men, so it was probably about that. 

Easy enough. 

"Harley showed up on the doorstep approximately half an hour ago," Jonathan revealed, gesturing towards their bedroom. "I would suggest not risking going in there right now, however-- she's sobbing about something, and Ivy's busy comforting her." Jonathan was aware Harley was likely sobbing about the black eye she had, which he assumed her father had given her, although he kept his assumption a secret; it was none of his business to assume, and it was particularly not his to tell. 

Jonathan would give the bastard an overdose of fear if he wasn't certain Harley would surely cry; the poor girl defended the man that was supposed to protect her, because she adored him since she seemed to believe that was what she was supposed to do as a daughter since he was sometimes nice, and while Jonathan was sure she'd one day realize she didn't have to do that and finally break away from it all, he worried she was going to continue that behavior in the future with someone else. 

Harley had been taught love was sometimes cruel, and that was okay as long as it was sometimes nice, and there was no reason to complain since you were supposed to be devoted, and that worried Jonathan. 

Wayne blinked, annoyance melting into concern at that. "Oh, okay," He wanted to ask what was going on, but would let Harley tell him if she wanted to. "does she need anything, or..?" 

"Only a bit of alone time with Ivy, I'd assume." Jonathan answered with a shrug, still feeling chills from the glare Ivy had given him when he accidentally walked in on Harley sobbing into her lap before the boy quickly walked out so Harley wouldn't become too embarrassed. 

Harley generally didn't like to show emotions other than joy. Ironically, that was rather sad. 

Wayne gave a nod and began to walk off while saying, "I'm going to go do some homework in the library then if you need me." 

Jonathan didn't follow Wayne, instead going looking for Jerome, and on his way there he contemplated on how pissed off Wayne would be if Jonathan revealed he had assisted Jerome in going after Theo's men... 

Jerome was imagining an argument where he countered every little thing Wayne said in preparation for their next disagreement about this whole thing when Jonathan came into the room. 

"What exactly did you do to Wayne to upset him so badly?" Jonathan instantly inquired the second he saw Jerome. 

"Oh piss off, Jonathan." Jerome snapped, rolling his eyes and getting up from his place that he'd been laying down on on the couch. 

"Is it about you disposing of Theo's men-" 

"WE disposing of Theo's men." Jerome corrected with a threatening smirk, because he was THIS close to revealing Jonathan had been a part of it, too, just to get Wayne off his ass. 

Jonathan didn't falter at the subtle warning. "So that is what it was about." It was a statement-- not a question. 

Jerome rolled his eyes, not wanting to deal with this right now. "Yes, Jonathan," He answered irked, making his was towards the door. "it was about that." Why was Jonathan even asking if he already knew the answer? It was aggravating. 

"To be fair, you most likely tried to guilt trip him into not being distraught by pretending you did it primarily for him." Jonathan knowingly spoke up, walking after Jerome. 

"I did do it for him," Jerome defended, and how did Jonathan already know that?! "and I'm not guilt trippy." 

"You did it because you hadn't gained entertainment from killing anyone in a while, and you had an excuse to go against your progress by convincing yourself there was nothing wrong with scratching your itch as a murderer if you did so by going after highly dangerous criminals," Jonathan stated calmly, earning a look of disbelief over his shoulder. "particularly criminals posing a threat to Wayne." 

"Stop analyzing me." Jerome scoffed, Jonathan smirking, because somehow Jerome had just confirmed Jonathan was right, and this was why Jerome hated talking with Jonathan! The other could practically see right through him! 

"So are you attempting to convince yourself or Wayne of your innocence so you don't feel absolutely guilt ridden by what you've realized was a significant mistake?" Jonathan continued, earning another look over the shoulder and saying, "Oh, both?" 

"Stop that!" Jerome huffed, speeding up his pace in attempts to get away from this guy trying to figure out his entire life story in one look. 

"I'm assuming you feel rather upset Wayne's so vocal about his disappointment in you, but not nearly as much so when it comes to Alfred?" Jonathan mused, causing Jerome to halt and turn to face him. 

"Jonathan, I swear I'll stick a knife in your-" 

"Because Wayne's just as upset at Alfred," Jonathan added, earning a taken aback look from Jerome. "you're just the one that had the balls to bring it up around him first, so he reacted to you first." 

Jerome couldn't tell whether Jonathan was trying to help him feel better or worse. "If you have some advice or a suggestion, can you just spit it out and stop summarizing an argument you weren't even a part of-" 

"Stop playing victim and apologize to Wayne." Jonathan interjected. 

"Oh hey Wayne, sorry for being a serial killer even though you were already fully aware I was one when we became friends!" Jerome mockingly offered. 

"I'm advising you to apologize about lying and saying you were killing for Wayne when you were doing it for yourself," Jonathan corrected. "because if Wayne continues to realize you're lying, then things are going to remain tense," Jonathan crossed his arms, chin inclining. "but if he believes it eventually? If he believes you're truly killing people for him?" Jerome's expression fell at that. "You're going to be the reason Wayne starts beating himself up feeling guilty for him being the reason you're taking away people's lives as a show of protection, which he will likely take as a sign of reverting possessiveness." 

Oh. 

Oh shit. 

Jerome went quiet. 

"You kept your regression a secret from the boy that agreed to help you rehabilitate, and that alone has fractured the trust with you two," Jonathan added. "you need to at least try to put it back together before it breaks." Jonathan gave a sigh. "Perhaps if you could show some lenience, Wayne could, too." 

Jerome covered up his realization that Jonathan was probably right with a sour smirk, because there was no way he was letting this bastard get any satisfaction in being proved correct. "Why exactly are you so concerned with being sure me and Wayne and get along, again?" 

Jonathan just stared at Jerome for a while, with an unreadable expression, and with that unfaltering expression he answered, "Because it was you that offered me a family if I helped you save Wayne from Theo's men, and it was Wayne who gave me one." With that, Jonathan left the room, not giving another word. 

Well, it didn't beat around the bush... 

Jerome wasn't sure what he'd expected Jonathan to say, but it wasn't... 

... 

... it wasn't that. 

... 

... Perhaps Jonathan didn't hate Jerome as much as Jerome figured after all. 

Wayne hadn't had much homework, and already finished it all within an hour, so he was coming up with another excuse to avoid Jerome and Alfred when he heard a cheery voice say, "Heya', Wayne!" 

Wayne blinked, looking over his shoulder at the grinning Harley with a pink nose, and rosy cheeks, and eyes rimmed with red, her irises glossy. 

It was clear she'd been crying. Wayne didn't comment on it. 

He didn't comment on the poorly put on makeup smudging over her black eye either. 

If Harley wanted to, she could tell him. Wayne could give her time to do that. For a while, he wouldn't ask. 

Wayne was pretty sure of what was going on with Harley, however, and he was about to ask her if she'd like to stay at his place for a while for a 'long sleepover', but before he could speak up she said, "Would it- um-" She swallowed thickly, her expression suddenly falling, trying to cover it up by looking down at her shuffling feet. "Could I- would it be okay if- ah-" Her eyes were starting to water again, the pink splotches on her nose, cheeks, and eyes reddening. "I was jus' wonderi'n if maybe I could- ya' know, jus'-" Breaking down in front of Ivy was one thing. Breaking down in front of Wayne was another. Harley hadn't even broken down in front of Selina and Jen-- and that was REALLY saying something. "If ya' would be good with me- with letti'n me- with- uh-" So, Harley didn't break down in front of Wayne, yet she was on the brink of doing so as her hands by her sides went into fists. "I don't wanna' impose or anythi'n," Harley said with a forced laugh. "but would it be all right if I-" She swallowed dryly, body beginning to shake, but not enough for Wayne to tell. "-if I stayed here?" When met with brief silence, she quickly added in a voice threatening to tremble, "Jus' for a little while!" She looked up at Wayne with a forced smile. "I could cook, 'n clean, 'n even do ya' homework if you'd like! I'm real good at school! I got straight A's and everything! I can even pay ya'-" 

"Harley," Wayne interjected, causing the girl to go quiet, her expression faltering. "of course you can stay here," Harley blinked, soaking in Wayne's unquestioning answer as he offered a smile. "you can come over anytime you want, and as long as you want," It looked like that was about to be what caused Harley to cry, and Wayne wasn't sure why, because he assumed that's what she wanted to here. "you always have a home here, along with the others," Wayne paused before adding with a slight, good natured smirk, "and you don't have to worry about earning your stay here-- we're not going to ask you to give us rent." 

Harley felt the sobs gathering up and weighing down on her chest suddenly lift, and a filling spread of relief hit her, replacing the dread that had been weighing her down for a while now. 

Harley felt a wide grin come on, squeezing her eyes shut that were watering more for some reason despite how she wasn't the least bit sad and was quite the opposite while saying, "Thanks, Wayne.", because she wasn't sure what else to say. 

But that was okay, because Wayne smiled back, and it usually took a lot to get him to ever do that. 

It would have been a perfect day for Harley if their dinner that night wasn't so strangely awkward, although Jonathan had filled her and Ivy in on what happened, so they were aware of why the tension at the table felt thick enough to dampen the air. 

"Could you hand me the salt?" Wayne grumbled, Alfred picking it up and setting it in front of Wayne's placemat without a word, causing Wayne to pause before looking at Harley beside him and requesting, "Could you please give me the salt?" 

Harley- who had a mouthful of potatoes- paused, glancing down at the salt less than a foot away from Wayne before glancing up at him and swallowing, hesitantly nodding and scooting the salt towards him a few inches. 

"Thank you, Harley." Wayne said stiffly, shaking the salt onto his potatoes as Jonathan looked Wayne over uncertainly. 

"You sound salty enough for your potatoes." Ivy grumbled, Jerome choking on his steak at that and giving a snort of laughter, clearing his throat and quieting down while forcing his grin away at the glare Wayne gave him. 

A few more minutes of silence went by before Jerome reluctantly sighed, "Can you pass the salt, Wayne?", because his potatoes were too bland without it. 

Wayne continued staring at his food while pushing a piece of broccoli onto his fork. "Can you not reach it?" He asked icily. 

Jerome rather patiently replied, "I wouldn't be asking you to hand it to me if I could." 

Wayne pushed the salt forward about four inches and returned to his plate, Jerome staring at the boy refusing to meet his gaze in disbelief before giving a sigh and standing up, reaching over the table to grab the salt and sitting back down. 

"This is really good, Alfred." Harley commented, trying to cheer up the environment a bit. 

"It's a little dry." Wayne spoke up before Alfred could reply. 

"At least it's not bitter." Jerome said under his breath, earning a look from Wayne. 

"At least it's not bloody." Wayne retorted casually despite his eyes being ablaze. 

Jonathan let out a long exhale, giving Jerome a look as Wayne went back to eating, causing the ginger to defensively shrug his shoulders and mouth, 'What?!', earning a 'Really?' stare from Jonathan, causing Jerome to roll his eyes and exhale through his nose before saying, "Can we talk, Wayne?" 

Wayne gripped his fork tightly, Alfred looking back and forth between them. "Aren't you talking to me now?" 

Jerome kept his temper in check, Jonathan giving him an encouraging nod. "I mean-" 

"I'm eating." Wayne interrupted, Ivy rolling her eyes. 

"After we're done eating?" Jerome requested, Harley keeping her gaze on her plate, stuffing her face with food anxiously. 

"I plan on taking a shower when I'm done eating." 

Jerome clenched his jaw. "Fine. After you're done taking your shower?" 

"I'll be busy brushing my teeth." Wayne replied coldly. 

"After you brush your-" 

"I'll probably be going to bed after-" Jerome reached out and grabbed Wayne's plate of food, causing Wayne to snap, "Hey!", as the other stood and walked towards the door after taking up his own plate as well, Wayne setting his jaw and storming after him, Alfred starting to tell them to sit back down, but just causing Wayne to give him a glare. 

"What are you-" Wayne sighed irked, watching as Jerome set the plates down on a coffee table. 

"We need to talk." Jerome informed, moving in front of Wayne as the smaller one tried to step around him, earning a glower. 

"About what?" Wayne scoffed. "How it's not your fault you willingly killed Theo's men for me when you had the choice to just walk away-" 

"You're right," Jerome interjected, hands raising in defense, a stressed smile being plastered on his lips, looking on the brink of a break down and not at all joyful. "all right? You're right," Wayne blinked taken aback, furrowing his brow and eying Jerome over unsurely. "I didn't kill them for you. I killed them because I wanted to, okay?" Wayne wasn't expecting Jerome to actually admit it. "I slipped up because I was convinced it was fine as long as I was doing it to men trying to harm you," Jerome continued, giving an anxious laugh and running a hand through his hair. "it was my bad, and I still don't see anything wrong with killing murders, but to each his own, yeah?" Jerome was pacing. "I'm sorry for keeping it a secret-- you're helping me, so yeah-- I should have told you, but I guess I didn't because I realized it was a bullshit excuse for what I did, so I didn't want to try to use it on you, because you'd call me out on it." Jerome had kept the secret for a long time before it got revealed, and now he was dealing with the consequences. "Did I give in easily because your butler asked me to do it? Yes. Does that excuse it? Nope!" Jerome gave another stressed laugh. "I'm sorry, all right? You don't have to accept it, and you can tell me if I'm still messing up here somehow, and you can kick me out if you want, but-" Jerome had planned this apology, yet it wasn't coming out right at all. "-but I'm just- I'm sorry, okay?" Jerome halted, crossing his arms and averting his gaze. "I'm sorry for acting on my impulses, not telling you despite you trying to help me, acting like it's okay since your butler wanted me to do it, and trying to guilt trip you into forgiving me by acting like I did it for you instead of me." 

There. Jerome had said it. Did it come out the way Jerome had wanted it to? No. But he had said it, at the very least. 

Wayne just looked at Jerome for a long while, eying the other over broodingly, staying quiet for a lengthy while, giving a frown and dragging out seconds that felt like minutes before finally sighing, "I have to believe this isn't something you're going to do again, Jerome, and I have to know you're sorry because of your actions, and not just because of the influence your actions had on me," Jerome blinked, the words hitting him-- hard. "I can't just accept your apology and risk this happening again." Oh no. No no no. What did that mean? Had Jerome already failed at putting back together the trust he'd broken? Was it still falling apart? "You covered this up for a good while, and I'm not sure what else you're covering up." Wayne averted his gaze, arms crossing. "I trusted you-- a lot, and I'm not sure how much this has made that trust backtrack," Jerome felt his gut drop. "I care about you still, but I can't let that dictate my feelings when there's potential lives on the line here-- good or bad," Wayne paused. "I need to consider where I want to stand with you before I let you try to build that trust back up, and I have to figure out whether or not I want to limit how much trust I put in you this time." Wayne couldn't back down, as much as he wanted to so they could just go back to how things used to be, because trying without doing this would be useless. "Right now, we can't just go back to how things were-- not until I find all that out." Wayne hesitated. "This isn't a one sided thing-- I want you to consider how much you need to be around me, because it seems like you're basing all your new impulse control on me being there and not gone, since you acted out the second I left for Switzerland, and that's not healthy for either of us." 

Jerome had done it. 

Jerome had finally messed everything up. 

Jerome had taken the one good thing he'd had. The first thing that actually made him feel genuinely settled in and not just mockingly content. The first thing that hadn't harmed him in some shape or form. The first thing he cared about. The first thing that cared about HIM. He'd taken that, and he'd absolutely ruined it. 

Jerome felt sick. He felt nauseous. He felt horrible. The only thing he could say without fear of breaking down and breaking into pieces was a very, very, quiet, "All right." 

Jerome wasn't smiling anymore. Not at all. 

Wayne frowned. It hurt to not just accept Jerome's apology, but it would be best for both of them if he just kept things at a hold for now until they both could find out what the best actions to take would be to make sure something like this didn't occur again. 

Wayne wasn't saying he hated Jerome, or wanted Jerome to just up and leave, yet Jerome didn't seem to get that as Wayne found he wasn't sure what else to say, and just went to take a shower, no longer hungry. 

Jerome got what Wayne was saying to an extent, and it hurt in all honesty, but he agreed with it at the same time. 

So, Jerome packed his things while Wayne showered, and he just left, because he believed the best thing to do would be to get away from Wayne before he went off and hurt the boy again. 

Besides, that's what Wayne wanted, right? That's what would be the easiest way to solve this, wouldn't it? By being sure it wouldn't occur again. 

Now, when Jerome left, he was almost sure it really had been the right choice when he received something akin to a sign as he walked along the sidewalk with an electronic store containing fancy flat screen televisions behind alarm protected glass playing the news and showing the a pair of familiar faces: Rome and Mayne, found bloodied up in Rome's home. 

Apparently Rome had been the only one to survive. Apparently he was in critical condition at Gotham General Hospital. 

Apparently the universe just wanted Jerome to keep. on. killing. 

Apparently Jerome- who stuffed his hand in his pocket containing the knife that Wayne had gotten him- didn't just see it as a coincidence, and nothing more as he wondered how long it would take to get to that hospital. 

It was like the same remote that had turned on that T.V. and played that News channel and shown that reporting scene of Rome and Mayne had also clicked on something in Jerome, because suddenly Jerome felt himself smiling again, and suddenly Jerome was even beginning to feel like his old self again, and suddenly Jerome was letting his impulses fall as he wondered how he'd kill the guy that had caused this entire mess. 

As much as Jerome missed Wayne, he wasn't going to act like it didn't feel good to feel bad again.

Wayne had gone straight to bed. It wasn't until the next day after school he realized Jerome was gone and not just sulking in one of the guest rooms after casually asking Jonathan where Jerome was at in any case. 

Jerome hadn't even left a letter, and it frustrated Wayne, because Wayne hadn't wanted Jerome to go and do that. 

So, Wayne ran out of the mansion, and went looking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Keobiii for the words of encouragement they gave me that really got me motivated to continue my fic! Give their blog a follow-- they're super sweet :) You can find them in the link below! 
> 
> https://keobiii.tumblr.com/
> 
> Additionally, shout out to the nice anon(s?) who sent me those lovely messages about my fic-- it meant a lot, and also gave me a boost of motivation! 
> 
> Last, but certainly not least, shout out to commenter weecloudy, who posted such a descriptive and kind comment which genuinely means so much to me, and really got me super motivated! It sincerely meant so much, so thank you :D 
> 
> Of course, shout out to all the lovelies who left comments on this fic-- your feedback is greatly appreciated :)


	35. Things Which Last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently my last chapter I posted a few days ago possibly didn't show up, so it looks like this chapter has been the first update for a while even though I just updated recently? 
> 
> Be sure you read the previous chapter before reading this one just in case :)

Some things don't last forever. 

In fact, quite a few things don't. At that, most don't. Really, almost none- if any- do. 

For example, Jerome's friendship with Wayne had gone down the gutter. Wayne's trust in Jerome had been thrown out the window. Jerome's home at the manor was a place he no longer a place he felt welcomed. Wayne's confidence in successfully rehabilitating Jerome along with the other kiddos had dwindled. Jerome's impulse controls were becoming lost. Wayne's stability that he'd taken a while to gain back with the help of Jerome and the others after that night in the alleyway was becoming unstable. 

Oh, and of course Rome wasn't going to live forever. In fact, judging from the fact Jerome was about to go inside his room, it was doubtful Rome's life was going to last much longer. Perhaps he'd lose it quickly. Then again, perhaps he'd lose it gradually-- painfully... amusingly. 

Jerome wasn't sure whether he wanted to kill Rome without letting the other get out a single word, or torture the bastard that had caused all of this mess-- that had caused Wayne to find out about Jerome's regression. 

That was fine, though-- Jerome could wait to make his choice to do either or, based on whatever he felt like doing first. Jerome just had to get back into the groove of things! Into going with the flow, and acting out however he wanted, and going at his own pace; it was FUN to mix stuff up! You couldn't kill everyone the same ol' way, because that got BORING! You had to have some creativity if you wanted to have a good time and not get stuck in a rut, because Jerome had the most fun when he was doing something new! What was the point of life if you didn't experiment a little and find out what the best ways to do your favorite hobby were? To find out what the most entertaining ways to kill were! 

You were never going to leave your mark on the world if you weren't original, and if you didn't care about doing whatever you did originally, then you couldn't be good at it, and you never really cared that much about it! 

Jerome was returning to being his old self, and the more he focused on doing what he loved and not sulking over Wayne, the more fun it felt to be making a comeback! 

Really, the only difference being like this rather than being such a goody-two-shoes was that like this he could kill whoever he wanted however he wanted and whenever he wanted, because straying from doing the same to Wayne and the other kiddos was something Jerome wasn't about to stop doing either way-- he wouldn't kill them, and he wouldn't kill Wayne's loved ones... well, other than Gordon possibly, but that didn't count! 

Jerome was back, but that didn't mean he was completely reverted to being fully merciless... Wayne and then others were safe from him. 

The rest of Gotham though? Not so much. Sure, Jerome would primarily go after the people like him so Wayne wouldn't throw too much of a fit, but if there weren't enough of them then... well, sorry innocent citizens, but a guy's gotta' have fun, right? 

Besides, this was Gotham-- Jerome doubted there were more than a handful of genuinely guiltless people. 

Jerome felt good about this! He was back to grinning, and twirling around in his hand a knife that ready to drive forward through flesh, and even whistling a joyful tune! 

Jerome felt good about being who he was and not holding back as he strode into Rome's room.

It felt good to not have to worry about consequences, or to dismiss them in the very least. 

Rome was sound asleep when Jerome approached his bedside, breathing steadily through an oxygen mask, blood being pumped into his arm, bandages wrapped around his neck where Selina had slashed him, bruises on his jawline, claw marks against his chin. 

It was too bad Selina generally strayed from killing. True, she killed people to avoid inconveniences, however she generally found another way to get around problems that kept her hands clean of blood, particularly if she wasn't having to defend herself. 

Selina would have been a fun team-up with the kinda' damage she could do to people like what she'd done to Rome; she could have torn him to shreds, and to an extent she had, however it was clear she didn't go as violently as she could have, and had instead let him have a slim chance of getting away alive; unlike Jerome, who had stabbed Mayne deep. 

Selina and Wayne would have been amusing to corrupt-- Jerome didn't deny that... but he still didn't want to be a part of coaxing them into this kinda' stuff; it was fun, and messy, and carefree. 

It was also something that Jerome would have to ruin them to get them into it, because it would be going against a big part of what they were entirely. That wouldn't be very fun, because the very reason Jerome found them amusing was because they were themselves, after all. 

Jerome continued examining Rome for a while, considering whether he wanted to just jab the knife down his torn and sewn up throat the second the other opened his eyes to get rid of that murderous itch Jerome was wanting to scratch, or if he wanted to drag Rome's torture out until he was satisfied with getting even by forcing the copycat to pay for what he'd done. 

When Jerome figured out which option he preferred, he all too casually gently shook Rome by his upper arm, and when Rome only stirred but didn't awaken, Jerome settled for instead wrapping his fingers his throat and choking him awake. 

Rome's eyes were already wide from being forced awake by the lack of air traveling through his straining windpipe, pain spreading throughout his throat and reaching from his aching jawline to his tense chest, at first being too shocked and panicked to realize what was going on as he instinctively grasped at the wrist pushing him back into his pillow as he attempted to sit up, eyes blurring and stinging and darting as fear and pain accompanied by confusion filled them, and when his irises finally landed on Jerome while focusing on the prince of crime as realization sunk in, Rome's pupils shrunk, legs falling down against the mattress, hands sliding away from Jerome's wrist he'd been grasping at, whole body going limp. 

... Jerome hadn't gripped THAT hard, had he? 

Jerome quirked a brow, not expecting Rome to give up so easily, taking a few seconds to realize the copycat was still from something other than death whence noting the other's chest was continuing to rise and fall gradually rather than erratically, still watching Jerome with a stare that was far from fear. 

Why wasn't Rome afraid? Or stubbornly smug at the very least? Begging was what made stuff like this fun! Acting tough was what made it entertaining! Showing some strong emotion of fear or pride was what made things amusing! 

Jerome's first kill couldn't very well be so anticlimax, now could it? 

So, Jerome pulled his left hand back, right hand twirling the knife in his grasp. "For my copycat, you sure do give up easily," Jerome commented with a scoff. "it's kinda' insulting." 

Rome swallowed dryly, throat burning and eyes glossing, parting his lips and moving them to say something, but just a prolonged rasp sputtering up, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut and swallow thickly, breathing in deeply before opening his mouth again to hoarsely get out, "I figured you'd be humbled if I didn't try to fight back.", in a sarcastic tone. 

Jerome gave a smirk, and despite Rome finally getting that smirk he'd been wanting to receive for so long, it was not something he felt at all accomplished to get considering it was a cruel smirk, and not the least bit nice. 

The smirk was not a gift-- it was a warning. 

This was the old Jerome, and Rome had been trying to get the old Jerome to come out for a while so he could see what it was like to interact with the genuine guy that had put on an entertaining and cruel show on live T.V., but Rome was realizing just how much he didn't want to be anywhere near the old Jerome when Jerome in general hated him either way, but when he was like this, the hate was a lot more unsettling. 

Since Jerome had killed Mayne, Rome had began to resent his idol, but that resentment was towards a Jerome that was too much of a wuss to do anything tough, yet this Jerome? This was a Jerome who would do practically anything, and Rome felt more caution than resentment at that. 

This was a Jerome that didn't a have a Wayne holding him back. 

"So," Jerome hummed, waving off Rome's sarcasm as he casually strode around the room. "you comfy?" Jerome mused, eyes scanning over the objects in said room. "Need anything?" He mocked, noting the barred window, walled television, wooden chair, and food tray. "Fluffed pillows?" Should he just use his knife to kill Rome, or should he get creative and use one of the objects? "Blankets straightened up?" He could always use both. "Mattress comforter?" 

Rome didn't return the wide smile Jerome gave him, instead croaking out, "What do you want, Jerome?" 

Jerome gave a fake hurt gasp, dramatically placing a hand on his chest, the wickedly cruel smirk not leaving his lips-- like it was plastered there. "So snappy!" He exclaimed in a mockingly sad tone. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you didn't want me here!" 

Rome didn't indulge Jerome by playing along, instead just continuing, "If you came here to kill me, can you get on with it?" 

Jerome gave an exaggerated pout. "You could at least humor me and not make this such a bore," He put that grin that wasn't the least bit nice back on. "Don't you want to go out with a bang? Have some fun?" 

"I don't exactly consider amusing you something I'd find all that fun anymore." Rome's words were blunt and simple and cracking as they left his chapped lips with dried specks of blood. 

Jerome rolled his eyes, looking out the window while tapping his knife against his jeans impatiently. "First you act way over the top like some desperate groupie, and now you're acting too bland like some egotistical ass," He sighed, smirk twitching. "you really know how to overwhelm and underwhelm a guy, huh?" Jerome watched the traffic several stories below. "Not very good at balancing things out, though, are ya'?" It was too bad the windows were barred-- it would have been a lot of fun to force Rome to either jump or get stabbed with the distance up they were. "You should really work on your showman skills some!" Jerome could still send Rome out the barred window... in smaller pieces. "I mean, I would give you a few tips if you hadn't been such a creep-" 

"Did you just come here to insult me?" Rome interjected, words as dry as his throat. 

Jerome snickered, turning to face Rome. "Nah," He raised his knife, giving it a small wave to show it off proudly. "I came here to kill ya'," He tapped the blade against his lower lip broodingly. "but the question is how?" His smile went wider as he gave a shrug and added, "I gotta' give the likes of you a proper execution!" 

Rome raised his chin, seeming to confirm something at that. "Because I kidnapped you?" Jerome hesitated, not long, but long enough for Rome to correct, "Because I kidnapped Wayne?" At that, Jerome felt his smile faltered, and Rome would have missed it if he'd blinked or not been eying Jerome over carefully. "Of course that's what this is about." He scoffed with a cough, blood sputtering from his lips and hitting the blood sheets. 

Of course it was about Wayne. Rome had found everything was about Wayne for Jerome nowadays. A part of Rome got why Jester hated Wayne so much. Another part of Rome got why everything was about Wayne for Jerome. 

Jerome had been a prince of crime who had gotten the attention of the prince of Gotham, and the good prince had captured the bad prince's interests in return. Their friends were knights who were tolerated by the king of laugher, and looked after by the king of justice. Those in need of charity were adored by the ruler of this city that looked after his citizens, and those who adored the ruler of chaos were looked at as silly peasants by him. 

Rome got that now. He got that this city wasn't Wayne's palace, and it wasn't Jerome's, because one of them would have to be killed by the other to have it be claimed. He got that there wasn't a treaty keeping the princes from killing one another-- that it was something neither wanted to do to the other. He got that the kings shared Gotham, and it was their city, and it was a city that only had room for two rulers, as is the norm for kingdoms. 

Rome got that he wasn't welcomed to be a king, and neither was Mayne, because they were the peasants who tried to impersonate the two princes, and they had failed to succeed to gain the kings affection from doing so, and had failed even further when daring to lay hands on the princes knights-- on their friends. It hadn't helped that they'd underestimated both the rulers and their knights. 

Rome also got that he had been the one who had come between the thrones of the princes, and now the prince of crime was very, VERY angry. 

Rome got what this was about. 

Those who upset the kings are generally hanged, and Rome was awaiting his sentencing from the ruler pacing around his prison-- his hospital room. 

"I get it now," Rome informed when Jerome refused to confirm this was about Wayne. "why you like him so much," Jerome's pacing halted. "why you chose Wayne to be by your side instead of us-" His voice was weak. "-instead of your copycats." Jerome looked at him, no longer smiling. "It's because he's so different from you, isn't it?" Rome was the one smiling now, but it was a sour smile. "We're too predictable trying to be like you, aren't we?" Rome regretted only realizing this tonight. "Wayne can be predictable too, though, can't he?" Jerome's quietness was answer enough. "Always being such a goody-two-shoes," A pause. "and the complete opposite of you." That earned a glare. "So if he's predictable- even if it's not in the same way we are- then what's the difference?" Rome was leading up to something, but Jerome wasn't sure if the copycat was aware of what yet, or if he was figuring it out as he went. "There's a lot of goody-two-shoes you could have chosen, so why choose him?" Rome wondered if even Jerome refused to admit what he was getting to. "It's not because he's rich and you're not, it's not because he had a good childhood and you didn't, it's not because he's serious and you're chaotic-" Rome was having trouble breathing. "-it's not because he's good and you're bad," Rome was wheezing slightly, too. "it's not because you're opposites at all, is it?" He swallowed, tongue dry. "At least not anymore." 

Jerome gave a bitter smirk to match Rome's smug look. "Well what is it then?" Jerome couldn't help but ask. 

Rome didn't answer for a long while, only meeting Jerome's irked stare with an unreadable one, trying to figure out whether Jerome's question was genuine or something he already had the answer to. 

"It's that at first it was a game where you were intrigued by him because he was so opposite, and you wanted to make him like you for a fun experiment so he'd adore you the way we do," Rome began to answer. "but then he got attached without you having to corrupt him, and you weren't expecting that." Rome paused. "He didn't become a fan and care about you-- he stayed himself, and he still cared about you without you having to coax him to," Rome watched the way Jerome's smirk left his lips. "you were used to people caring about you because they wanted something in return, or because they were obligated to, or because they wanted to be like you and take away your individuality," Rome had realized something the other copycats hadn't. "and you weren't used to someone just caring about you because they wanted to, were you?" 

Jerome just stared at Rome for a while, not saying a word, not smiling, and not twirling his weapon. 

And then, Jerome was suddenly storming over towards Rome with blade readily in hand, raising it as he held Rome down by the throat and- 

"He hates you now, doesn't he?" Rome choked out, and despite the position he was in he was grinning like he'd won. "Wayne can't stand you after the truth serum," Jerome wasn't sure why he was hesitating as he glared down at Rome. "he found out him caring about you doesn't matter, because it didn't change you," Rome choked out more blood. "it's shitty, right? To find out you don't mean anything to him if you're the same person." Rome kept talking despite the tightening grasp. "You were trying to corrupt him, and you realized you didn't want to force him to change, so you stopped, but Wayne?" 

"Shut up-" Jerome warned. 

"Wayne kept trying to change you even after you accepted him as enough," Rome didn't want to make Jerome laugh anymore-- he wanted to enrage him. "he kept trying to make you like him-- trying to force you to be good," Rome grasped at Jerome's wrists. "because he was enough for you, but you weren't enough for him." 

"I said shut up-" Jerome growled, not sure why he didn't just ram the blade he continued holding above him into the center of the copycat's chest- 

"You hate us? Well Wayne hates you," Rome persisted hoarsely. "because he's seen you're not like him now, and the truth is the only ones that will accept you for what you really are is us, and that's why you despise us so much," Rome gave a laugh that resembled a rasp. "because we're everything Wayne isn't, right?" Rome didn't care he was about to be killed by the guy he once would have done anything for. "We're everything you are, and you can't change that anymore than you can change yourself." Rome's vision was blurring, unsure whether it was due to lack of air or lack of blood. "We're a reminder of why Wayne won't accept you anymore than he'd accept people like me." 

Jerome hesitated for a few lengthy seconds that seemed to just drag by before abruptly drawing back his hand damp with red that had seeped through Rome's bandages, instead pressing his blade against Rome's bandaged throat while grabbing a handful of the copycat's hair with the other while pulling back and icily asking, "Is this supposed to somehow make me want to go easy on you?" He angled his weapon, readying it. "Because I'd really recommend trying a different approach." 

"I'm not trying to save myself," Rome scoffed hoarsely before giving a wheezing cough. "I've accepted you're going to finish me off, and I've accepted you hate me, and I've accepted I hate you, too, for killing the only guy I-" 

"I killed the guy that helped you kidnap me and Wayne." Jerome interjected, correcting Rome before he could even finish, earning a bitter smirk. 

Rome gave another weak laugh. "I've accepted what's going to happen to me, Jerome," He gave a shrug, smirk remaining. "but you haven't accepted what's going on with you in the least." And that was why Rome was convinced he'd won. "You killing me won't change the fact that you lost Wayne because of us, and we won by forcing you to revert back to what you really are." 

Even as Rome's throat spilt red he kept that grin of victory on-- even when the monitor he was hooked up to began a prolonged unstopping beep. 

Jerome left before the nurse he'd paid to give him Rome's room number came to check up on them. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne had been looking for Jerome since four in the afternoon to eleven at night. 

His feet were blistered from not bothering to change from his uncomfortable school shoes, and his legs were sore as well, and his breath was shallow from how he'd been going at a jogging pace, and his eyelids were heavy. 

Wayne couldn't stop looking, however-- not when he and Jerome seemed to have had such a huge misunderstanding. 

He wasn't sure if he'd rather punch or hug Jerome if he actually did finally find him. 

Wayne had been looking around erratically at first, but then he had planned on searching the areas Jerome would most likely be, and now he was running out of areas. 

He'd just have to double check them and be sure he didn't miss any, and after that he'd have to come up with other areas and repeat the process until he was met with success. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jen wasn't sure what to do about Selina being like this. 

The pair were staying in the hideout that only they knew about-- not even Ivy or Harley being aware of it. 

It was an in an abandoned metal shipping container at a junkyard. 

Selina wouldn't even talk to Jen unless Jen spoke first. She wouldn't eat or drink unless Jen asked her to, and even then she barely consumed anything. She wouldn't sleep if Jen slept, and Jen was pretty sure that was because Selina didn't want to risk being caught off guard despite being in a place only they were aware of. 

Selina didn't leave the container-- it was Jen that had to go get supplies. 

Selina wouldn't keep herself cool in the hot shelter-- it was Jen that had to keep the fan full of batteries, and water bottles from the cooler under Selina's neck. 

Selina wouldn't even push away the pest that crawled onto or around her-- it was Jen that had to shoo away the bugs and whatnot. 

Jen was fine with that, however, because Selina had done the same thing for Jen when Jen was feeling the same way a while back. 

At the very least, Selina would softly thank Jen every night when the girl laid down in the sleeping bag next to her's, and Selina would even scoot a few inches closer at that. 

~*~*~*~ 

Oswald rarely asked for Wayne and Jerome's services ever since they'd completed their tasks for Theo. He'd grown fond of them, and would only ask them to do relatively safe things-- like tidying up his workplace, or delivering something to someone he was on good terms with. 

Wayne appreciated the innocent jobs, and Jerome seemed content enough. 

Needless to say, Oswald hadn't expected Jerome to ask him for a job that involved killing when it was around midnight. 

Oswald had given Jerome one. He had given it to him hesitantly, but he'd still given him one. He felt bad that Jerome and Wayne were no longer on good terms, but he had expected as much considering they really did resemble him and Jim, to a friendlier extent. 

Things like that just didn't work out, and so Oswald welcomed Jerome with open arms when he turned to him rather than pushing the boy away, because Oswald knew what it was like to have to resort to cruelty, and was not about to shame Jerome for having to do the same things he did. 

Oswald valued survival over ethics, and did not ask his workers to do any differently. 

~*~*~*~ 

It was sometime in the morning when Wayne found himself just kind of wandering around fatigued, it still being dark out, his legs seeming to move on their own, his eyes not exactly taking in anything they looked at, a part of him wondering if he'd already gone by Jerome. 

Wayne would keep looking until eight in the morning if he had to. 

... 

... He could, however, take a coffee break to be sure he kept searching properly, rather than wandering around too out of it to really- well... search. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jen woke up to Selina letting out choked sobs she was trying to hold in by sealing her lips and muffling the sound in her chest, body tense and shaking, causing Jen to frown and sit up, rubbing her eyes before placing her hand on Selina's upper arm to give a reassuring squeeze. 

That earned Jen an instinctive swipe at her hand, claw marks appearing on her wrist dripping in red. 

Selina realized what she'd done almost as quickly as she'd done it, causing her eyes resembling feline irises to widen as she hurriedly scrambled away from the surprised Jen- 

"It's fine," Jen instantly assured, gripping her bleeding wrist. "it's not that deep-" 

"I'm so sorry-" Selina shakily apologized, the brimming tears rolling down her cheeks. 

"No no, don't be," Jen tried to calm, starting to move towards Selina, halting as the other tried to scoot further against the wall to get away from her. "seriously, it doesn't even sting that much-" 

"I didn't mean to-" Selina tried to apologize, like she wasn't even listening to Jen's words of assurance. 

"Yeah, it was an accident," Jen interjected, trying to let Selina realize she didn't have to defend her actions, because Jen was aware Selina was having withdrawals from the stuff Hugo had been injecting her with, and she was still trying to control the instincts he'd groomed her into gaining. "I'm not upset-" Jen added, staying where she was, but reaching her hand lacking an injury out. 

"Don't!" Selina cried, Jen jerking back her hand, and oh dear Selina was hyperventilating... "I'm sorry, I just- please don't- I don't-" Selina couldn't hold in the sobs shaking throughout her. "I don't want to hurt you." 

~*~*~*~ 

First Rome, and now some random guy that Oswald had wanted taken care of for apparently calling him a not so nice word... 

Jerome had been convinced at least a second murder would help him feel like his old self, but Rome's words had really pissed him off, so it was hard to find even the stuff that usually greatly entertained him very funny. 

At least Oswald seemed satisfied with Jerome's work-- that meant good cash, and eventually a raise or promotion, right? 

Best to look at the side of things that could help one smile and whatnot... 

Jerome could always kill more people and go on a roll, but for once that just didn't seem very fun to him, so he decided to just retire for the night and get some shut eye. 

~*~*~*~ 

It was four in the morning on a Friday. Wayne would not be going to school. 

A part of Wayne wanted to go home and call it a night. To rest. To continue looking after reenergizing with a nap and a snack. 

Another part of Wayne told him to keep going. That Jerome probably needed him ASAP in a situation like this. That Jerome had already been gone for a day. That he'd already gotten this far, so why stop now? To just go a little bit longer. 

Wayne was stubborn, so he kept listening to the second part. 

His anger had shifted to the fact Alfred also wasn't innocent when it came to what occurred with Theo's men, and now Wayne was mostly just worried about Jerome. 

~*~*~*~ 

Things with Selina had been a blur. 

One second Jen was checking Selina's pulse because the distraught girl had barely moved for a long while. Another second Selina was having violent shakes and dry heaving from withdrawals of Hugo's drug. The next Selina was having an episode of panic and not realizing where she was, instinctively lashing out defensively. Then, she was telling Jen in sickening detail all about the horrid things in Arkham. She'd also occasionally refuse to utter a word about Arkham. She'd even refuse to utter a word about anything at all. 

Jen wanted to stay with Selina and take care of her the same way Selina had done for her a while back. Selina wanted Jen to leave her side and be safe in case she accidentally lashed out again or Hugo found her. 

Jen eventually reluctantly listened. 

~*~*~*~ 

Oswald had offered Jerome a room to stay in, but Jerome refused considering he'd already had to deal with getting beat up by his rogue men once, and despite the fact Oswald had had those men taken care of, Jerome didn't want to take a risk on having that occur again considering he doubted all the crime boss' men were completely loyal-- even after flushing some of the bad ones out. 

It wouldn't be ideal for Jerome to wake up with a knife against his throat because a friend of one of Oswald's retired rogue men was pissed at him for getting his buddy fired, and even if that wasn't certain to happen Jerome just REALLY didn't want to take any chances. 

Jerome knew Lee and Jim were having a rough time, and really he almost felt bad for the gal, because Babs had talked and talked about what it was like to date Jimbo, and Jerome decided the detective was definitely way too angsty and overly tough for his taste. 

So, Jerome couldn't stay with them, either. 

Jerome couldn't go see Wayne either considering this whole ordeal was about Jerome being convinced Wayne wanted Jerome out, which was fair considering Jerome had been rather deceitful, and regressed on something pretty dangerous. 

Since Jerome hadn't really known where to go and didn't want to waste a big chunk of his reserved money on a motel room since it wasn't like it was snowing, he just went to the place he'd stayed at before when he didn't have a home in the circus or a shelter in Gotham. 

Jerome went under the staircase in the alleyway that Wayne had helped him escape to the second time they'd met, which was at the GCPD when Jerome was escaping the morgue after faking his death impressively convincingly if you asked him, and Jerome was relieved to see his sleeping bag under said stairs was untouched; while it may have not been as comfortable as the mattress Wayne had let him use at the manor it was still better than just laying on a cold, hard, damp ground, and at least he had a nice pillow! 

Heck, Jerome's bag of snacks and water that Wayne had given him in exchange for information about the Maniax was still there, so that was always good! 

It had almost been a year since he'd been here, but it didn't have any signs of being discovered, so it seemed to be a pretty good area to camp out. 

Jerome sat down on the sleeping bag, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the knife and snake pin that Wayne got him for Christmas, as well as a photo Alfred had taken of him, Wayne, Selina, Harley, Jonathan, Ivy, and Jen, lining up the trio of artifacts nicely beside him so it would feel a bit more homey. 

It began to rain not too long now after that, and other than a leak a few feet away from Jerome, the staircase proved to be a good, dry area. 

Despite being hungry, Jerome settled for just eating a stale granola bar from the old snack pack, wanting to stretch his supply out. 

Jerome had only gotten halfway through the bar when he felt his eyes begin to sting and his vision got blurry despite the weak smile he was forcing to stay up in attempts to make things not seem so bad; Jerome had been forcing the smile ever since he delivered the news he'd killed that enemy of Oswald's earlier that night-- he'd been forcing it because he was trying to see whether or not it was true that forcing a smile could trick one into believing they were feeling better. 

It didn't seem very true since Jerome was just feeling worse and worse. 

When Jerome turned nine, he didn't shed a single real tear until eight years later on the day someone finally just admitted they actually cared about him, recalling how Wayne had been apologizing several times while conveying some of his apologies through hugs, and just trying to ease the pain of the beating he'd received from Oswald's rogue men. 

Sure, Jerome had cried when Jim revealed Lila had died, but those were insincere crocodile tears. 

Other than that time with Wayne, this was the second time in almost nine years in which Jerome hadn't bothered to brush away or laugh off the droplets suddenly streaming down his cheeks as he tried to just ignore a feeling he wasn't at all used to. 

The difference between last time and this time was that this time, the many tears weren't just a few tears of relief. 

Jerome didn't care if no one was watching-- he didn't want to cry, because that wasn't funny. 

So, Jerome kept in any sobs beating against his chest in attempts to get out, and he quickly forced the next batch of gathering water in his eyes to brim rather than pour, and he restrained his muscles trying to shake so insistently that it ached, and he didn't care how exhausting it was to hold it in because he didn't feel like he was allowed to go off and be all sad when what he'd done was his own choice and fault for putting his own impulses and greed over the progress Wayne had helped get him to. 

Jerome was a mess, and a criminal, and a screw up. 

Mayne had been right-- Jerome had just playing house and pretending he could be good by acting like the bad side of him was gone, when he was really just keeping it a secret. 

Rome was right about everything he'd said in the hospital, too. 

Jerome didn't expect to be forgiven for ruining the second chance Wayne had given him, because the only thing he deserved was a second chance, and he'd messed it all up. 

Wayne had had every right to turn Jerome away. He'd been held hostage by Jerome. He'd heard about the horrors Jerome had done. He could have given up Jerome to Gordon instead of protecting him from Gordon. 

Wayne didn't turn Jerome away, though-- he'd offered him another chance even after Jerome had held a knife to his throat. 

He didn't blame Wayne for hating him now-- not when he'd messed up on that second chance. 

Jerome should have known better than to believe someone like him could live a nice life with someone like Wayne. 

A killer that had been poor and beaten couldn't ever keep a rich friend who was set on seeking justice to avenge those who had been loving to him, because they just couldn't relate. 

Wayne was a kiddo that would go places in life and Jerome was just a freak that had been robbed of his childhood, and- 

Jerome blinked at the sound of running shoes hitting the wet ground through the noises of rain hitting the same ground, tensing up and getting ready to grab his knife laying beside the only other two artifacts he'd brought with him, not at all expecting to see a familiar fourteen year old sprint into view and slide to a halt that splashed up water and nearly made him slip and fall while looking around frantically with a distressed expression before landing his eyes on Jerome and having a look of relief wash over him. 

That relief quickly shifted to aggravation, however that aggravation faltered when Wayne realized Jerome was dry, yet his eyes and cheeks were wet, causing Wayne's expression to be a mixture of concern and annoyance. 

Wayne wanted to lunge at Jerome, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to do so with open arms or fists. 

So, Wayne stayed standing, his clothes soaked and heavy, sticking to his shivering body which could be getting shakes from the cold, lack of rest, hunger, rage, or all of the above. Water continued pouring over him, and his eyes were both irked and worried. He looked like he wanted to say something, or a lot of things actually, and he just wasn't sure which ones to say first, and which ones to keep to himself. Frustrated by this, Wayne ran a hand through his messy wet hair and let out a long sigh, teeth chattering slightly. 

Jerome snapped out of his surprise and quickly stood up while just letting his granola bar carelessly drop to the ground, taking his coat off while hastily going towards Wayne, starting to put the warm article of clothing around the shuddering boy and raising his brow as Wayne shoved the coat away from him, resulting in it falling to the ground as the fourteen year old huffed, "Why do you always do this?!" 

Jerome just stared at Wayne for a few seconds, slightly wide eyed and not quite sure what the other was referring to. "Uh..." 

That pissed Wayne off even more-- this should be obvious. "Why do you just up and leave every single time something hard like this happens?!" He snapped, Jerome blinking at that. "Every time you have to choose between staying and working things out for yourself, or just running away from your problems, you choose to leave if leaving means you won't have to face the bullshit you cause!" 

Jerome felt an unsure smile meet his lips, it looking a lot more anxious than any real smile should as he hesitated before saying, "Uh...", and clearing his throat. "Uh- I mean... to be fair, I don't-" 

"Don't say you don't do it-" Wayne interjected warningly, because if Jerome was about to just straight up lie- 

"I was going to say I only do it when it doesn't involve the rest of you." Jerome corrected, it being a rather surprised Wayne's turn to go quiet and look at him quizzically, Jerome feeling his smile briefly falter and giving a nervous laugh, rubbing the side of his neck and adding, "I mean- uh-" Jerome hadn't expected... this-- he hadn't expected Wayne to come looking for him; he'd believed Wayne didn't want anything else to do with him after their last conversation, so he'd been caught off guard. "I meant that I only run away from my own shit," Jerome said with a shrug. "not from stuff involving you..." He trailed off, averting his gaze, chuckling in a weak voice, "It's not like I leave you alone if you need help." Jerome only ran away when he himself needed help. 

Wayne hadn't expected Jerome to actually admit that. 

"You act like you running off when you're in trouble doesn't affect me, too." Wayne hesitantly grumbled, eying Jerome over concerned, realizing something wasn't right. 

... Fine. 

"Fair enough," Jerome just said so easily without much of an argument, smirk somewhat bitter... or was it pained at that? Both? "I'm a shitty friend. I won't deny that. Is there something this is supposed to be leading up to?" 

What? That wasn't what Wayne... "You're not-" Wayne felt like something was going on, but he couldn't tell what it was. "I didn't mean-" Wayne felt like something was off, but he wasn't sure what it could be. "I was just saying that-" Wayne felt like he was missing something, but he wasn't getting- 

"What do you want?" Jerome asked, and for shit's sake his grin was faltering, and even though he was now also wet from the rain, it was still obvious he'd been crying with his eyes rimmed red. 

Wayne felt his hands instinctively go into fists. "I want you to come back home and to talk to me when shit like this happens instead of just running away!" 

Home? Jerome was taken aback at that. "What do you mean you want me to come back?" He scoffed in disbelief, finally looking at Wayne with an expression that barely even resembled a smile. 

Wayne scanned his eyes over Jerome, trying to see if something was wrong with the other physically rather than being something that wasn't visual while saying, "I mean I want you to come back to the-" His eyes landed on Jerome's hands. "-manor..." Despite the rain washing away some of the crimson liquid, parts of Jerome's hands had been stained by red, the dried blood not leaving the skin it clung to so easily. 

Jerome instantly realized what Wayne was looking at, and he didn't try to hide it, because he had wanted Wayne to see it. "You sure about that?" He asked with a sour smirk, glaring over at his sleeping bag, because he was pissed off that Wayne apparently would have accepted him back, but Jerome had to have gone and been a dramatic ass that reacted rashly to their argument he'd convinced himself was an argument in which Wayne revealed things weren't going to work out, and Jerome had to revert to his old self, and Jerome just had to kill those two more people as a part of his regression. 

Jerome realized Wayne was possibly going to offer him something akin to a singular second chance before seeing the blood on his hands, and that blood had ruined that chance. 

"I killed Rome when I found out he was in the hospital," Jerome informed, and he could have lied, but he didn't. "and I killed a guy for Oswald that had called him a shitty word or something." Jerome could say he did it in self defense, or that it was his own blood, but he didn't. "I killed Theo's men, too," Jerome was tired of deceiving Wayne-- not quite by lying, but by not offering the truth. "and I killed that employee that was a copycat from Arkham Asylum after he told me he wanted to kill his family for me when I escaped with Jonathan." A pause. "None of them were good men, but I killed them because I wanted to, and not because I had to." 

Jerome had realized Rome was right; if Wayne wouldn't accept him for who he was, then Jerome really didn't have anyone other than the copycats. 

So, Jerome told the truth, and for a long, long while, the only reply he got was a stare from Wayne and the sound of rain pouring on and around them. 

Jerome needed to hear Wayne didn't accept him so he could move on. 

"Anyone else?" Wayne finally asked softly, Jerome shaking his head and keeping his gaze averted. "So you killed Rome and some guy for Oswald tonight?" Jerome swallowed thickly and gave a nod at that. "Why?" Jerome parted his lips to answer. "I get that you wanted to, but why did you act on what you wanted to do?" Jerome went quiet. "Why didn't you control your impulses?" Jerome didn't answer. "I've seen you control them-" 

"Because you're the only reason I control them, all right?" Jerome laughed hoarsely. "It's shitty, okay? I get that it's shitty that I just rely on you, because you don't deserve that kind of pressure, and it makes me a shitty person to just care about it because if I don't it means losing you, instead of caring about it because their life is valuable or some shit and I shouldn't be making the calls on whether they live or not based on how fun I believe killing them will be, okay?" Jerome felt Wayne staring at him, but didn't meet his gaze. "So when I was convinced I'd messed up too badly to stay on your good side, I left, and because I didn't have you to lean on I didn't see a reason to not go back to being my old self, and I get that isn't fair to you, all right? I get that it's not fair to act like it's your fault, because it's not-- it's my fault for becoming so damn dependent on you." Jerome didn't have to worry about the tears streaming down his cheeks as rain mixed with them. "I didn't realize that apparently I somehow didn't mess up all that bad considering you're here now for some reason, because it really seemed like me killing Theo's men and keeping it a secret was just it for you and me or whatever, but then you came here trying to tell me to come home even after you found out about my bullshit, and guess what?" Jerome gave a forced laugh. "I still messed up even more, because I killed those other guys tonight, and now I don't expect you to make an exception for that, too, so-" 

"Why don't you just talk to me about this stuff instead of assuming I'm going to react a certain way and then acting out based on however you believe I'm going to react?" Wayne sighed frustrated. 

Jerome suddenly went quiet, retracting at that-- at how he'd been trying to be completely truthful with Wayne, and Wayne just interrupted him and didn't seem to care about anything other than Jerome's mistakes. "I'm telling you how I feel now-" Jerome scoffed in defense. 

"After you've already acted on those feelings." Wayne corrected. 

Jerome gave a sour laugh, throwing his hands up in disbelief, Wayne flinching at that, and that just pissed Jerome off more, because it was like Wayne hadn't even listened to how he'd made it so clear for so long that Wayne was one of the only people Jerome couldn't see himself ever harming, and while Jerome was pretty sure he'd been making that clear the whole time he'd known Wayne, apparently this was just how Wayne acted around the real Jerome, because apparently Rome was right about how Wayne wasn't going to accept the real Jerome unless he changed, because apparently to Wayne the real him was scary. 

Nonetheless, Jerome answered, "I did try to talk to you! I tried to apologize, and you kept telling me to spit it out, or telling me you were too busy, instead of just letting me talk!" Jerome was smiling, but it looked more pissed off than anything. "And then when we finally did talk, you acted like me going after murderers was just as bad as me going after innocent people!" 

"I didn't act like that was the same thing," Wayne argued back. "I just said we shouldn't judge whether either lives or not-" 

"Fair enough, to each their own," Jerome sarcastically snapped, Wayne looking cautious at that. "but either way, you were upset, and I get that regardless of how good or bad they are, you consider what I did crossing the line," Jerome's smile was more sad than angry now. "so instead of forcing you to compromise between your precious morals or a friendship of less than a year, I just left since that was what was best for the both of us." 

"I don't see how you leaving was what was best for either of us," Wayne retorted, his expression and voice both so upset. "and you're acting like us being friends for less than a year somehow correlates with how much I..." Wayne trailed off. 

"You don't see how me leaving was the best option because every time I try to explain this shit to you, you either don't listen, or act like every little thing I say is wrong." Jerome said more quietly, mimicking Wayne's toned down voice. "And how much you wha-" 

"How much I care about you!" Wayne snapped, his attempt at handling this calmly already gone, Jerome quirking a brow. "And you are wrong! You leaving like this every single time you go through a rough patch isn't helping you get resilient to stuff like this, and that's why you keep regressing instead of toughing it out!" 

Jerome felt something in him snap. He wasn't quite sure why. He and Wayne had argued before. They'd yelled at each other before. They'd gotten upset with each other before. This felt different, however-- probably because Jerome was back to his old self, and Wayne wasn't sure how to handle Jerome's regression for once since it was so extreme this time. 

Perhaps Rome's words had gotten to him. 

Regardless, Jerome snapped. 

"You don't care if the shit I'm doing isn't helping me!" Jerome laughed, suddenly seeming a lot taller as he took a step towards Wayne. "You wouldn't care if it was helping me, or if I couldn't control it!" Another step, Wayne shuffling back. "All you care about is whether or not I'm doing something you deem as right!" Another step, Wayne standing his ground with wide eyes. "If I'm not behaving perfectly, you get so damn proud of how nice and ethical and good you are, until I try to act the same way!" Jerome was hovering over the wary Wayne. "Well guess what? You grew up with a silver spoon in your mouth, so it's REALLY not that hard for you to act like you're a symbol for justice or whatever the hell you want to call it when it's something that's always been on your side!" Jerome couldn't stop the words spilling and forcing their way from his lips like liquid fire. "All you care about is how YOU feel when I leave!" Wayne's expression fell at that. "All you care about is whether I'm doing something you approve of!" Wayne tried to object, but Jerome just continued, "All you care about is you!" 

Jerome wasn't going to harm Wayne-- he didn't want to do that... scaring him wasn't the same thing, however, and at least doing that could get Wayne to finally just leave him alone. 

Wayne didn't back down, though. 

Instead, he did quite the opposite. "Every time I tried to make you stop doing something that was putting you in danger, you wouldn't listen when I'd bring up how you were being risky." Wayne said with a shove, pushing Jerome out of his face by his chest. "Every time I tried to get you to look out for yourself, you'd just laugh it off and act like there was nothing to worry about." Another shove, Jerome backing up. "Every time there was something wrong and I'd try to get you to fix it before it got worse, you'd pretend everything was fine." Another shove, but this time it was harder as Wayne exclaimed, "The only time you'd care about something was if I was being influenced by it!" The shoves were getting harder. "I hated it! I hate how you won't look out for yourself, and I have to be the one admitting something you're doing isn't just harming you!" That shove made Jerome stumble a little. "I hate having to admit stuff like this! You KNOW I hate having to admit this emotional crap!" Another shove, Jerome suddenly seeming to realize what Wayne was saying. "But I hate having to watch you let yourself get in the way of something bad more, so I admit it's getting in my way, too, because that's the only time you care about stopping it!" Wayne shoved Jerome again, but this time he just grasped at his shirt and halted. 

"Wayne-" Jerome started, and the shoves hadn't hurt, but he got Wayne was trying to emphasize- 

"If you want to leave because you feel like that's what's best for you, then that's fine," Wayne said, looking towards the ground as rain continued pouring on them. "I WANT you to start doing things for you," He wasn't sure if the water under his eyes was rain or tears. "and I want you to stop doing things just for me-- I want you to stop leaving because you feel like it's best for me, because-" Wayne wasn't sure if he was shaking from the rain, or... "-because the last thing I need is you leaving, too." 

Jerome let Wayne just kind of cling to him, but he didn't hug him-- he didn't return any affection. Instead, Jerome hesitantly said, "What do you want?", because this meant Wayne had to choose between morals or a very, VERY complex friendship, and Jerome didn't want to influence that choice with a hug. 

Wayne was quiet, just long enough to regain himself. "I..." He paused. 

Jerome gave a sour smirk. That hurt in all honesty, but he got it-- he got that Wayne didn't want to have to choose between either remaining his ethical self, or changing for Jerome, the same way Jerome had been convinced by Rome he shouldn't change for anyone, since that meant he was giving up himself entirely. 

So, Jerome joked with venom laced in his tone, "You can either gain the killer or keep the morals." It wasn't a very funny joke at all, however. 

Jerome certainly hadn't expected Wayne's answer. 

"You're not just a killer, and I'm not just my morals." Wayne finally said, looking back up at Jerome, lowering his hands from the other's shirt. "We're humans, Jerome-- we're complex," Jerome blinked at that. "we don't fit into neat little boxes, and there's not just one thing that defines us." Wayne was figuring out what this new behavior was about. "I don't like you because you're a killer," A pause. "I like you because you're funny, and sarcastic, and outgoing, and a prankster, and enthusiastic, and kinda' an ass sometimes but in a friendly way," Jerome wasn't sure why this was making the thickness in his throat and the heaviness in his gut worse. "I like you because you always try to cheer me up, and you make sure no one's putting a frown on my face, and you can be serious when I need you to." Jerome averted his gaze. "I like a lot of things about you, and that's why I'm okay with compromising my values for you to an extent." 

And that, was what Rome hadn't gotten. 

He hadn't gotten that Jerome compromised a few things for Wayne, and Wayne did the same for Jerome, but there were mostly things neither had to compromise, because there weren't a lot of things the pair wanted the other to change. 

There wasn't one thing that defined them. 

"So you want me to tell you what I want?" Wayne asked, Jerome finally meeting his gaze. "I want you to come home." Wayne's voice was close to breaking, and breaking Wayne was not something Jerome wanted to do at all. 

So, Jerome did two things Wayne had asked him to do. 

Jerome wrapped his arms around Wayne, and pulled him into a tight hug, and just stood there like that under the rain for what felt like minutes. Jerome usually hugged Wayne to comfort Wayne, but this wasn't for Wayne this time. 

Jerome did something for himself. 

The second thing Jerome did was follow Wayne to the manor. To Wayne's house. To the mansion a butler took care of. 

To home. 

~*~*~*~ 

Hugo was losing control of Azrael. It should have been expected, in all honesty-- regardless of Hugo referring to him as his 'son', even children would eventually leave the nest to do their own thing... it was natural. 

Hugo did not want a natural child. 

Hugo wanted a child who would unquestionably cling to his every word like a loyal pup caught in a naïve view of the world. He wanted someone who would act only for him, and never for themselves or others. He wanted someone who would behave, and not speak out, and not form their own opinion. 

Hugo did not want a child. 

Hugo wanted a monster. 

Azrael had been his first success when it came to bringing back those who were on the brink of losing their time on this realm. 

Fish had been his second success, and unlike Theo she recalled who she was rather than having a backstory groomed into her. 

Hugo wanted his next success to be someone who would- regardless of what they recalled- be only his. 

Hugo wanted his next success to go against human nature. 

Hugo would have liked to have had Selina had a little accident and being brought back as his next success, however that wasn't going to happen apparently, so he was trying to find other possible candidates... 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome could have washed the blood off his hands himself, but Wayne was doing it for him, for some reason neither of the two really bothered asking if they didn't know, or commenting on if they did. 

"If you kill anyone who isn't a murderer, rapist, kidnapper, abuser, or pedophile and it's not in self defense, then you can't stay here anymore." Wayne finally spoke up, dipping the washcloth back into the bowl of water. "If you seek out anyone who's one of those things without there being a risk of them attacking anyone, then you can't stay here anymore," He added, running the washcloth over Jerome's hands. "If you come across anyone who you believe is one of those things- but you aren't sure- and you kill them, and they're deemed innocent, then you can't stay here anymore." 

Jerome stared at Wayne, feeling the other use his thumbs to rub away dried blood on Jerome's calloused hands. "So if I just so happen to coincidentally come across someone who's one of those big bad types of criminals you listed, and I'm certain they are, or I see them assaulting someone, then I CAN kill them? Even if it's not in self defense?" 

"I didn't say that." Wayne instantly answered, pausing the washing and gripping Jerome's hands, earning a stare, pausing before adding, "If something like that does happen though, then as long as you tell me, we could probably at least try to work something out," Wayne bargained. "but there can't be any secrets on stuff that serious, because if I find out there are, then I can't just look the other way and let you continue staying here-- not when looking the other way could mean something like this happening again and again." This whole mess had been about Jerome being deceitful about his regression, rather than just admitting what had occurred. 

Jerome wasn't sure what kind of offer he had expected from Wayne, but it wasn't that. In any case, he gave a nod and asked, "Other criminals aren't an option then?", just to be sure, of course. At that, Wayne drew his hands back. 

"Yes," Wayne confirmed sternly. "no killing thieves, graffiti markers, property destroyers, peace disturbers, hecklers, or anything like that." He squeezed the red water into the bowl. "If they attack you first and you didn't provoke them and you're going to receive more than a few bruises and scratches from them, then you can act in self defense, but don't kill them if you don't have to." 

Jerome let Wayne dry his hands with a soft towel. "All right." Jerome could work with those rules. 

The pair had reached a steady agreement where a once shaky and uncertain standing between the two had been. 

They'd already dried off and changed into warm clothes from the dryer when getting home, but they hadn't showered yet, so Jerome gave the slightest smirk you'd have to squint to see, grabbing a hand towel that had been set to the side and ruffling Wayne's still damp hair with it, earning a vague pout and huff as Wayne pushed his hand away. 

It had been a pout, and a huff, and a nudge, rather than being a glare, an exchange of snappy words, and a slap to the hand, so that was a relief, because it showed they'd gotten somewhere from the agreement. 

The exhausted pair had been planning to get showers in a few minutes, however their eyelids got heavy, and so Jerome planned to just move to his mattress rather than stay in Wayne's bed, although then his body got heavy as well, and despite Wayne planning to get under the covers at the very least, he found himself drifting. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Whenever it is that they finally wake back up, we should possibly have something along the lines of a game night." Jonathan mused casually, it being about the middle of the day as they stayed out of the room Jerome and Wayne were resting in. 

Harley perked up, looking away from the movie she was watching and exclaiming, "Ooh, that sounds fun, Johnny!" She gave a grin. "What kinda' games?" 

Jonathan kept his eyes on his book while answering, "Board games, card games, social games, etcetera etcetera." 

Ivy paused her examination of her plant, giving Jonathan a quizzical look. "YOU want to play games?" 

Jonathan gave a brief glance to Ivy. "I enjoy having a bit of fun occasionally, too, Ivy." Despite his even voice, he sounded slightly offended, Harley giving a snort of laughter at that, causing Jonathan to set down his book and huff, "Well we certainly don't have to if you all don't want-" 

"I'll get the games." Ivy interjected with a shrug. 

"I'll get the snacks!" Harley offered excitedly. 

That left Jonathan with the movies. 

It was going to be nice... the entire gang just hanging out and having fun rather than getting themselves into unwanted trouble for once. 

Well, almost the entire gang... 

~*~*~*~ 

Jen had gone back to check up on Selina that late afternoon, however all she found was an empty metal container in a Junkyard with no sign of Selina. 

That was because Selina was on top of a roof. 

A roof containing pigeons, at that. 

A roof containing Bridgit's pigeons, to be exact. 

The pigeons Selina had promised to take care of. 

Selina had never been very fond of birds, but she slept curled up on a blanket by their coop nonetheless, and she guarded that coop. 

Her friend's coop. 

~*~*~*~ 

They were laughing, and having fun, and just being kids. It was something which the teens didn't get to do all that often. It was also something that seemed to never last very long. 

Sadly, Selina and Jen were still nowhere to be found, but at least Ivy, Harley, Jonathan, and Jerome along with Wayne were all there. 

The five of them were playing Go Fish, betting silly things for whoever the winner would be; Wayne bet a nice silk pillowcase, Jerome bet a temporary tattoo of a smiley face, Jonathan bet a bag of sunflower seeds, Ivy bet a small pot of soil with a single red wildflower in it, and Harley bet a pack of bubblegum. 

It wasn't proper, or sad, or frustrating-- it wasn't anything at all like that. It was friends drinking soda, eating junk food, and joking around. It was after midnight, and they knew they'd probably regret all the sugar they were consuming the next morning, but at least it was Saturday, so they wouldn't have to get up early. 

Jonathan was winning. 

"Do you have any jokers?" Jerome asked a tad bit irked with how he'd ended up with the most cards so far. Jerome was good at gambling... Blackjack and whatnot... not Go Fish. 

Jonathan stared at Jerome for a few seconds. "There's no more than a single joker card in a deck, Jerome." 

For shit's sake- 

Jerome gave a grumble and annoyed smirk, reaching down to draw a card from the deck. 

"I wouldn't mind giving some lenience and allowing you a second attempt if you'd like." Jonathan offered, earning a slightly irritated stare. 

"Fine, do you have any ones?" Jerome sighed instead, tone impatient but smile staying forced on. 

"There are absolutely no ones, either," Jonathan corrected. "they're referred to as aces-" 

"Do you have any aces?!" Jerome huffed, Wayne and Jonathan giving a smirk as Ivy and Harley snickered. 

"No, I do not have any aces-- go fish." Jonathan answered amusedly. 

Jerome said something under his breath, snatching a card from the deck. 

"I'm gonna' get some more soda," Harley informed while hopping up, grabbing her glass of the strawberry beverage. "anybody else want some?" 

Ivy gave a nod, standing up as well while brushing herself off, picking up her glass of water. "I'll go with you." 

The pair ran off towards the kitchen, Harley warning, "Don't any of ya' dare look at our cards!", as they sprinted through the door. 

Wayne gave a slight smile you'd have to squint to see; as much as he missed Selina, and as nice as it would have been to have Jen there, he still enjoyed the company-- it was... nice to feel like he had a- well... 

... 

... a family again. 

"I betcha' we could beat 'em if we cheated," Harley teased while opening the fridge, reaching up to grab the liter of soda, tucking it under one arm while tucking the container of water under the other. "then we could split the winnings." She added with a wink and grin. 

Ivy averted her gaze. "I don't really like cheating in games with friends..." 

Harley gave a shrug. "Yeah, I don't blame ya'," She shut the fridge door with her foot, swaying as she tried to not spill the picture of water. "I don't know if I'd wanna' do that either," She looked at Ivy with a smile, managing to unscrew the soda bottle despite her full hands. "let's stick to just cheati'n in games where we don't know any-" Her eyes widened, body tensing up. "-one..." 

The soda and water crashed to the floor, Ivy jumping back to avoid the spill, giving Harley a questioning look before realizing the other wasn't looking at her, turning around to see what the girl was staring at and feeling her gut drop. 

Azrael stepped out of the shadows he'd been lurking in from the other side of the room, stalking towards the girls shimmying close together and cowering, the pair shuffling towards the door shakily, in such a state of surprise that it didn't register to them that they weren't going all that fast until Azrael was already reaching out towards them. 

"Hey-" Harley objected, fear melting into anger as he grabbed Ivy by the throat and lifted her off the ground, the small girl letting out a choked noise and grasping at his wrist, dangling in the air. "Stop!" 

Azrael raised a finger to where his lips would be underneath underneath his mask, Harley gulping and going quiet, but with a glare nonetheless. 

"Is this girl your friend?" Azrael questioned, Harley blinking at that, as though she didn't understand the question, Azrael repeating with eerie patience as Ivy struggled to breathe, "Is this girl your friend?" Harley swallowed thickly, giving a nod while staring at the distressed Ivy. "Would you say she's your best friend?" Harley gave another nod, being quicker about it, because maybe if she just answered his questions as fast as possible he'd let Ivy go. "Better than your friend Wayne?" Harley froze up. "Assuming you're friends with the Wayne boy... considering you are in his mansion, after all." Harley gave a hesitant nod at that, not liking where this could very well be going, and oh dear Ivy was struggling and clawing now. "Then I suggest you find a way to bring Wayne in here immediately if you want this girl to still be breathing tomorrow." Azrael dropped Ivy to the ground like a doll, keeping the girl gasping for air there by pressing his boot against her throat. "You have five minutes, and I better not see anyone other than you with him." 

Harley glanced down at the whimpering Ivy before returning her wide eyed stare to the awaiting Azrael, the man gesturing towards the door and causing a conflicted noise to leave Harley's throat as she reluctantly speed walked back towards where the others were, not wanting to waste time, but also not wanting to do as Azrael demanded and risk Wayne being put in the same position poor Ivy was. 

Ivy scanned her surroundings, searching for something to defend herself with-- to defend Harley and Wayne with... 

As Ivy looked for anything that could be used as a weapon and easily obtained, Harley tried to come up with a plan. 

"Where's Ivy?" Wayne asked as Harley walked rather stiffly into the room. 

"Huh?" Harley halted and forced on a smile. "Oh, um... she's... well she- you see, she had to- uh-" That earned quirked brows, Harley averting her gaze to the floor, swallowing dryly. "She had to use the loo." 

Wayne and Jerome exchanged looks but brushed off the tense behavior, yet Jonathan most certainly didn't. 

"Where's your beverage?" Jonathan inquired casually, earning an unsure stare. "You told us that you were leaving the room to get a drink," He explained, studying the new behavior quizzically. "so where is it?" 

Harley hadn't even bothered to sit down, just remaining where she stood and answering, "I got a tummy ache, so I didn't get anythi'n." 

Jonathan could tell Harley was tense-- he wanted to find out why; judging by how she looked more panicked than sick and was standing awkwardly upright rather than uncomfortably shrinking into herself, it seemed like a stomachache was unlikely. "Do you require a few minutes of rest? We could pause the game and resort to watching a movie until you're feeling well enough." 

"Nah, it doesn't really hurt all that bad," Harley waved off, offering a reassuring smile to avoid suspicion, forcing herself to walk towards them despite her legs feeling wobbly. "jus' a lil' rumbly is all!" She had to come up with something realistic to say to Wayne-- to get him to follow her into the kitchen without realizing something was wrong before Ivy was... 

Jonathan noticed the sound of wet feet pattering against the floor, glancing down at the trail of strawberry soda droplets, looking up at Harley as she got ready to sit beside them and commenting, "The pads of your feet are relatively damp,", causing Wayne and Jerome arch their brows and unsurely glance down at Harley's feet. "did you or Ivy spill something by any chance?" 

Harley stood stiffly above them, looking like a deer in headlights as she stared at Jonathan's searching gaze before glancing at Jerome and seeing he was quirking a brow, Harley swallowing thickly and quickly turning her sights to Wayne while blurting out, "I couldn't find the paper towels 'n I spilt some soda," She was too panicky to tell whether she was acting casual or obvious. "could you-" 

"I'll show you where they are." Wayne assured with a warm smile, because he didn't want Harley to feel like he was going to get upset at her for accidents-- Harley had been going through a lot at home, and Wayne was letting her stay with them now, so he wanted her to feel safe. 

Jonathan also wanted that, however he did not want Wayne to get involved in whatever Harley was referring to, because it certainly wasn't soda. "I'll come with you-" 

"No!" Harley quickly objected, because Azrael had made it clear that if anyone other than her and Wayne came along, Ivy was done for. "You-" Harley started when earning raised eyebrows from Jerome, a surprised look from Wayne, and a quizzical stare from Jonathan. "You have to make sure Jerome doesn't look at our cards!" She insisted, gesturing to the Go Fish deck. 

"I'm not that bad." Jerome snickered defensively. 

Wayne gave a smirk, and when Jonathan tried to object, he figured it was just because Jonathan didn't want to be alone in the room with Jerome due to how often they bickered and amusedly assured, "We'll be right back.", while walking off with Harley. 

Jerome wasn't sure why Jonathan seemed so distressed at watching Wayne walk off with the tiny gal that wailed during movies where animals died or ran away... 

"Thanks, Wayne." Harley softly spoke up as they walked down the hall towards the kitchen, her big blue eyes glossy and her gaze averted. 

Wayne looked at Harley concerned; the poor thing probably got beat up for the smallest things at her old house... he just wanted her to feel safe here. "Really-- it's no problem." He assured, placing a hand on Harley's upper arm and giving a reassuring squeeze. 

Harley felt sick at that-- Wayne hadn't realized how big of a problem this was about to be... 

To be fair, Harley was just a young girl who had been forced to act out quickly thanks to being manipulated by a man who had been a monster even before Hugo got ahold of him, with the threat of her losing her best friend if she didn't do exactly as he said. 

Harley was hurriedly trying to come up with a plan, nonetheless, because Wayne was also her friend- 

Ivy let out a sudden yelp as she got abruptly tossed rather carelessly at Harley's feet and slid in front of the pair of approaching friends, Harley jumping in surprise while scrambling back instinctively, Wayne freezing in place and squinting his eyes to look at the approaching figure coming from the kitchen- 

Wayne felt his gut drop, eyes widening as he took a step back, defensive stance coming on at the sight of Azrael stalking towards him. 

Harley knelt next to Ivy as the coughing gardener sat up, the pigtailed girl looking her over to make sure she wasn't injured, feeling sick at seeing the finger marks around Ivy's neck, but relieved the bruises were all she had. 

That relief shifted to guilt at the way that Wayne looked at Harley, and suddenly he seemed to realize what was going on, and a brief flash of betrayal crossed his features. 

Despite it all, Wayne was sure to grab Harley and Ivy's hands as he sprinted away from Azrael, tugging them up from their kneeling positions on the floor, causing them to stumble as he kept running without pause, not letting go until they were balanced and racing at his own pace, the trio crashing into the parlor where Jerome and Jonathan sat.

Harley nearly tripped, Wayne slid to a halt, and Ivy ran into Harley, leaning on her for support. 

Jonathan had been expecting something. He wasn't sure what. He hadn't expected whatever this was. But he'd at least been expecting something. 

Unlike Jerome, who was staring at them extremely unsure of what was going- 

"Hide!" Wayne hissed desperately while shutting and locking the door, Jonathan instantly going to do as told, Ivy quickly composing herself before grabbing Harley's hand and running off while pulling her friend along, Jerome standing up, yet hesitating and looking at the Wayne pacing around while frantically scanning the room for a place to- 

Jerome and Wayne both froze up as the door handle was jiggled, the pair glancing at each other before glancing back at the door, holding their breaths as the brief jiggle was met with silence. 

When a loud THUMP was heard from what seemed to be a boot slamming into the door frame that caused the wood to creak and crack, Jerome looked at Wayne with wide questioning eyes, yet didn't bother interrogating the other when Wayne gestured for him to hide again much more sternly. 

Jonathan had already climbed on top of a book case, his fear gas readily in hand, using the height as an advantage despite the disadvantage of not having any cover whatsoever if Azrael happened to look up. 

Ivy was hiding inside a large, empty pot-- the kind that was supposed to have trees growing in them; she had a sharp garden pick she often carried around in her belt as a weapon in her hands tightly grasping the tool. 

Harley was hiding in the chimney, her legs and arms not straining too badly thanks to the advantage of being a gymnast. She had the element of surprise as her advantage considering she doubted Azrael would really check the chimney, and she'd say her gymnast moves made her a pretty good fighter when it came to hand-to-hand stuff, but Azrael had a sword rather than just her hands; she would have hidden with Ivy if the pot had been big enough, and Ivy would have hidden with her if she didn't have terrible upper arm strength. 

Jerome had hidden behind the curtain, because he was a sucker for classics. He of course had his handy little knife readily in his hand. 

Wayne had pulled up the sofa cushions to hide under them, and he'd gotten the first one above his legs settled back down nice and snug, however the second of the two above his torso hadn't been put all the way into place when Azrael finally kicked down the door, so Wayne just shifted right up against the back of the sofa and left the cushion there, not wanting to risk Azrael catching any movement. 

Wayne had no weapon. Wayne was still training with Alfred when it came to hand to hand combat, which he was about average with. 

Azrael probably would have checked the curtains first if the misplaced couch cushion hadn't caught his eye. 

Wayne went wide eyed as the cushion got yanked upwards, attempting to scurry away from Azrael and failing as the other just reached down to heave the trapped squirming boy up by his shirt- 

Azrael grunted as Jerome tackled him, dropping Wayne while hitting the floor, the villain's sword and Jerome's own weapon flying off to the side, Wayne quickly scooting away from the fighting pair as Jerome shouted at Wayne and the others to hurry up and get Alfred. 

Jonathan instantly did as told, Harley waiting for Ivy before following, Wayne freezing up and looking at Jerome wide eyed, wanting to help somehow without getting in the way- 

"Go!" Jerome snapped, trying to hold Azrael down, struggling with the other on the floor. 

Wayne reluctantly did as told. 

Jerome watched to be sure Wayne left the room, looking down at Azrael and resorting to wrapping his fingers around the older man's throat considering his knife was much too far away- 

Azrael threw Jerome off of him, quickly crawling for his sword as the boy got up, kicking Jerome's blade even further to the side while standing and staring at him menacingly, resulting in Jerome pausing before giving a irked and anxious chuckle while also running off. 

Azrael had had enough of this. 

~*~*~*~ 

Alfred had told the children to stay in the hidden safe room. They'd all listened. All of them except for Wayne, and because of that also except for the ever so protective Jerome, of course. 

Jerome was locking up the doors and windows to be sure none of Theo's possible followers got in too easily if they tagged along. Wayne helped, and found the window Azrael had climbed through. When Wayne went to check on Alfred, Jerome was still checking for Theo's men as Alfred fought Azrael, before telling Wayne to run. 

Wayne felt like he was being told to run a lot tonight. 

Nonetheless, Wayne didn't question it despite his initial hesitation. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne was running down one of his manor's longer hallways when he ran smack into a figure that abruptly stepped out in front of him, causing Wayne to let out a hitched gasp, the bigger male grabbing him by his upper arms to keep him in place as he struggled- 

"Are you all right?" Jerome asked with a relieved sigh at seeing Wayne rather than Theo, waiting for the boy to realize it was him and calm down before releasing him. 

Wayne swallowed dryly, not wanting to waste any time or give more words than required as he said, "The garage.", grabbing Jerome's wrist and running towards the manor's lot full of fancy car models. 

A whip cracked against Wayne's leg before they got there, however-- causing him to stumble in surprise and fall into a kneeling position as his skin beneath his jeans throbbed, Jerome halting and leaning down to help him up, gut dropping as the whip whacked out again and wrapped around Wayne's ankle, Azrael pulling the struggling and objecting boy towards him. 

"Shit!" Jerome laughed stressed, giving a forced strained smile if one would even call it that, sprinting after Wayne and managing to stop the intruder by slamming his foot against the whip, keeping it against the floor and stopping Wayne long enough for the boy to get free of Azrael's whip's grasp. 

Azrael' patience was being tried as he yanked the whip, causing Jerome to fall on his ass, storming towards Wayne and kicking Jerome back over as the rebellious boy started to get back up, Wayne speed walking back as quickly as he could until his back was against the wall and Theo was less than a yard away from him. 

"You cause too much trouble in too many ways." Theo informed, sword raising and angling so it was intended for the terrified and shaking Wayne's stomach- 

Jerome grabbed Azrael by his shoulders and yanked him away from Wayne, shoving Hugo's so called child to the side, and while Jerome tried to get him and Wayne running again before Azrael regained himself, it was too late as Azrael quickly retaliated. 

Jerome could have stepped out of the way instead of moving to shield Wayne. Azrael wanted the billionaire-- not the circus kid. 

Jerome didn't. 

Wayne felt a very, VERY familiar feeling hit him at the sight of seeing someone take the attack for him, but this time, it was in his own home rather than an alleyway. 

At seeing Jerome take the sword through the right side of his stomach. 

At seeing Jerome refuse to move from his place in front of Wayne, even as emerald eyes widened and blood choked out from his lips. 

"Go." Jerome choked out, blood from the wound and his mouth spilling, trying to hold the sword back by gripping its blade tightly, crimson dripping from his hands, too. 

"Jerome-" Wayne heard himself hoarsely whimper in disbelief, voice shaky. 

"Go!" Jerome snapped, Theo pushing his weapon farther, red staining Jerome's clothes. "Now!" 

Wayne did go. 

And Wayne regretted that. 

~*~*~*~ 

Oswald had been the one to save all of them with a bazooka that had blown Theo away quite literally. 

Well, almost everyone... 

Wayne had rushed back inside to where Jerome had been facing off against Azrael the instant the ordeal was over, and halted when he found Jerome laying on the floor in a pool of blood. 

No. 

No no no no. 

No! 

"Jerome-" Wayne choked out, feeling his numbing and wobbly legs run towards Jerome, freezing up when realizing Jerome was still breathing while squeezing his emerald eyes shut. "Jerome?" Wayne questioned worriedly, kneeling beside him as he felt himself just fall onto his knees at that. 

"Hey." Jerome laughed weakly, his forced smile falling as blood sputtered out of his lips and coughing, Wayne realizing he was choking on the thick red substance and carefully pulling up Jerome somewhat so he could rest his cheek against his lap. "You-" Jerome was still choking, closing his eyes and swallowing. "You okay?" 

"I'm fine," Wayne assured, pushing his hands against the blood spilling from Jerome's hip, trying to stop the flowing of red. "I'm fine." Wayne repeated, even though he wasn't fine-- not when he was seeing Jerome like this. "Are you okay?" Silly. It was a silly question. 

Jerome gave a hoarse chuckle. "I mean, I've been better." His stomach was aching terribly, and he was feeling colder than usual, and he felt exhausted, and his limbs were so heavy and weak. 

Wayne laughed softly even though he didn't find things very funny right now, and it really sounded more like a sob, but it made Jerome give a grin, so... 

"Alfred called an ambulance," Wayne informed, and this- this was hard, because at least in the alleyway he didn't have to watch anyone gradually slip away since it had been fast, but here... "I'm going to pay for your hospital bills, and if the cops come for you, I'll just bail you out-" 

Jerome didn't need Wayne to convince him things were going to be okay. He believed Wayne had called an ambulance-- he didn't believe it would make much of a difference. 

"It's all right," Jerome assured, taking over Wayne's soothing words. "everything's going to be okay, yeah?" There were tears mixing in with Jerome's blood, but it wasn't Jerome's tears. "You're gonna' have Alfred, and Jonathan, and Ivy, and Harley," Wayne's teardrops were falling onto Jerome's face. "and Selina and Jen, too." He gave a reassuring grin to Wayne. "You'll even have that jackass Gordon-" 

"Stop it," Wayne cried, shakes overtaking him. "I don't want just them, okay? I want you, too." Wayne grasped at Jerome's shirt with his free hand. "So just shut up so you can save your energy and wait for the ambulance." He sobbed, clenching Jerome's shirt like clinging onto it could somehow save Jerome from sinking into death's awaiting grasp that was stronger than any man's. 

Okay. Jerome shouldn't joke around right now-- it was upsetting Wayne. That was okay, he didn't have to joke around all the time... he could be serious when he had to. 

"Hey..." Jerome murmured, reaching up to press his bloodied palm against Wayne's cheek. "come on, Wayne-- don't cry," He wiped away some of the tears pouring down the other' cheeks, smudging red from his fingertips against the pale skin. "I'd rather see ya' smile some!" Despite Jerome's encouraging grin, Wayne just let out another muffled sob, leaning into Jerome's hand. 

"You can't go, too," Wayne pleaded, Jerome's smile falling. "please-- I can't lose you, too." He begged, reaching up to grip Jerome's wrists with both hands, pushing his cheek into the palm and fingers tracing assuring patterns against his jawline. "Just try to hold on a little longer, okay? I'll stay with you until the ambulance gets here." 

The ambulance likely wasn't going to be of much use with the state Jerome was in even if it arrived now, but he didn't say that to Wayne, because instead Jerome said with a suddenly serious expression, "Thank you," Jerome was having trouble keeping his grasp on Wayne's cheek. "for tolerating me and all that," His arm felt heavy. "and giving me a real home for once," His arm felt numb. "and giving me something to give a shit about." His arm was really, REALLY cold. 

"Jerome, please-" Wayne shakily spoke up, not wanting Jerome to talk like he was about to- 

"I'm sorry for the bullshit I did," Jerome continued, because if there was one time to be sappy, it was now. "and it means a lot you gave me a chance," To not hesitate. "and I'm glad I got to do this, all right?" To be completely honest. "I'm glad I got to repay you or whatever." 

Wayne had given Jerome a good life, so Jerome had saved his. 

Jerome felt his hand begin to slide away from Wayne's cheek, hearing the boy persist through continuous cries, "No-- don't go, please- don't- Jerome, please, just-" Wayne had eyes rimmed red, and splotched pink over his cheeks and the tip of his nose, glossing eyes watering more, lips redder than usual. "Just hold on," There were sirens outside as Wayne began pressing both of his shaky hands against Jerome's wound while Jerome's hand just fell from his cheek. "they're almost here, so just-" There was too much blood. "Jerome please don't do this..." 

"I'm sorry," Jerome choked out, grasping at Wayne's hands trying to stop the bleeding from his stomach. "I don't want to leave ya'-" Jerome's eyes were glossy, too. 

"Then don't!" Wayne cried, whole body shaking. 

Jerome felt how the words he was trying to get out were becoming limited, shakily saying in a hoarse, weak voice, "I'm really glad I got to meet you, all right?" Jerome wanted to say this before... "It's been nice." There was so much more Jerome wanted to thank Wayne for in much more detail, but it was getting hard to- 

Jerome felt his body begin to feel like it was spinning and sinking, eyelids heavy, vision blurry, and a sick feeling in his gut growing. 

to... 

Jerome could just close his eyes for a second, right?

Wayne felt his stomach drop as Jerome's chest stopped rising and falling. 

"Jerome?" Wayne softly questioned, not receiving a reply and choking out a sob. "No no no, please don't-" Wayne pressed down on the wound harder. "Please don't do this, please-" He begged with a shaky voice. "Please don't go-" Wayne let out a broken noise while leaning down, grasping at Jerome's shirt as he buried his face against the other's neck. "Jerome please, you can't leave, too-- you can't-" Wayne felt himself falling apart as he didn't receive the slightest reply. "Please wake up- please-" He couldn't lose Jerome, too. "This isn't funny so just- just wake up and-" Wayne broke down sobbing as the EMTs rushed inside. "I forgive you, okay? It's okay-- you don't have to apologize, so just- just-" Wayne couldn't have this happen-- not again. "Please don't leave me-" The EMTs grasped at Wayne by his arms, trying to calm him. 

The ambulance was too late, and Wayne yelled and shouted and cried at them for it as they had to pry him away, before rushing Jerome outside. 

They were too late. 

Some things don't last forever. It seemed Jerome was one of those things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If AO3 is being iffy about showing updates, then feel free to follow my blog on Tumblr if you'd like since I've been making a post every time I update under the tag "Gotcha!Update", so that could be a more reliable source when it comes to checking up on new chapters! It mostly consists of Batman, DC, Spiderman, and Marvel content :) 
> 
> My Blog~ http://quellines-stories.tumblr.com 
> 
> Shout out to officeriddler! Your comments are so sweet, as always-- I really do appreciate your feedback :)


	36. Whittling a Tale

Wayne was sitting atop a wooden bench which was placed outside a courtroom, Alfred on his right and Detective Jim on his left, the trio quietly waiting to be called in. 

Jim was contemplating on something clearly concerning him, Alfred was giving a respectful silence that allowed his young Master B to decide whether he wanted to talk or not, and Wayne was just staring forward at the wall with glossy eyes rimmed red, the tip of his nose, splotches on his cheeks, and lips pinker than usual. 

It was clear Wayne had been crying, obvious Alfred felt guilty about how stiff he'd always been with Jerome, and evident Gordon was concerned about the type of verdict the boy could get. 

Wayne found himself touching his cheek every once in a while, recalling how Jerome had assured him everything was going to be okay while cradling his jaw. How Jerome had lied. How Jerome had lied for Wayne, even though that made it all the more worse. How Jerome had nonetheless put Wayne's fear about him breathing those last breaths before Jerome had put his own fear. How Wayne had begged Jerome to not leave him and probably sounded greedy; Wayne was convinced he should have asked Jerome to fight for himself instead of Wayne, as though that would have somehow saved him. 

It had been harder to scrub the blood off of Wayne's cheek than it had been to wash his hands of it. 

It had been odd-- going to sleep without Jerome laying on the mattress beside Wayne's bed. Wayne had found himself laying on the mattress instead and hugging Jerome's pillow so tightly with eyes squeezed shut that he almost convinced himself it was Jerome and not just an object he'd used for the substitution of comfort. 

Wayne felt sick. He felt like he was going to throw up. His legs felt like they wouldn't support him very well at all if he stood. The palms of his hands were sweaty, the inside of his throat was dry, and the feeling in his gut kept turning and jolting and sinking. Whenever he'd start to slightly calm and feel just a little bit better, his stomach would drop, and it would all hit once again, but ten times worse. 

While Wayne would have liked to go home, that wouldn't be a very likely option considering missing a court date was extremely consequential-- even in Gotham. 

A court date about why he'd been housing Jerome Valeska. The guy who held him hostage. Who held a knife to his throat. Who threatened to kill him on live T.V. 

Gordon had revealed if they told the truth, he'd lose his job, and Wayne would be taken away from Alfred, because to be fair, generally two adults shouldn't keep things such as a murderer's hideout a secret, although this- unlike the rest of the world- was Gotham, so... 

So... 

... 

... So, it was only natural to lie, as those generally do in Gotham. 

Jerome had broken into the manor to kill Wayne. Instead, Jerome made the choice to use Wayne's place as a hideout until his neck injury from Theo was healed. Wayne had to keep Jerome hidden from fear of Jerome threatening to send his copycats after Alfred if anything happened to him. Wayne eventually got Stockholm towards Jerome. 

That was the story. Wayne didn't like that story-- that lie. Jerome had done awful things, and Wayne wouldn't deny that. However, one of the things Jerome didn't do was treat Wayne awful in the least. It seemed insulting to pretend he did, regardless of reasoning, because Wayne felt like they could've came up with another story that didn't portray one of the good things about Jerome as one of the bad... Wayne just wasn't sure what the story should be considering he was still too emotional to make one. 

So, he was stuck with Gordon's story, because Wayne was letting his emotions take control of him, which was something Wayne really wanted to work on more so. 

When they were finally called into the court, Gordon and Alfred got up first, Wayne hesitating before swallowing dryly and breathing in deeply, trying to calm his shakes as he walked into the room with them, each being asked to affirm they would tell nothing but the truth before being seated. 

When Wayne sat down, he didn't look anywhere other than at his lap for a long, long while; he was worried people would see the signs plainly on his face that would confirm he'd been stifling sobs in the restroom ten minutes prior-- if they commented on it, he planned on blaming it on allergies. 

Hiding his face didn't do very much to cover up such nonetheless considering he could keep his face turned away from staring eyes, but he couldn't very well keep his sniffles and shaky exhales away from ears which couldn't help but to listen. 

Wayne attempted to quiet his breathing, but was so fatigued from the cries that had been overcoming him again and again lately without warning, and he had gotten so used to just letting everything out due to not being sure how to keep it in, so he couldn't quite quiet his breathing, and that frustrated him-- particularly in public. 

It was like Jerome had accidentally grasped at Wayne too tightly as he tried to hang onto the other so he wouldn't slip away, and in doing so had gone and cracked something in Wayne which kept all his emotions in check, and now they were just falling apart and spilling out uncontrollably, but Wayne couldn't figure out how to put any pieces sturdily back since they just wouldn't stick when they were soaked in tears. 

Wayne didn't blame Jerome for leaving him, of course. Didn't blame him for having such a hold on the other, that when he finally let go, the parts of Wayne he'd been holding together fell. For putting Wayne through the similar events of the alleyway all over again, when the poor boy had finally almost gotten not quite over the event, but at least content with it. 

He didn't blame Jerome for saving him. Didn't blame him for proving he could be a hero. For giving up everything for Wayne without hesitance. 

Wayne didn't blame Jerome in the least, because he blamed himself. 

Wayne blamed himself for not pushing Jerome back when the other went to shield him. Blamed himself for listening when Jerome told him to run, rather than staying and trying to help fight Theo off. For not finding a way to temporarily mend Jerome's injury or prioritizing calling the ambulance over getting away from Theo. 

Wayne blamed himself for just watching another person protect him, rather than at the very least trying to protect them in return. 

Alfred had been training Wayne to become a protector, and yet losing Jerome proved Wayne had failed at that. 

Wayne felt a sob building in his chest, his gut filling with dread, salty water gathering in his eyes, heat meeting his face, shakes going throughout him, and he tried to calm himself down by letting out a shaken sigh, sitting upright, and looking around the room to distract himself- 

Bluish gray eyes widened somewhat, Wayne tensing as his eyes landed on someone rather familiar, stomach dropping and lips parting in disbelief. 

What was Silver St. Cloud doing here?! 

Wayne had certainly succeeded in becoming too distracted to cry, only a single tear escaping his eye and rolling down his cheek, not even realizing it was there at first until the sound of the judge entering the room was causing him to quickly use his palm to brush away the droplet of water, giving a stuffy and shaky inhale while trying to gather himself, clearing his throat while looking forward at the woman taking a seat, briefly glancing back at Silver as she continuously refused to meet his gaze before returning his sights to the judge. 

"All rise." Stated the court officer with the name tag 'Jason Bard.' "The Gotham court is now in session. Honorable Judge Janet Surillo presiding." Bard added formerly. 

"Thank you, you may be seated." Judge Surillo permitted. "Court is now in session. We call case 08194266, the Gotham people versus Bruce Wayne is now in session. Is the prosecution ready?" She said while looking over the court. 

"Yes, you're honor." Answered a clammy man with greasy hair. 

"Is the defense ready?" Judge Surillo asked at that. 

"We are, your honor." Dent confirmed. 

"We will now hear opening statements from the prosecution." Judge Surillo informed. 

The rather pasty man with rather oily hair replied, "Thank you, your honor. Your honor, I'm Faden, and this is my co-council, Clay." He gestured to the tall and thin black haired man sitting beside him. "We represent the city of Gotham today. We'll be going over the case pertaining to how Mr. Wayne- the defendant- had been giving recent refuge to a murderer, Jerome Valeska, and after proving such we ask that he receive the verdict of guilty, your honor. Thank you." 

"Thank you, council. Would the defense like to give their opening statement now, or would they like to defer until the prosecution rests their case?" Judge Surillo questioned. 

"We would like to give our opening statement after the prosecution rests their case, your honor." Dent requested. 

Judge Surillo gave a nod and confirmed, "You may. Will the prosecution please call their first witness?" 

"Yes, your honor. Prosecution would like to call Silver St. Cloud to the stand." Prosecutor Fade announced while standing. 

"Silver St. Cloud, please take the stand." Judge Surillo instructed, the girl doing as told. 

Wayne couldn't help but glance back over at Silver, looking at how the girl swallowed dryly and hesitated before looking over at Wayne with an anxious expression of some kind, that being the first look she'd given his way during the court session, quickly looking away almost as soon as she'd looked towards when he caught her gaze, the girl wetting her lips and letting out a visibly shaky shaky breath before seeming to almost reluctantly do as told, keeping her eyes on the ground until she got to the stand, and when she finally looked up she looked anywhere but at Wayne. 

"Silver St. Cloud, please introduce yourself, and tell us a little bit about how you know the defendant." Prosecutor Fade directed as he sat down. 

"My name is Silver St. Cloud, and my uncle introduced me to Wayne." She finally glanced at the boy eying her over uncertainly, giving him an apologetic look. "I'm his ex." 

"Can you explain to the court why you're Mr. Wayne's ex, Silver?" Faden requested, earning narrowed eyes from Surillo and Dent, along with uncertain gazes from Alfred and Gordon, Wayne not having a very good feeling at all about this. 

Silver was obviously keeping her anxious gaze away from Wayne's questioning stare once more. "We broke up because he wanted to enter a relationship with Jerome Valeska." 

Dent nearly spit out the water he had gone to take a sip from, Surillo arching a brow, Alfred and Gordon exchanging taken aback looks before looking down at the Wayne that was staring at Silver in disbelief before shaking his head at the pair of adults staring at him. "I didn't-" He started, furrowing his brow and returning his sights to Silver to raise his voice and deny, "That's not-" 

"You will have a chance to defend yourself when you take the stand." Judge Surillo hushed, gesturing for a smug Faden to continue as Wayne reluctantly quieted. 

"Wayne told you he wanted to break up so he could enter a relationship with Jerome Valeska?" Faden continued casually. 

"Well, not exactly..." Silver denied. "he said he just wanted to take a break because he was having some personal problems going on, but he was pretty vague about what they were," What in the world was she talking about?! "I didn't want to pry, so I didn't ask," Wayne broke up with her because she'd been helping her uncle get to him and it was her fault Jerome got hurt by Oswald's rogue men! "I figured he'd just tell me what was going on whenever he felt comfortable enough." 

"So how exactly did you find out about Wayne and Valeska's relationship?" Faden inquired calmly. 

Silver paused before hesitantly answering, "I had left my favorite lipstick over there, and when I went to get it back, his butler let me in. I guess Wayne didn't realize I was visiting, because when I walked in on him and Jerome-" She cleared her throat, stiffly managing to get out, "-making out-", before continuing normally, "-on the bed, Wayne freaked out." What kind of bullshit lie... "Wayne said something about it being a secret, but I was pretty upset, so I didn't really listen to any of it and just... left." What did Silver gain from fibbing? Was she getting paid to do this for whatever reason? Was it some kind of revenge for him calling things off with her? 

Dent and his co-council Finch both turned to look at Wayne with raised brows, Alfred and Gordon staring at Silver ever so shocked at her words, even Surillo looking vaguely surprised, Wayne feeling his whole face heat up in embarrassment and anger and giving a defensive shrug, because he really wasn't sure what Silver was playing at. 

"Just to confirm, you are referring to the wanted criminal Jerome Valeska, correct?" Faden persisted musingly. 

"Yes," Silver confirmed. "the murderer that committed matricide, and then had his men take those at a charity event hostage-" She glanced at the glaring Wayne before quickly looking back at Faden. "-and took Wayne as his own hostage." 

"You're certain the boy Wayne was engaging in romantic gestures with is the same boy that kidnapped him?" Faden interrogated, just to be sure. 

"Without a doubt," Silver said with confidence. "on my way out, Jerome stopped me," Silver had come up with a whole story without an ounce of truth to it. "he slammed me against the wall with a knife to my throat, and said he couldn't have me going off and rambling about his hideout," Jerome had had plenty of chances to kill her, and he never took a single one of them. "Wayne just stood and watched while Jerome angled his knife towards my windpipe, but I managed to get away by shoving him back," Wayne never would have just stood back and watched Jerome kill someone-- it was an insulting claim. "it threw Jerome off balance, so he just grazed my neck, and I managed to run away from both of them," She was a good liar. A really good liar. "they stopped chasing me after I got through the garden," She gave a shrug. "I guess they didn't want to risk any witnesses seeing them." 

"One more question, Silver," Faden added, halting his pacing in front of the stand. "would you say Wayne was willingly engaging in romantic activities with Jerome, or were they reluctant?" 

Silver stopped herself from looking at the betrayed boy's face. "Willing. Jerome wasn't holding him down, and Wayne was kissing back." 

"That's all, your honor." Prosecutor Fade stated, walking back to his seat. 

"Thank you, council. Would the defense like to cross?" Judge Surillo inquired. 

"Yes, your honor." Dent confirmed while standing. 

"Please state your opening statement now, then." Judge Surillo directed. 

"Yes, your honor. Your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the court, my name is Harvey Dent, and this is my co-council, Carl Finch." Dent gestured towards the pepper haired male beside him. "Today, we are representing the defendant Bruce Wayne, in the case of the Gotham people versus Bruce Wayne. He's being accused of willingly housing a criminal, even though he was clearly in a state of Stockholm, which hindered his capability to make rational choices, and influenced his will. Your honor, we ask for a plea of insanity." 

Judge Surillo briefly considered his words before permitting, "You may now cross.", with a gesture towards Silver. 

Dent looked over his shoulder at Wayne quizzically, causing the distressed boy to mouth, 'She's lying!', earning a tired sigh from Dent as the attorney raised his brows exasperated while looking down at his paperwork and realizing this was certainly going to be a lot to analyze. 

"Where was Wayne's butler when all of this was occurring, Ms. Silver?" Dent interrogated while walking around to the front of his desk. 

"I'm not sure," Silver answered. "the only time I saw him that day was when he let me inside." 

"Surely the event made a lot of commotion," Dent countered. "Jerome and Wayne running after you... and I'm assuming you screamed for help?" 

Silver paused-- briefly. "It's a big house," She remained calm. "a mansion, really," Her words flowed from her lips with such ease Wayne almost believed her lies about he himself doing something he most certainly hadn't done. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was hard to hear things more than a few rooms down." 

Dent eyed Silver over. "You don't have a scar on your neck from where Jerome grazed you by any chance, do you?" 

Silver instinctively rubbed the right side of her neck. "No, it wasn't very deep, and healed up pretty quickly." 

"Well did you at least contact the GCPD about this incident?" Dent persisted. 

"No," Silver replied, prosecutors Faden and Clay shifting around uncomfortably, Judge Surillo straightening up, Gordon relaxing slightly at the caught bluff, Alfred letting out a sigh of relief at how her story had taken a turn, Wayne crossing his arms. "I couldn't bring the law in on it because my uncle Theo was a manipulative criminal that would have killed me if I had any contact with police since the smallest bit of contact for anything could have resulted in him accidentally slipping up somehow and getting caught," Dangit. "the only reason I'm even at this trial now is because I'm no longer in his clutches." 

Silver had saved her story. 

That is, she saved it until Dent said, "Didn't you get safely away from your uncle quite some time ago?" 

Silver swallowed thickly. "Yes..." 

"So why are you just coming forward about this now?" Dent questioned. 

Shit. "I-" Silver paused. "I was still shaken up about the whole incident, so I took some time to sort some personal things out before making the choice to speak up about it is all." 

"You didn't immediately report the whereabouts of a criminal when it was safe to do so because you had some 'personal things' to take care of?" Dent continued triumphantly. 

Silver didn't say anything for a few lengthy seconds. "Essentially..." 

Dent couldn't help but give a smirk. "We pass the witness, your honor." 

"Thank you, council. Would the prosecution like to redirect?" Judge Surillo offered. 

"No, your honor." Faden declined with a long exhale. 

"Silver St. Cloud, you may step down. Does the prosecution have any more witnesses to call?" Judge Surillo asked while Silver got up to return to her seat, the girl keeping her eyes on the ground and not returning Wayne's stare. 

"No, your honor-- the prosecution rests." Prosecutor Faden replied. 

"Thank you, council. The defense may call their first witness to the stand." Judge Surillo informed. 

"The defense calls James Gordon to the stand." Dent requested while getting back up. 

"James Gordon, please take the stand." Judge Surillo instructed, the Detective giving a nod and getting up, walking towards the stand; he'd done this plenty of times before. 

"Would you please state your name for the benefit of the court?" Dent asked properly while Gordon sat down. 

"I'm detective Jim Gordon." 

"Can you confirm that you were assigned the Waynes' Murder case, the Charity Ball hostage situation involving Valeska and the defendant, as well as Valeska's death investigation?" 

"I can." Jim certified. 

"You worked with Mr. Wayne during each of these cases, correct?" 

"Yes." 

"Did anything stand out to you in any of these cases?" 

"Wayne's behavior," Jim answered without hesitance. "during the Waynes' Murder case and briefly after the Charity Ball situation, he was always very honest about how he was reacting from traumatic events," Jim had admittedly done a lot of things he probably shouldn't have in the GCPD, so going along with this story to be sure Wayne didn't get in trouble wasn't that bad in the least. "a while after the charity situation had gone by, he started acting differently." 

"How so?" Dent inquired. 

"He couldn't look me in the eye anymore, and every time I'd ask him something he'd hesitate before answering." Jim glanced at the watching boy before returning his gaze to Dent and adding, "He started wearing long sleeved shirts and jeans in hot weather, too." 

Wayne felt his gut drop; they'd agreed on making it sound like Wayne had Stockholm-- not that he'd been physically abused. Jerome would have never harmed Wayne, and Wayne didn't want to act like he had... he didn't want to ruin the image of Jerome more than it had already been ruined. 

"Are you suggesting that Wayne's attire was used to cover up areas Jerome had injured him?" Dent knowingly asked. 

"Most likely," Jim confirmed. "he started dressing like that about the same time Jerome would have been staying at his place," Jim could feel the hurt look Wayne was giving him despite not meeting his gaze. "I figured it was just a fashion statement since a lot of kids his age dress 'cool' even if it's uncomfortable to fit in, but now that I look back at it, I'm almost certain he was hiding whatever Jerome had done to him." Jim had to make it sound realistic, regardless of how much he had to ink up Jerome's already frowned upon image. 

"Why do you feel Wayne didn't confide in you and inform you of what was going on?" Dent continued. "You are a cop he trusts, after all." 

"Cases like these generally involve the attacker threatening the victim's loved ones," Jim began to explain. "Wayne was probably afraid Alfred would be killed if he spoke up," He gave a shrug. "there's also the fear that the attacker won't be jailed, or will eventually get out of jail and come for the victim for telling on them." 

Dent used Silver's story to his advantage. "Surely Wayne wouldn't willingly be engaging in romantic activities with his attacker, as Ms. Silver revealed," He gave Jim a look while adding, "not to mention the EMT' claims of how he was sobbing over Jerome and trying to help him upon their arrival." 

The EMTs who had reported Wayne were the cause of this entire mess. 

Jim got the hint. "It seems like Wayne probably got a case of Stockholm, in this case." 

Dent gave a nod at that. "What exactly in Stockholm, Detective Gordon?" 

"It's where someone being held against their will becomes sympathetic towards their attacker," Jim defined. "generally, their attacker grooms them into becoming dependent on them in some shape or form, so they're manipulated into liking the attacker to ease some sort of emotional or physical pain their attacker is inflicting onto them, and generally good behavior is rewarded with less pain among other things overall." 

"Is it safe to assume the victim isn't in their right mind in such a state?" Dent questioned. 

"Absolutely," Jim said instantly. "they're in a forced submissive state that they often don't realize is being forced until they're in recovery." 

"Why would this excuse Wayne of housing Valeska, then?" Dent continued. 

"Because he was in a state of mind where his actions were being subtly influenced by Jerome, who controlled him by making clear what he did and didn't generally approve of, which caused Wayne to act out how he wanted due to acting out how he'd been taught to by whatever methods of reinforcement Jerome used." 

"It almost sounds like having Stockholm is like basing everything you do on what you're told, rather than your ethics on what's right and wrong." Dent casually commented. 

"Essentially, that's what it is." Jim confirmed. "Your morals are forced to be whatever the attacker wants them to be, and it's a lot like retraining a pet." A pause. "You have the illusion of free will, because as long as your attacker is there keeping you in check, they're actually the ones making both of your calls." 

Wayne wasn't Jerome's pet-- why did they have to say that? They didn't have to go that far, did they? They were pretending Jerome had treated him like a child needing to be behaved, and that wasn't at all what things with Jerome had been like. 

Wayne didn't want to act like Jerome did that to him-- Wayne had willingly befriended Jerome, and he didn't want to pretend he had been forced to be by his side. 

Jerome had been a lot of things, but none of the things they were calling him. 

"We pass the witness, your honor." Dent closed, returning to his chair. 

"Thank you, council. Is the prosecution ready to cross?" Judge Surillo questioned. 

"We are, your honor." Prosecutor Faden confirmed with a stand. 

"You may begin." Judge Surillo allowed. 

"Are you a psychiatrist, Gordon?" Faden asked while making his way around his desk. 

Jim already got where this was going as he answered, "No." 

"A psychologist?" 

"No." 

"A licensed therapist, then?" 

"No." 

"Do you have any major or certificate of any kind involving any field of psychology?" 

"No." Jim sighed through his teeth. 

"Then what qualifies you to claim the defendant behaves the way he did due to Stockholm?" Faden concluded. 

"Because I've handled countless cases involving mentally ill individuals." Jim retorted. 

"Yes, but you've never had to diagnose any of those individuals, have you?" Faden countered. "You've only had to apprehend them, correct?" 

"As true as that might be, there are illnesses aren't that hard to recognize," Jim persisted. "Stockholm is one of them." 

"Considering you're not a psychologist of any kind, that's your unprofessional opinion, correct?" Faden continued smugly. 

"As a detective who's had to work with those experiencing psychological illnesses, I'd say it's my professional opinion." 

Faden gave a smirk at how obvious it was Jim was bullshitting that last part. "We pass the witness, your honor." The prosecutor said while making his way back over towards his seat. 

"Thank you, council. Would the defense like to redirect?" Judge Surillo asked. 

"Yes, briefly your honor." Dent answered, getting up once more, barely off his seat as he said, "Detective Gordon, you said there are mental illnesses which you don't consider hard to diagnose-- care to give a few examples?" 

Jim had been put on the spot, but he managed. "Usually I can identify things like OCD, PTSD, and psychosis right away," He straightened up. "things where people have Stockholm, are bipolar, or have multiple personalities are usually pretty easy to identify after calming them down and talking with them," Jim was confident. Sometimes a little too confident-- whether or not he was too much so in this case wasn't certain yet. "I usually leave compulsive lying and sociopathic or psychopathic aspects up to the professionals to determine, however." 

"And after talking to Wayne about what went on with Jerome, you're confident it's Stockholm?" Dent asked just to be sure. 

"Yes." Jim said without an ounce of doubt in his voice. 

"We pass the witness, your honor." Dent informed while turning to go back to his seat, that being all he wanted to ask. 

"Thank you, council. Would the prosecution like to cross?" Judge Surillo offered.

"No, your honor." Prosecutor Faden declined. 

"Thank you, council. Mr. Gordon, you may sit down. Does the defense have any more witnesses to call?" Judge Surillo inquired as Gordon went back to his seat beside Wayne. 

"Yes, your honor-- we would like to call Alfred Pennyworth to the stand." Dent replied, pushing his chair out from underneath him as he stood. 

"Alfred Pennyworth, please take the stand." Judge Surillo directed, the butler standing, giving Wayne a reassuring grasp on his upper arm and a promising look before making his way to the front of the court. 

"Could you please state your name and relation to Mr. Wayne for the benefit of the court?" Dent requested as Alfred sat down. 

"I'm Alfred Pennyworth, and I'm Master Wayne's guardian and butler." 

"Had you noticed anything strange about Wayne's behavior?" Dent asked, getting right to it. 

"He did start acting a bit funny not too long after the charity event." Alfred confirmed. 

"During the period of time Jerome was there?" Dent questioned. 

"Yes, about that time." Alfred answered. 

"What exactly did you find 'funny' about his behavior during that time?" Dent inquired. 

"Well he started locking his door for one," Alfred began to explain. "and he started constantly coming to check up on me several times a day before just up and leaving afterwards," Alfred paused. "he got fairly skinny, too." 

"Did any of this concern you?" Dent questioned. 

"It was a bit peculiar, but it didn't go and send off red flags or anything like that," Alfred waved off. "I reckoned he was just trying to be more like a teenager, you know? Wanting privacy, not wanting to talk much and being on his way when he just so happened to enter in the same room as me, and dieting and whatnot." 

"After finding out Wayne's behavior had a shift during the time Jerome was there, do you still feel those were the reasons for his new attitude?" Dent continued to question. 

"Not in the least," Alfred declined. "now that I look back at it, he was probably locking the door to be sure Jerome didn't get caught, and checking up on me to be sure the boy forcing him to keep quiet about his hideout there hadn't gone off and killed me." Alfred straightened up. "In fact, I'd be willing to bet Wayne went and got so skinny because he was sneaking a good portion of his meals to Jerome." 

Wayne abruptly got the impulse to shout about how he'd willingly given Jerome a place in his home. Wayne restrained that impulse. 

"Did Wayne's behavior change emotionally during this period of time, Mr. Pennyworth?" Dent persisted calmly. 

"It most certainly did," Alfred answered. "twice, at that." 

Dent arched a brow. "Twice?" 

"Yes," Alfred confirmed. "when this whole shenanigan began, Wayne always had a stiff posture, and would jump at the smallest sounds, movements, or touches, and he'd always be looking over his shoulder like he was expecting something. He was more anxious than a cat being held over water." A pause. "After a while of that, he began to get more sarcastic, and got defensive when I brought up how he barely came out of his room, and began giving comments on how butlers could be replaced. I'd never seen Master Wayne so snide." 

"Essentially, it sounds like he went from reluctantly obeying Jerome's behavior out of caution, to eventually behaving similarly to Jerome after enough time went by for the grooming to take place, correct?" Dent asked just to be sure. 

"Correct." Alfred affirmed. 

"We pass the witness, your honor." Dent finished, returning to his bench. 

"Thank you, council. Would the prosecution like to cross?" Judge Surillo questioned. 

"We would, your honor." Prosecutor Faden spoke up, making his way towards the stand while saying, "How long have you been the defendant's guardian, Mr. Pennyworth?" 

Alfred pondered for a moment. "Well, I was working as the Wayne family butler quite a good while before he was born," He shifted around in his seat. "although I didn't legally become his guardian until the death of Martha and Thomas Wayne almost three years ago." 

"I'd assume you've grown rather attached to this boy after such a long time of caring for him?" Faden predicted. 

"I certainly have," Alfred answered without hesitance. "I consider him my own son." 

Faden gave a nod of amusement. "Your own son..." He mused quietly before speaking up to say, "Is it safe to assume you're close enough with the defendant, you'd be willing to do anything for him?" A pause. "Even lie in court?" 

Dent abruptly stood while speaking up to say, "Objection, your honor-- leading question. The witness already stated his relationship to the defendant, and the prosecution is using unproven rhetorical-" 

"Objection overruled. Continue." Judge Surillo interjected, Dent pursing his lips and sitting back down. 

The corners of Faden's lips vaguely tugged upwards, but only briefly, and if you blinked you would have missed it. "Please answer the question, Mr. Pennyworth." 

Alfred visibly looked uncomfortable. "I'd say there's no greater a risk of me lying for my boy in court than for a parent of their child by blood to do so." 

"True," Faden admitted with a shrug. "although that risk can be significantly high," Faden eyed Alfred over. "not to mention there's an added risk of you being loyal to a fault due to whatever your salary is when you care for such a wealthy client," He seemed to stare right through Alfred, like he was searching for a reaction. "those two risks combined are rather high, wouldn't you agree?" 

"They could be if a man put his interests before the law." Alfred defensively answered. 

"You consider yourself a lawful man?" Faden interrogated calmly. 

"Absolutely." Alfred confidently assured. 

"Then you're aware lying in court in attempts to save your 'son' and employer is against the law, and could result in you having to hand over this boy you care so much about to Social Services, which would halt your income as well correct?" Faden was aware Alfred cared primarily about Wayne or the money, and that could be a motive to lie, however he wasn't sure which of the two outweighed the other, so he stuck with going after both. 

"I am." Alfred somewhat uneasily answered. 

"You're aware that if you are lying, admitting so now would be your best bet at avoiding those consequences, as well as avoiding possible jail time for yourself?" 

"I'm not lying." Alfred insisted a bit snappily. It was just another lie, after all... he'd already told quite a few, so what was one more fib? 

Faden straightened up, looking like a prissy arse to Alfred as the prosecutor said, "We pass the witness, your honor. 

"Thank you, council. Would the defense like to redirect?" Judge Surillo offered. 

Dent and Finch paused, the pair looking at one another before briefly discussing something under their breaths, finally pulling back afterwards and hesitating before Dent finally answered in reluctance, "No thank you, your honor." 

"Thank you, council. Mr. Pennyworth, you may sit down. Does the defense have any more witnesses to call to the stand?" Judge Surillo said while Alfred returned to his seat beside Wayne. 

"Yes, your honor. We would like to call the defendant, Bruce Wayne, to the stand." Dent revealed, and he was doing quite a bit of standing and then sitting back down, as the majority of attorneys tend to do. 

"Bruce Wayne, please take the stand." Judge Surillo directed, Wayne glancing at the reassuring stare Dent gave him and earning a gentle nudge against his knee from Gordon, as well as a pat on the back from Alfred, returning his gaze to the awaiting judge and reluctantly doing as told. 

"Go with Silver's story." Dent whispered as Wayne walked by him, wanting the boy to use it to his advantage, yet receiving no confirmation that Wayne would do so. 

Wayne had gone through all of this after the event in the alleyway, and now he was going through all of it again. 

"Please state your name for the benefit of the court." Dent requested when Wayne sat down. 

"My name is Bruce Wayne." 

"Mr. Wayne-" Dent started. 

"I was held hostage by Jerome and eventually befriended him because he grew on me for a reason I can't explain," Wayne interjected, earning an arched brow from Dent. "he threatened to kill Alfred if he found out I told anyone, and threatened to kill me after getting out of jail if he got caught." Wayne just wanted to get this over with. "Since being separated from him, I realized Detective Gordon was probably right about me being a victim of Stockholm, because looking back at it, I'm not sure why I became so close with my kidnapper." Wayne had gone to court the first time he lost those close to him, and now he was going once again for the same thing-- only this time, he was the one being accused guilty, and he was lying. "However, what Jerome and I had was strictly platonic, and in no way romantic." Wayne would lie about Jerome being a kidnapper that had threatened him to keep him in line, but he wouldn't lie about Jerome preying on him when one of the few morals Jerome had was being sure to not take advantage of Wayne. Wayne wouldn't soil who Jerome was THAT much. 

It was Wayne's way of paying his respects to Jerome. 

The expression Dent was giving made it clear he would have preferred Wayne waiting for him to question him, rather than just blurting his entire defense out. 

Nonetheless, Dent inquired in a hint-hint kind of way, "Things were only platonic between you and Jerome your entire time of being acquainted with one another?" It was obvious it would be easier to just go with Silver's story. 

"Yes," Wayne stubbornly answered nonetheless. "I'm not sure at all why Silver would lie about something like that." He added with an irked tone while giving a glare to the guilt ridden looking Silver. 

Well, okay... that hadn't gone as Dent would have liked it to, but at least it was brief, and Wayne had covered everything, even if it was covered in a way Dent wasn't very fond of. "We pass the witness, your honor." 

"Thank you, council. Would the prosecution like to cross?" Judge Surillo asked. 

"Yes, your honor." Prosecutor Faden answered with a stand, stalking his way towards Wayne with confident strides that made the boy eye him over warily, not speaking until he had halted in front of his stand and was placing a hand atop the tabletop, casually invading Wayne's personal space as he all too calmly said, "When exactly was it that you began seeing Jerome Valeska as less of a kidnapper, and more of a 'friend', Mr. Wayne?" 

Wayne didn't flinch, staying upright in his seat, staring Faden down, standing his ground. "About a few months after being held hostage by him." 

"About?" Faden questioned intimidatingly. 

"I'm not sure when the exact date was," Wayne defended. "I didn't even realize when I started trusting him at first-- it was all a blur where I just kind of suddenly realized I'd gotten close to him." 

Faden didn't break Wayne's gaze for a long while, seeming to stare right into him, finally pulling back and beginning to pace the room while continuing, "Can you tell us a little bit about what exactly it was like when he held you hostage before you grew close to him?" 

Wayne didn't want to do this, but he did. "He just threatened me a lot is all." That earned a look from Dent. 

"Only threatened?" Faden questioned. "You mean you tell me he never harmed you?" Dent was giving Wayne a pleading stare. "Because claiming he never touched you certainly contradicts what Pennyworth and Gordon said about you wearing those clothes to cover up markings from him. 

Wayne hesitated, glancing at Dent and catching the attorney was desperately trying to convey to him to go along with the story through his expression, causing Wayne to reluctantly correct, "I meant he wouldn't punch me or anything like that," Dent and his co-council Finch were on the edge of their chairs. "but he'd squeeze places I could cover up like my throat, wrists, and legs until they bruised and stuff like that if he felt like I was going to tell police or something, just to remind remind me who I was dealing with, I suppose." Dent and Finch visibly relaxed at Wayne's lie. 

"Would he still do those types of things after you grew close to him and began keeping him there because you wanted to, rather than because you were supposedly being forced to?" Faden persisted patiently. 

Wayne was getting better at lying, but this wasn't the kind of stuff he wanted to lie about. "Sometimes, but not as much," Wayne gave a shrug, and kept lying. "he'd mostly just do it for fun and stuff." 

"He found strangling you fun?" Faden commented at that. 

"He found having control over me fun." Wayne retorted. 

Faden gave a nod, pondering on Wayne's words. "Did Valeska's behavior towards you change at all when he realized you were becoming close to him, instead of being afraid of him?" 

Wayne swallowed thickly, averting his gaze to his lap. "Yes," He felt sick going along with this story. "he started punishing me less for doing something he viewed as out of line, and began rewarding me more the closer I got to him." 

"Rewarding?" Faden spoke expectantly. 

Wayne felt like he was betraying Jerome by painting him like this. "He'd take care of my bruises while apologizing and telling me he was glad I was by his side." Wayne felt like he was disrespecting Jerome by doing this. "Praises, essentially. 

Faden halted, staring at Wayne down once more. "Yet Jerome's behavior towards you was never romantic or sexual?" 

Dent suddenly stood while quickly saying, "Objection, your honor-- hearsay. The defendant already stated their answer for this question, and regardless of his answer which shouldn't have an influence either way, they're trying to get him to state evidence outside of what's necessary to this trial pertaining to whether or not he-" 

"Objection overruled. Continue." Judge Surillo paused before glancing at the anxious Wayne and adding, "But get to your point briefly, Faden-- if I feel your questioning becomes unnecessary, I won't hesitate to sustain you." 

Dent let out a sigh under his breath as he settled back into his seat. 

Faden gave a smirk, redirecting his gaze to Wayne and waiting expectantly for an answer, the boy oh so consistently stubbornly answering, "No, never. We never exchanged any romantic or 'sexual' gestures, and I find it offensive you're persisting in this area when it's a rather personally insulting question I already answered, which is inappropriate to linger on." Why couldn't Faden just leave this ONE thing alone? 

"I'm only confirming that no suggestive interactions from either side were at any time acted out in any way, because from my understanding Stockholm generally results in such, does it not?" 

Wayne was becoming pissed off, and it showed. "I'm not sure what Stockholm cases generally result in, all I know is what mine resulted in, and that is nothing more than platonic behavior." 

"Why deny what Ms. Cloud revealed to us?" Faden persisted, referring to her claim of catching them in a rather compromising position. 

"Because it's not true-" Wayne snapped, voice raising. 

"Why in the world would Ms. Cloud lie about such a thing when she has nothing to gain from-" 

"I don't-" Wayne started to defend. 

"Objection!" Dent called out again, his chair screeching out from underneath him as he stood. 

"Sustained." Surillo agreed, looking at Faden and saying, "Either ask the defendant questions he hasn't claimed to not know the answer to, or pass the witness on, Faden." 

"We pass the witness." Prosecutor Faden casually waved off with a triumphant smirk you'd have to squint to see, promptly returning to his seat; he'd made his subtle view clear on Wayne's faulty story. 

"Thank you, council. Would the defense like to redirect?" Judge Surillo offered, looking at Dent patiently. 

"Yes, your honor." Dent instantly confirmed, and Wayne already got what was coming even before Dent said, "What would you define as romantic gestures, Wayne?" 

Dent wanted to help Wayne backtrack so he could strengthen his case by just going with Silver's accusation, rather than denying it and having to prove she was lying for whatever reason she was doing so. 

Wayne did not want to go with Silver's story. He did not want to say Jerome had taken advantage of him. He did not want to ruin the already tainted image Jerome had left with Gotham city-- not when Wayne was aware doing so in such a way would be misrepresenting everything he'd found Jerome was over their course of becoming willing friends. Wayne wanted to respect Jerome by not doing that, in the very least. 

However, Wayne also realized that if him denying this lie was what caused them to lose the case, then it would be his fault for Alfred having his rights as his guardian taken away, Gordon being dismissed from the GCPD, and Dent facing the risks of going along with this as his first and likely only exception to his crystal clear record as a good attorney. 

If just Wayne was at risk, he would have lied, but it wasn't just him. 

So, Wayne reluctantly obliged with Dent's pleading stare by going along with his plan. 

Wayne let Dent help him backtrack into admitting the lie that Jerome had taken advantage of him. 

Wayne went along with Silver's lie. 

Wayne lied, and said, "Romantic gestures are just stuff you do when dating someone." 

"So you don't believe gestures can be romantic outside of dating?" Dent asked, relieved Wayne had taken the bait. 

"Correct." Wayne lied, his eyes glossing over. 

"So what would you call Jerome doing something such as-" Dent cleared his throat. "-kissing you, for example, if you two weren't dating?" 

Wayne gave a weak shrug and lied, "Benefits of being close friends that just want to try stuff like that out for fun?" 

"Did you and Jerome ever 'try stuff like that out'?" 

"A few times." Wayne lied, eyes watering up. 

"Could you give me an example to verify what you're referring to so the court can be sure we're talking about the same-" 

"Kissing." Wayne interjected with a lie, his voice hoarse. 

"And you didn't consider that romantic since you weren't explicitly dating?" 

"It wasn't romantic," Wayne confirmed, and continued to lie, salty liquid stinging his eyes. "just intimate." 

"I'm assuming Jerome generally initiated the intimate gestures?" 

"Yes," Wayne felt like that was one of the bigger lies, swallowing thickly. "but it's not like I didn't like it." 

"Were you initially fond of the attention, or did it take time to accept it?" 

Wayne's vision blurred with water as he lied, "It took me a while to become comfortable with it." 

"Did Jerome give you time with getting comfortable?" Dent continued, giving Wayne a reassuring look to signal they were almost done. 

"Not really," Another big lie. "but you can't have fun if you just stay in your comfort zone," Wayne forced a smile. "so it was okay," Wayne hated himself for sounding and acting so believable. "Jerome was just a little impatient and I was just a little introverted, so we balanced each other out." He felt a droplet escape his eyes brimming with water and roll along his cheek. "What Silver caught us doing was an intimate thing we did when we got bored and stuff, but not romantic like she made it sound." 

"We pass the witness." Dent finally said at that, giving Wayne a satisfied nod of encouragement and walking back to his seat with a hop in his step. 

"Thank you, council. Would the prosecution like to cross?" Judge Surillo questioned. 

Faden and Clay hesitated, the pair leaning towards one another to briefly discuss something under their breaths. 

"No, your honor." Faden declined while pulling back. 

"Thank you, council. Mr. Wayne, you may sit down. Does the defense have any more witnesses to call to the stand?" She inquired as Wayne let out a shaky exhale of relief through his nose and went to sit back in his place between Alfred and Gordon. 

"No, your honor-- the defense rests our case." Dent said, ready to wrap things up. 

"Thank you, we will now hear closing statements on behalf of the City of Gotham." Judge Surillo permitted. 

Prosecutor Clay stood rather than Faden that time to say, "Your honor, today we have proven that Mr. Wayne is guilty of breaking the law by giving refuge to a wanted criminal. We ask for the verdict of guilty." 

"Thank you, council. Would you like to save any remaining time for rebuttal?" Judge Surillo questioned. 

"No, thank you." Clay answered while taking a seat. 

"Defense, you may give your closing." Judge Surillo allowed. 

Dent's partner- Finch- stood that time to say, "Thank you. Your honor, today the prosecution have only proved Mr. Wayne did indeed house a criminal, however they failed to prove he did it of his own free will, because he quite simply did not. He was being held against his will and forced to do as a criminal threatened him to, and was not in his right state of mind when housing him due to being unstable from Stockholm. We ask for an insanity plea." 

"Thank you. All rise, the court will now be in recess while I deliberate." Judge Surillo dismissed. 

"We have about half an hour before she's going to give the ruling," Dent revealed, approaching the Wayne with his butler on his right and his detective on his left, resting a hand on the boy's upper arm while assuring, "don't worry, you did good." 

Wayne didn't know whether to be relieved or ashamed he did well in his court case by lying about his murdered best friend taking advantage of him despite Jerome always being sure to do quite the opposite; mostly, Wayne only felt sick about the whole thing. 

So, Wayne just nodded at Dent's words, averting his gaze and swallowing dryly before politely shrugging off his grasp and shuffling back somewhat, not wanting to be near anyone-- not Dent, not Gordon, and not even Alfred. 

Wayne just wanted to go home and be by himself, rather than around this crowded courthouse that he'd gone to for the alleyway event, and for Jerome's... 

No, Wayne couldn't focus too heavily on that-- he didn't want to risk crying in front of all these strangers. Generally, Wayne had gotten to where the only ones he'd let his emotions out around being Jerome and Selina, however Jerome was gone now, and Selina seemed to be avoiding him along with everyone else, not to mention this particular event hit Wayne harder than any of the other incidents he'd faced since that night in the alleyway, so Wayne just wasn't sure how to keep the sobs beating against his chest down anymore, but he managed for the most part, because little by little he was gradually getting better at keeping his emotions in check. 

It was tolerable. It ached, but it was tolerable. 

"Not all of Gotham will view Jerome the way we have to portray him, Wayne," Jim tried to assure, keeping his voice low enough to be sure no one listening in would hear him. "we know he wasn't THAT bad of a person," Jim wasn't fond of Jerome in the least, but he had an ounce of respect for how many times the criminal had looked out for Wayne. "so does your friends-" 

"Enough of Gotham will view him however we portray him, though." Wayne interjected, not wanting to listen to this when the words of comfort brought little comfort to him, particularly by a man who hated Jerome at times, the boy rubbing the brimming water out of his eyes as he abruptly stormed off. 

"Wayne-" Alfred objected, speed walking after him. 

"I'll be back before the recess ends," Wayne waved off, walking away faster. "I just want to be left alone for a little while." He snappily pleaded, causing Alfred to reluctantly come to a halt as Wayne continued on until finally reaching the restroom. 

Wayne shoved open the bathroom door, causing it to slam into the wall, the boy wincing at the noise while stumbling towards the faucet to grasp tightly at its edges as the door closed behind him, leaning over the countertop sink he clung at tightly, whole body shaking as a wash of regret overcame him, a choked sob leaving his lips, tears streaming down his cheeks and splashing onto the countertop, legs threatening to give out if he so much as briefly pulled back from the sink being the only thing holding him up, the arms keeping him standing buckling underneath him as he let out another cry, and shit this was just as bad as the last time he'd gone through this. 

Both times he'd gone through this were Wayne's own fault, or at least that's what he was convinced of. If Wayne had just finished watching that silly musical instead of asking if they could go catch a movie that looked kinda' cool instead, then he wouldn't have had to face a robbery gone wrong. If Wayne had just not allowed Jerome to take Azrael's blade for him, then Jerome would be in his manor making jokes about how Theo couldn't just stay down because he was too dramatic. 

If Wayne knew how to fight, he could have fought off Joe Chill, and fought off Azrael, and that's why Wayne was so intent on the training he and Alfred had been going through-- Wayne had already lost three people because he was too weak to protect them, and Wayne was going to do all he could to be sure that didn't happen anymore. 

The prince of Gotham wanted to become the Knight of Gotham, and he was going to do it to keep those around him safe. 

For now though, all Wayne could do was let out uncontrollable sobs and shakes, and he hated that was all he could do for now. 

This went on for about five minutes. 

The sound of a toilet flushing was heard, Wayne swallowing thickly and biting down on his lower lip, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to steady his shakes, digging his nails into the countertop sink, using the back of his hand to wipe away the abundance of tears on his cheeks, trying to brush the remaining gathering water in his eyes away as well, not wanting to be caught like this even though his eyes rimmed red, pink tip of his nose, blush spreading over his cheeks, and lips rosier than usual would make it evident he'd been crying, particularly when the person in the stall also probably heard how Wayne had been sobbing rather loudly. 

The stall door opened, Wayne clearing his throat and turning on the faucet, not daring to look at the stranger out of embarrassment as he leaned over to gather the cold water in the palms of his hands, splashing it onto his face to cool some of the splotches of pink down. 

As the guy washed his hands a few sinks away from Wayne, the boy couldn't help but relax at the feeling of icy water washing away his tears and cooling his heated face, even if he only relaxed slightly. 

When the man finally left, Wayne straightened up, giving a slight sniffle while turning off the faucet, letting out a shaky breath while sliding his eyes shut, taking a few lengthy seconds to calm himself. 

Five minutes of avoiding the stranger had one by. 

Wayne could do thi- 

Yeah, no, Wayne was going to be sick by the second wave of guilt that suddenly washed over him. 

The boy rushed over to an open stall, not even bothering to shut it as he gripped the porcelain edges of the toilet and knelt over. 

It wasn't a pretty sight, and what made it worse was it was in a public restroom. At least it was a pristine court one, however, and not, like... a bathroom in a gas station or something. 

When Wayne finally felt well enough to stand again after his stomach finished calming, he stood back up, flushing the toilet and swaying somewhat from how woozy he was, the poor boy feeling somewhat out of it as he went back over to the sink to wash off his hands and face. 

That had taken up about five additional minutes. 

Wayne began to feel like he was dissociating as he walked over to the far side of the restroom to slide with his back against the tile wall to sit on the cold floor, eyes still somewhat watery but not overflowing, stomach achy but not nauseous, body shaking from the state he was in rather than sobs. 

When about five minutes went by of being sure he wasn't going to be sick or start crying again, Wayne finally forced himself to shakily stand, take in a deep inhale, and straighten up, making his way towards the door and walking out. 

Ten more minutes until the recess was over. 

Five of those ten minutes Wayne spent avoiding Dent, Jim, and Alfred since he didn't really feel like talking with anyone. 

Another five of those minutes had to do with how Wayne spotted Silver St. Cloud also standing alone, and suddenly all Wayne wanted to do was talk. 

Wayne wanted to talk about a lot, in fact. 

Silver saw the way that Wayne was storming over towards her, and it became clear Wayne did not want to have a nice talk. 

"Why did you lie to the court about something like that?!" Wayne hissed under his breath as soon as he reached the girl, because Wayne could have played it off about him having Stockholm in a platonic way to at least portray Jerome as someone who didn't take advantage of him in order to respect what was left of Jerome, but no-- Silver had claimed Jerome and Wayne were a thing, so now Wayne had to further soil Jerome's already tainted image Gotham had of the prince of crime by going along with it, since claiming Silver was just straight up lying could very well result in them finding Wayne was doing the same if they investigated that little aspect of who was and wasn't lying enough, which were consequences Wayne couldn't risk when it wasn't just him that would get in trouble for lying-- not when Alfred, Jim, and Dent could be put at risk, too. 

Silver was the reason Wayne had to choose between respecting Jerome in his own way with this whole mess, or protecting Alfred, Jim, and Dent from the consequences if he did so, and he wanted to know what in the world she had to gain from coming in and making up a story like that. 

Had someone paid her? Was Silver getting back at Wayne for breaking up with her manipulative ass? Was this somehow in benefit to someone in Silver's family that she was oh so devoted to? Wayne wasn't sure, but he was damn well going to figure out what it was, because he could have paid her more and she knew it, this wasn't the time or way to get back at him and while she could be an ass she didn't seem bad enough to do something like this, and it seemed like she'd realized quite a bit of her family was shit, so why- 

Silver parted her lips to answer, but it was a man from the other side of the hallway who had been casually texting someone as Wayne had approached the girl that suddenly slipped his phone into his pocket while striding his way over to them to reply with an apologetic chuckle, "Oh dear, are you the boy she's gone and testified against?" 

Wayne quirked a brow, looking over the balding man with glistening black glasses that had firmly asserted himself by the tensing Silver as the girl quickly averted her widened eyes to the ground, not initially realizing the man that had been standing off to the side was apparently with her. 

"Who are you?" Wayne inquired warily, not answering the question. 

The man just smiled at that, reaching out his hand, and for a brief second Wayne felt like this guy was about to grab him, having to stop himself from retreating back whence realizing the tall male was only offering a handshake as he spoke in a friendly tone, "I'm Quincy Sharp, Warden of Gotham city's finest mental institution Arkham Asylum." 

Wayne blinked at that, glancing at the quiet Silver before returning his gaze to Quincy; how in the world were these two acquainted? "I'm-" 

"Oh I'm aware of who you are, Mr. Wayne," Quincy amusedly assured before Wayne even finished his greeting. "your generous funding is what keeps Arkham afloat!" 

Wayne eyed Quincy over skeptically, noting Silver's worried expression and narrowing his eyes at Quincy while saying, "How exactly do you and Silver know each other?" 

Quincy's smile went a lot less nice, yet it stayed on. "Oh, you haven't heard?" He straightened up, placing his hand on her back and earning an instinctive wince from the girl, Wayne frowning at that. "Poor Silver had to be institutionalized after everything her cruel uncle put this sweet girl through," Silver looked up at Wayne, meeting his gaze with a desperate stare that made it clear she was attempting to silently convey something to him. "she was behaving so well before she heard you were going to trial, and the next thing we knew she was missing from her quarters!" 

Wayne was trying to piece together whatever it was Silver was obviously wanting him to. "I see..." Had Silver gone and made that story up because she was mentally unstable or something? Did she possibly believe it had really happened? Did she feel like something bad would happen if she didn't make such a claim thanks to some kind of irrational fear? It was all possible, but... Wayne didn't quite feel like that was it. 

"I'm very sorry to hear about what you went through," Quincy said with a voice that sounded sympathetic, but not exactly in the most genuine way. "it must of been absolutely awful," It was like Quincy was almost speaking mockingly. "Silver informed me of your Stockholm," Like Quincy didn't really feel the least bit sorry. "you must be going through a VERY hard time right now with getting over such a thing." Quincy seemed to be anything but sorry about what Wayne was going through, in fact. 

"Thanks..." Wayne grumbled, a bit irked Silver was already telling people about his so called 'Stockholm', but mostly just worried about whatever angle this guy had. 

"I can't even fathom what it must have been like to be held against your will by such a cruel, cruel human being," Quincy continued with a sickly sweet smile. "the fact that Valeska frightened you into a relationship is nothing short of despicable," He gave a warm look that just made Wayne feel cold. "it's truly a shame he took advantage of a sweet boy like you-- it must have been terribly humiliating-" 

"I get it." Wayne snapped, fairly certain this guy was trying to push his buttons for whatever reason, unsure as to whether or not Quincy had caught his bluff on this whole thing. 

"My apologies," Quincy said despite how his smile only grew, looking anything but apologetic. "I was only trying to assure you that it's not your fault Valeska used you like a dog." 

'Screw off.' Is what Wayne wanted to say. "Thanks." Is what Wayne did say. 

Quincy paused, looking Wayne over amusedly, as though he could read Wayne like the summary a book and tell what it was the boy was keeping himself closed off from saying. "Of course." Quincy finally said with a friendly nod that somehow didn't seem friendly in the least. "Again, I apologize for Silver's behavior-- we'll be sure she receives proper treatment for such an outburst, and I'll take her straight back to Arkham after the next session is over." He glanced at the clock on the wall. "In fact, the next session begins in only a couple of minutes!" He placed a heavy hand against Wayne's shoulder while humming, "Best not be late, shall we?" 

Wayne did all he could to not pull away from Quincy's invading grasp. "Right..." He glanced at Silver again, brow furrowing at how tightly Quincy's free hand was gripping the nape of her neck as her eyes watered. 

Quincy brought back his hand from Wayne, but kept his grasp on Silver, leading the meek girl away as he chimed, "Back to court!", causing Wayne to hesitantly follow. 

Had this guy forced Silver to lie? Was he just acting like he was upset at her for testifying? No-- it wasn't that either... Wayne couldn't figure out what Silver's statement was all about. 

Regardless, it was time for Wayne to return to court along with the others, and so he did, the boy being the last one in there as he sat back down between Alfred and Jim, earning assuring pats on his back from his butler and a subtle nudge from the detective. 

"All rise. The Gotham court is now in session. Honorable Judge Janet Surillo presiding." Court officer Bard spoke. 

"Thank you, you may be seated. In case 08194266, the Gotham people versus Bruce Wayne, I have concluded that a continuance is necessary. Our next court date will be set within thirty days. We'll allow at least one week for Mr. Wayne to have a required psych evaluation certified by Arkham Asylum to confirm he suffered or is suffering from Stockholm. The doctor who diagnoses him with such is required to attend the next session along with documentation as proof of his profession as a licensed psychologist, psychiatrist, or therapist." Judge Surillo informed before tapping her gavel against the table twice as a dismissal. 

Well... it was better than just being found guilty, right? Now all Wayne had to do was go through this whole lie again with a doctor... 

"You two go on," Jim spoke up, speaking to Wayne and Alfred. "I have some things to discuss with Dent." 

Alfred gave a nod and walked out with his hand on Wayne's back, guiding the boy who was kind of just... walking, not really paying attention to where he was going, still soaking in this entire thing. 

"Mr. Wayne!" Quincy called out as Alfred and Wayne approached the elevator, causing the boy to purse his lips and look over his shoulder while pressing the elevator button, because what in the world did this guy want now? "About your Arkham appointment..." He shouted while rushing towards the boy and his butler, Silver struggling to catch up to the man lugging her behind him by her upper arm he had a firm grasp on. 

Wayne wanted to shrink into himself; did Quincy really have to yell about his appointment at a mental institution? It was earning stares. "Yes?" Wayne answered through clenched teeth. 

"Would you like to go on and set up an appointment now?" Quincy offered with a smile as the elevator gave a ding. 

Wayne let out a long exhale, Alfred giving Quincy a skeptical look while walking through the elevator doors with the boy that reluctantly answered, "Sure..." Better to get it over with sooner rather than later. 

"Excellent!" Quincy chuckled, tugging the reluctant Silver into the elevator with them. "How about you come by tomorrow? I can clear out Dr. Hugo's schedule-- he's available from six in the morning until five in the afternoon!" 

Silver began to let out a noise of objection while looking at Wayne with wide eyes, starting to say something, but being quieted by Quincy's hand that tightened around her arm. 

Wayne noted Quincy's eagerness to schedule, and his grip on Silver's arm... 

The puzzle pieces began falling into place, but Wayne didn't quite see the picture yet. 

"I'll come by at four P.M." Wayne accepted, earning a frown from Silver and a grin from Quincy. 

"Excellent!" Quincy chimed satisfied. "I'll advise Dr. Hugo to ready himself for your arrival." 

Alfred had no bloody idea what was going on. "Just who is this chap again, Master Wayne?" 

"Alfred, this is Quincy, Warden of Arkham. Quincy, this is my butler, Alfred." Wayne introduced, Quincy giving Alfred a toothy grin and Alfred giving Quincy an uneasy look over. "Quincy came here to retrieve Silver." 

Alfred arched a brow, giving Silver a taken aback stare. "You're in Arkham, Miss Silver?" He was never a very big fan of the gal-- she was manipulative... but criminally insane? Was Arkham accepting minor classes of mental illnesses now, or had she really gone THAT far around the bin? 

"Theo really took a toll on her." Quincy vaguely answered before Silver could, the girl not looking Alfred in the eye. 

Alfred was just as skeptical about whatever was going on with these two as Wayne was, the butler murmuring, "I see..." 

The rest of the elevator ride was silent other than the faint instrumental tune playing, the tension getting so thick Wayne almost feared they'd suffocate from it until a ding was finally heard, he and his butler quickly stepping out of the elevator to be on their way. 

"Have a good day!" Quincy hummed as the elevator doors began to close, Wayne pausing to look over his shoulder, Alfred halting to wait for the boy to- 

The elevator abruptly halted, Silver's hand that had waved through it causing the motion sensor to signal the doors to reopen, the girl managing to get halfway through it even as Quincy grabbed her arm to frantically shout, "You can't come to Arkham!", as Quincy tried to tug her back in. "It's not safe there!" She struggled in the Warden's grasp. "You have to run!" Her feet were slipping against the floor as she kept trying to get out of Quincy's grasp. "Go to your Switzerland if you have to!" 

"I'm so sorry about her," Quincy chuckled with a forced smile, one arm wrapping around her stomach. "this poor thing has so many delusions about so many places," He yanked her back into the elevator. "I'm afraid her paranoia has gotten rather severe." He explained while covering her lips with his hand, the elevator starting to close again. "Have a good-" 

Silver kicked out her leg through the threshold causing the elevator doors to halt before opening back up again, sinking her teeth into Quincy's hand, causing him to let out a pained grunt and briefly release her just enough for her to break free of his grasp as she persisted, "You have to get away from Gotham, Wayne!" Quincy grabbed her by her hair, Wayne going wide eyed as Quincy forced her away from the elevator opening. "You're in danger!" She insisted, reaching behind her to grasp at the hand holding her by her hair. "Please! You have to get away from here before-" Alfred looked about ready to step in as well. 

"Silver," Quincy warningly interjected, wrapping his arms around the girl and lifting her off the ground, walking backwards into the elevator. "that's quite enough-" 

Silver kicked her heal against the 'open' button on the closing elevator, forcing it to open back up once again before slamming her high heel down against Quincy's foot, causing him to grunt and drop her, the girl landing on her wobbly feet. "I'm sorry for lying about Jerome!" She started to sprint forward, but was caught by her wrist by Quincy halfway out of the elevator, attempting to lean her weight away from him. "I was trying to get you put in Juvie so you wouldn't have to-" Silver blinked as a needle sunk into her arm, Wayne feeling his own eyes widen, watching the girl fall backwards limp in Quincy's hold. 

"Hey now-" Even Alfred objected, pushing Wayne cautiously behind him as he stepped forward. 

Quincy held Silver upright in the grasp of his right arm, left hand reaching into his pocket to hold up an Arkham I.D. showing his picture and the title 'Warden' on it, causing Alfred to halt at the proof. "No worries, fellas," He assured somewhat out of breath with a much too friendly smile. "I've got this under control." 

The elevator doors shut. 

Wayne and Alfred just stood there for a few seconds, the pair staring at the elevator before glancing at each other, and then back at the elevator, only for Alfred to look at Wayne and all too knowingly say, "Absolutely n-" Wayne was already sprinting off to rush down the stairs just around the corner to meet Quincy and Silver at the bottom before Alfred could finish. "Oh bloody hell Master Wayne!" He huffed, speedily walking after the boy that was leaping down several steps at a time and sliding down guard rails. "For goodness sakes..." The butler grumbled under his breath. "most boys read comics or do sports at your age," He hated running in his suit and formal shoes. "but no, you didn't want to be an artist or anything normal like that," Alfred was already out of breath after the first flight of stairs, and unlike Wayne he was using the railing, because apparently Wayne didn't put safety first. "you decided you wanted to house criminals and get your arse into trouble all the time that I'M forced to come and get out of trouble!" He exclaimed to himself. "I should ground you..." 

As Alfred grumbled to himself about what a handful Wayne was, Wayne ran out of the courthouse and into the parking garage, skidding to a halt while looking around desperately, eyes landing on Quincy carrying Silver towards his car, causing the boy to shout, "Mr. Quincy!", and run after him. 

Quincy halted, just staring forward for a few lengthy seconds, shutting his eyes and giving a sigh before opening them just to roll them, forcing on a smile while turning to face Wayne with Silver resting bridal style in his arms while politely saying, "Yes Mr. Wayne?" 

Wayne stopped in his tracks, realizing he hadn't exactly planned what to say, pausing before just going with, "Let-" Oh wow, Wayne was really out of breath. "Let Silver-" He leaned over, placing his hands on his knees, panting out, "-go." 

Quincy looked Wayne over amusedly. "Just why would I go and do something like that?" He chuckled oh so nonchalantly. "You're acting like I'm kidnapping her-- I was ordered here to retrieve her," His smile suddenly felt very, very cold, yet it hadn't been very warm to begin with. "surely you don't expect me to just let an escaped patient go because of your say so as a funder of Arkham?" 

Wayne tried to ignore the cramping ache in his side as he straightened up, hands resting on his hips as he breathed accusingly, "She was trying to tell me something you weren't letting her.", while boldly striding up to Quincy and looking the other right in the eye as he lifted his chin and puffed out his chest. 

Quincy gave a laugh-- not a joyful laugh... a demeaning one. "What?" About how Arkham's unsafe? We're keeping her there for a reason-- Theo's influence on her made her delusional!" His smile grew, along with the unease it radiated, Wayne forcing himself to not flinch back as Quincy leaned forward to ask in a much too friendly voice that oozed with mocking tones, "You didn't believe all those silly things she said, did you?" Quincy remained in Wayne's personal bubble, not moving back from his invasion of space, only awaiting an answer from the boy. 

Quincy was fully aware there wasn't much Wayne could do here. If Wayne accused Quincy of kidnapping, he'd bring up how he was a certified warden retrieving an escaped patient. If Wayne admitted he did believe Silver was telling the truth, Quincy would chastise Wayne for believing such delusional talk. If Wayne pretended he didn't believe Silver, Quincy would smugly ask Wayne what he was confronting him about then. If Wayne just gave in and retreated, a satisfied Quincy would be on his way. If Wayne attempted to fight Quincy off, he probably wouldn't succeed considering he wouldn't get very far with a sleeping Silver-- and that was only if Wayne somehow managed to win in a fight against the man twice his size, who could probably make his legal problems even worse as the warden of the place Judge Surillo wanted Wayne to attend. 

Wayne was convinced Quincy was up to something shady, and the fact the man was a citizen of Gotham heightened that probability to be fair, but more than anything something about this guy just sent off warning bells in Wayne, and he was still trying to place what exactly it was that did so. 

However, until Wayne had proof or backup, he was realizing there wasn't much he could do, so he reluctantly said, "I was just..." He swallowed dryly before giving a sigh. "I just wanted to check up on her is all." 

Quincy grinned at that, remaining in Wayne's face as he commented, "You certainly seem rather concerned for the wellbeing of someone that was trying to get you a juvie visit to Blackgate prison.", before finally pulling back and straightening up, giving Wayne a nod while adding in a cheery voice, "Have a good day now!", before turning without another word and continuing towards his car. 

And suddenly, the puzzle pieces Wayne had been rushing to fit together settled and clicked into place as the picture came into view and realization hit. 

Silver had been attempting to get Wayne put into juvie by making it sound like he'd been willingly housing Jerome, because for a reason Wayne hadn't yet found all the pieces to, she was trying to keep Wayne away from Arkham. 

Of course, considering it was Wayne, his ass was definitely going to Arkham now to find out what this was all about. 

Speaking of Arkham, there was another patient there that the institution had gotten in its clutches... 

The boy laying on a medical table felt like he was descending into an area that just gradually got colder until it was so cold he was numb, and it seemed as though there were stretching strings which shimmered white clinging to his body and all but one had stretched too far and snapped, the single one that had managed to keep him grounded becoming dangerously close to giving out with a snap and fade. 

There was also this peculiar strand of something which was cold to the touch like ice, yet crackled like electricity. You'd have to squint if you wanted to see it, and even then the only visible aspect would be a glimmer it gave off after a while of you having to watch just the right area without blinking. It initially felt like a burn to the touch, but then became achingly freezing. This peculiar strand seemed to be what was keeping the boy just on the brink of life by easing the strain on the boy's singular string keeping him afloat that hadn't yet snapped. The strand snaked around one area of the boy that began to weigh down too heavily, before unwinding and moving onto whatever the next heaviest area was, and every once in a while it would freeze the string barely holding on in attempts to temporarily strengthen it somewhat. 

Occasionally, it felt like ice from above was sprinkling down like blowing snow specks, prickling out to spread on and around him when getting close enough to form into the intended ice thin as paper, seeming to be guided by the assisting strand, gradually bringing his descent to a full stop, and then suddenly vaporizing away like cold smoke, and leaving him unsure of how long he'd been frozen in place-- in time. This would also make him more and more groggy despite already being extremely relaxed, which made it harder to figure out what was going on. 

There were also zaps of what seemed to be electricity that vibrated all along and around the strand trying to assist the boy, hitting a direct area of him whenever it went too numb and giving a jolt that spread in tingles through him, doing so every time he'd start to drift off too heavily, as though it was trying to keep him just awake enough. 

He couldn't tell if his eyes were opened or closed, because for some odd reason he just couldn't manage to blink, but either way he was fairly sure wherever he was consisted of nothing other than an empty pitch black bottomless pit that he was too far in to have any light at the top reach him in any case, feeling as though he was miles deep. 

Despite not feeling anything like hands grabbing him, it felt like he was being tugged down rather than just falling, as though he'd stumbled upon a strong sense of a new kind of gravity pulling at his very core. 

It was so quiet as well, not even hearing the sound of a beating in his chest or his own breathing, nor the sound of wind in his ears despite falling. 

The deeper he sunk, the more relaxed he became because the less he recalled of not only what was going on, yet who he was as well, the panic at feeling those things slip away becoming less and less due to not having a worry in the world to recall. 

He did recall a few things, like how his name began with a J or a G, and how he had red or brown hair yet no longer knowing what the color of his eyes were while only guessing green or blue, and how he was a teenager despite not being sure of how old or young of one he was, and how he had hated this woman that he was fairly sure was very cruel to him sometimes but not quite sure who she was or how she'd been cruel, and how he'd been a criminal despite not remembering what crimes he'd committed nor the severity of them, and how there had been this cop or detective or something after him that he REALLY hated, however someone he'd hated more was a man who had stabbed him in the neck... but he was almost certain that event hadn't been the cause of whatever was happening to him now since he was fairly certain that had happened a while back. 

Additionally, there had been this prim and proper boy he'd found amusing with how set he was on being someone who could look out for himself and others, and there was this tough and stubborn gal that had began to grow on him who was a catty little thing that acted like she didn't care about a lot of things despite probably caring more than most people. 

He couldn't quite recall their names or faces though since trying to was like looking at them through a distorted window where you could see shapes but not details, and he was pretty sure there had been other kiddos he was friends with as well, but trying to recall them was like trying to view them through tinted glass. 

Every once in a while, the silence and pitch black surroundings would be briefly replaced by flashes, and it seemed like the flashes were things that the boy sinking down into the unknown was desperately trying to subconsciously hold onto, most of them consisting of things like that boy giving a laugh and that girl smirking at him. 

Nonetheless, the flashes the emotions brought on were watering down more and more, and said flashes became less solid and clear and more like fuzzy water slipping through his hands whenever he tried to grasp onto them, or like firm snow melting in his fists that became hotter the tighter he tried to hold on. 

At first, the flashes had been easy to make out and easy to hear, but they became more and more disoriented visually and verbally. 

When you hold onto things too tightly, your hands begin to ache and eventually are forced to release, and that's how the boy felt when the last few things he was trying to hold onto began to slip away little by little, like gelled magnets were being pulled out of his hands with more and more force that he just couldn't keep a grasp on no matter how hard he tried. 

It was becoming so cold and numbing to where he couldn't tell if he was relaxed or stiff, and despite not knowing whether his eyes were opened or closed they felt heavy, the string straining more than ever, the strand desperately trying to assist him to keep him afloat, the jolts attempting to keep him awake, and the freezing trying to give him more time, and- 

The boy felt himself seem to jerk awake from the stage of sedating exhaustion he'd been pulled into, tensing up as new threads of multicolored energy seemed to suddenly engulf him, wrapping around him and making him feel as though he was halting midair, senses jolting back into place. 

For a while, all he saw was bursts of what he could make out was a blurred room, the sound of muffled voices giving commands surrounding him, not realizing he was in a medical room and the voices he heard were doctors, experiencing his lack of feelings quickly turn into a rather intense whirl of emotions as fear and uncertainty hit. 

Then, the threads of energy wrapping around him pulsed again, and he felt as though he was rushing upwards like he was emerging from water, whatever had been pulling him down seemingly not having the capacity to fight against the force pulling him up, the last string still attached to him strengthening while the snapped strings seemed to messily meld with the threads of energy around him, however not all of them did so correctly, while others were left hanging. 

The foreign strand of assistance that had been helping keep him barely alive began to disparate quicker and quicker with each yank of energy forcing him upwards, because now there was no barely about it, and no assistance was needed. 

One particular recollection abruptly came into place that wasn't nearly as blurry or jumbled sounding as the gathering others, but it was too quick to analyze. 

'Then don't!' A person had pleaded, their words sounding sped up, Jerome only getting a glimpse of their face, the flash occurring so hurriedly the boy barely making out what was seen or said, and having trouble even recalling what the speedy image and fast words had been the instant it was finished. 

Don't what? 

The boy gasped in choked up air as he felt his subconscious seem to snap back into his body and return to reality, jerking upwards and coughing out specks of blood with glossy eyes, ears ringing but hearing at least gradually returning back to normal, pulse racing and chest pounding as he felt the shakes overtake his whole being, previously numb limbs now alive and buzzing, everything he'd been forgetting falling back into place much too quickly, bits and pieces of who he was becoming scrambled and not settling right, some shards of the events of the past being covered up by others while many were still clearing from a haze smudging them at that, a few even being lined up out of order and not clicking in right. 

The puzzle of Jerome's entire life was terribly mismatched. 

"Wayne-" He heard himself instinctively shout, and it was strange how his own voice sounded familiar, but not like his own, because he hadn't recalled what his voice sounded like until doing so, and even then it almost didn't sound right-- like how if you say a certain word enough times, it can sound wrong. 

Jerome wasn't sure why he'd called out a name of a person he couldn't quite recall, and he really wasn't even sure if he'd yelled the right name. In fact, he couldn't recall what the name he'd just shouted was. It was odd, but not surprising considering Jerome barely recalled his own name, and had to ponder on whether Jerome was actually his name, which just got him questioning himself. 

Until Jerome was completely settled, everything was going good by too fast to quite comprehend more or less when it overall came down to it. 

What a terrible frenzy this was! What was going on? Why was he so out of it? Was he going to be okay? Was this a dream? A nightmare? Was he going to be back to his old self if he went back to sleep and woke up fully rested later on? Had Jerome even been sleeping? Or was it something much more serious than sleep? Was this normal? Would whatever was going on be over temporarily? Had he just gotten out of surgery and this were he influences? 

Gloved hands grasped at the boy freaking out, forcing him back down on the medical table as he tried to get up, jerking under their holds and looking around at the doctors restraining him with leather belts, throat dry and voice hoarse as he weakly asked what was going on, earning soothing assurances and an oxygen mask over his nose and lips, trying and failing to hold in his breath as he eventually was forced to breathe in something that made his eyelids heavy, vision blurring in and out as the doctor's surrounding him kept him held down until he was drifting off. 

Hugo watched his employees sedate Jerome from an observing room with a glass wall, giving a pleased smirk at the success of bringing the boy back and straightening up proudly, keeping his eyes on the criminal being stabilized while musing, "It seems as though we've had even more of a success with Valeska than Galavan." 

Peabody gave him a look. "Success? He was flailing like a fish out of water." 

"A mere panic attack," Hugo waved off nonchalantly. "such would be suspected after having your body restarted when an inch away from leaving it." 

"Fair enough," Peabody muttered, crossing her arms. "but what exactly seems so successful to you with him versus Galavan?" She eyed Jerome as the doctors checked his vitals. "They both just came out babbling messes." 

Hugo put his arms behind his back, chin inclining. "True as that may be, Galavan was babbling about being a different person completely," He finally brought his eyes away from Jerome, facing Peabody. "however, Valeska seems to be himself considering he had enough sense to include Wayne's name in his babbling," He glanced back at the boy being double checked by the doctors just to make sure nothing went wrong that hadn't been caught. "Theo didn't even recall who his own sister was for a good while." 

"I'd say we had more luck with Fish," Peabody commented honestly. "she was fairly upset the first few times we brought her back after putting her down, but she's gradually been getting to where she acts like she's just waking up from a bad nap that made her a little foggy before eventually clearing up almost completely." 

Hugo considered Peabody's words before giving a nod and musing, "Theo recalled very little and so when we bring him back we will be sure he recalls nothing other than what we groom him to, Fish will eventually recall everything soon, and Jerome will recall what we want him to, then." 

Peabody looked Hugo over skeptically. "Wasn't our goal to help all of them recall everything?" 

"Fish will satisfy that role," Hugo nonchalantly waved off. "just as Theo will satisfy the role of recalling a false past we groom him to believe was his own past..." 

Peabody paused, glancing at Jerome before returning her gaze to Hugo, her brow furrowing at that, because he couldn't mean... "You want to choose what Jerome does and doesn't recall?" 

Hugo gave a nod of confirmation. "We will allow him to have the bits and pieces of his past that would best interest us," He didn't return Peabody's cautious gaze. "and the parts we deem as useless or something which could get in the way of our control over him, we'll suppress," He looked over his new experiment. "we might even give him false recollections if it would best serve us." Hugo broodingly added, "It will take time, however... we'll have to put him an inch away from death several times, before forcing him back to the living the same as we did with Fish," A pondering pause. "and we will groom him to our side to obey our rules the same as we did with Theo," He gave a shrug. "although it will take more time to do so than both of their own times combined." 

Hugo had gotten his monster. 

Peabody eyed Hugo over. "What exactly do you plan to use Jerome for first?" 

Hugo looked at Peabody, almost seeming surprised she didn't know the answer. "Why, to kill the last of the Waynes', of course." After all, the only way to get Jerome undeniably loyal to them was by forcing him to get rid of the primary person he had looked out for before being brought here. Additionally, Wayne seemed just as troublesome as Thomas. 

It was a win-win. 

To get Jerome to kill the person he'd almost given up his life for entirely, would leave Jerome with no one other than Hugo to lean on, and that was when Hugo would have the chance to finally have his experiment that never questioned him, and only do as he said, because Jerome killing Wayne for Hugo would prove Hugo had the boy by a leash. 

It would be like having the perfect child, according to Hugo's definition. 

Selina, Silver, Fries, Fish, and even Bridgit had proved to be imperfect. Had proved to be rebellious. Had proved to have a will of their own. Some more than others. 

Jerome would probably act that way at first, too-- which was exactly why Hugo would just have to keep putting him down and bringing him back until the boy's entire life was in such shambles that Hugo could take his vulnerability and convince him that the good doctor knew all about Jerome's scrambled past the poor boy would so desperately want to recall, and out of that desperation Jerome would be forced to trust Hugo. 

With Jerome's past so broken and shattered, Hugo would only piece together the parts that would benefit him, and leave all the other ones broken and easy to manipulate. 

The prince of crime might of ruled this city along with the justice seeking prince of Gotham, but this was Arkham, and Arkahm was Hugo's kingdom. Jerome would be trapped there with no one to save him, because no one ever left his castle without his say so, and Hugo never gave a say so unless he was sure they'd eventually be crawling back, and even when he did give a say so it was only when he was sure his cruel influence on a patient would have an interesting influence on Gotham. 

If his test subjects managed to escape, Hugo always got them back, and the Selina Kyle trapped with a girl who was Firefly and no longer Bridgit was proof of that, just as how the Silver St. Cloud being shoved to her knees by Quincy so she was kneeling beside Hugo was proof of that. 

"This little shit gave me a lot of trouble." Quincy scoffed, his oh so nice demeanor he'd put on around Wayne gone as he gave a snide look towards Silver, nose wrinkling. 

"I'm sorry." Silver quietly apologized, tears brimming in her eyes, Hugo not even bothering to look at her as he continued observing Jerome. 

Hugo didn't say anything for a long while, as though he was ignoring her, yet eventually he did speak to muse, "Your uncle would be disappointed in you for trying to save that Wayne boy." He glanced at Quincy rather than her. "Azrael will be waking again soon," He returned his attention towards the Jerome being left to get some rest on the operating table. "put her in there with him to see whether he recalls her, and allow him to spare or kill her as he pleases," A pause. "and check to see if that troublesome cat girl has been burnt to a crisp yet." 

Peabody tried to ignore the pleas Silver cried out as Quincy dragged her out of the room by her upper arm... 

... 

... they were no longer only doing these experiments on full grown beings who committed murder of innocents, rape, abuse, or pedophiliac acts. 

They were going after anyone, including children, and Peabody had not agreed to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been wanting to get to this part of the story really badly, so I was super excited to finally write (!!!!!!!SPOILERS if you haven't read this chapter yet!!!!!!!) the court scene, Silver's return, and Jerome's rebirth! 
> 
> Now time for shoutouts! 
> 
> First of all, thank you to all the commenters! All of your feedback means so much, and is very appreciated! 
> 
> Specifically, shoutout to commenters ThisAndThat and Weecloudy for such detailed and lengthy replies-- it was so humbling to receive :) 
> 
> Additionally, shoutout to Anna-Omens on Tumblr for this lovely piece of Valeyne art! I love all the different versions you did of them :) 
> 
> Art link~   
> http://quellines-stories.tumblr.com/post/165673158286/anna-omens13-baby-bats-and-joker-xd-think-of   
> P
> 
> Artist Link~ http://anna-omens13.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> Now then, I introduced some new minor characters in this story, and if anyone's intrigued as to who these characters are, feel free to look at the links below! 
> 
> Quincy Sharp- http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Quincy_Sharp 
> 
> Janet Surillo- http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Janet_Surillo 
> 
> Carl Finch- http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Carl_Finch 
> 
> Faden- http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Judge_Faden 
> 
> Clay (Not Clayface)- http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Judge_(Earth-One) 
> 
> While Faden and Clay are judges in the Batman universe, the time period in this fanfiction is before they become such :) 
> 
> Plus, the link below contains the video I watched for the court scene. 
> 
> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qtQDOQM4dM8


	37. Jerome's Nightmare

The gray haired boy with gray eyes and pale skin was standing in the middle of a huge circus tent with a full house, and he wasn't quite sure how he'd gotten there, nor was he exactly sure why the people in the crowd were wearing paper masks with simply drawn smiles drawn on. No, really-- it wasn't exactly art. A two year old could draw it. It was literally just '=)'. It looked like something a cheap ass would make if they were going to a masquerade frugal. It was what those kids that you could tell made their costumes at the last minute of Halloween went with. 

Nonetheless, there was something deeply unsettling about the masks. Perhaps it was the dim lighting with a faint red glow tinting the white paper. Or perhaps it was the fact the boy's unprepared ass had no idea about what his act here was supposed to be. If you're standing in the middle of a circus tent, you should have an act, right? Unless he'd volunteered, that is. 

"Are you ready?" A lovely voice distorted by hisses asked, the boy jumping at the unexpected noise, not even realizing someone had been standing right next to him until looking up at the woman with a light green scaly dress along with brown patterns, although it wasn't just her dress that was that scaly shade-- it was her skin, as well. 

However, that certainly wasn't what caught the boy's attention, because what REALLY caught his eye was the fact she had the face in the shape of a brown snake with dark markings. 

Well, this was the circus... 

The boy tried to speak, yet considering he couldn't quite recall what his voice sounded like, the sound of someone else's voice came out, which he didn't realize was the voice of a man he'd once met called Jester, and thus the boy said in Jester's voice, "Ready for what?" 

Despite the boy not being sure of what his voice sounded like, he was pretty sure the voice came out of his mouth didn't sound right. Familiar, perhaps-- but not his. 

"For the show, of courssse!" The woman chided, long fangs glistening, earning an uncertain stare from the boy. "Isss everything all right, J-" Instead of speaking his name, she just hissed. 

The boy felt anxious, the crowd much too silent for a circus-- in fact, it was so quiet he didn't even hear crickets chirp. "Show?" He questioned uncomfortably, his voice switching to being Rome's. "I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure you've got the wrong guy." He apologized while backing up. 

The snake lady reached out to grab his wrist, the boy's eyes widening at how the skin covering the area she touched began to spread with emerald scales and purple markings, attempting to yank away from her as she hissed with a smile, "Come on, J-sss, the show mussst go on-- let'sss give them the act of a lifetime, ssson." 

Son? No way. Okay, so there was a chance he was this lady's son considering he didn't recall who he was the son of in the least, and he didn't really even recall what he looked like, so there was a chance he had the same face which didn't make this any better, but until he was certain of what was going on, he wasn't about to just trust some weirdo that could have very well drugged and kidnapped him or something considering that could always explain whatever weird shit was going on. 

Yeah! That's what was going on! The boy had been kidnapped, and now the drugs were wearing off, and pretty soon he'd be back to norm- 

"Alcohol, alcohol!" A voice called out as the boy continued to attempt to struggle out of the snake woman's firm grasp, causing him to halt and look over his shoulder at a man going up and down the isles of the bleachers, the people not reacting in the least and only sitting completely still. "Get your alcohol!" He had a carton full of alcoholic beverages with straps around his neck. "We got wine, beer, gin, vodka, and bourbon!" Wait, alcohol? Wasn't it supposed to be peanuts and hotdogs or something? "Cheapest shit in the city!" What kind of circus was this? "Five dollar alcohol-" The man tripped on a step coming down one of the rows, flying down the flight of stairs and landing on his carton, suddenly going very, very still as red liquid that seemed to be wine from broken bottles began to leak out. 

Crimson began to rush out of the small carton that didn't seem to have a bottom, the boy's eyes widening at how quickly it began to wash out along the ground, splashing around his feet in no time at all, and- 

Wait, why was the snake lady tightening her grasp? It was constricting Jerome's wrist with a tight squeeze, but somehow it didn't feel painful despite there being an uncomfortable kind of ache. 

The boy looked towards the snake lady stumbling around in the wine rushing at her feet, pink foam crashing around her ankles seeming to influence her much more than it was him, causing the boy to cautiously give another tug in attempts to get loose, the spreading emerald and purple scales up to his elbow now- 

"There'sss ssstainsss on the dishesss..." The snake lady spoke under her breath, swaying and looking down woozily, tightening her grasp on the boy's wrist. 

... What? 

"Huh?" The boy anxiously questioned, wincing as she dug her nails into his skin, eyes widening when realizing her nails looked like snake fangs, giving a much harsher pull and managing to break free of her grasp, backing up uncertainly. 

"The dishesss, the dishesss..." The snake lady began pacing, the crowd abruptly turning their faces to the left at once, all of them looking the other way and turning a blind eye. "You didn't do the dishesss!" She hissed, the wine or blood or whatever it was suddenly sending several waves that reached up to the boy's hips crashing against him, almost making him fall into the liquid. "Didn't you sssee the ssstainsss?" She was rushing after him with no resistance from the red that was now only trying to weigh him down. "I asssked you to do the dishesss!" She was less than a yard away from him. "Why don't you ever do anything the leassst bit right you sssnide little bassstard?!" 

Drunk. She was drunk. 

"Are you really getting all worked up about some dishes?" The boy laughed anxiously, his voice switching to Mayne's. 

The waves halted along with the snake woman, and the boy would have been relieved if that didn't result in the crimson becoming like jello and making it hard to budge. 

The snake woman was at least standing just as still as the frozen crowd was sitting and the stiff liquid was being, so the boy took that as a sign to get out before something caused them to start up again. 

Perhaps the boy was tripping. It was possible considering he didn't even recall if he did drugs. 

The boy began lifting his foot out of the red that reached up to his calves, although before he could get it all the way out a tingling sensation would strike up his leg and force him to lower it, and when he attempted using his hands to grip his jeans and help force them up and out one at a time to try to get around like that, he fell, causing him to let out a strained laugh, and the liquid thankfully only reached up to his neck in a sitting position. 

When trying to stand back up resulted in the red substance raising up to his chin, the boy paused, angling his neck back instinctively, the rising coming to a stop. 

Okay, so he couldn't get up... the only other option left was to just try crawling or swimming through it, and if that went badly, just calling for help. After all, what else was there to do? If he just waited, he risked the rising flow starting up again, or the snake lady waking. 

So, the boy did attempt to shift on his hands and knees to crawl, and it did work, even if it was just inch by gradual inch as he made his way towards the bleachers that only had the bottom row under red. 

The boy managed to get his right arm free, the red only rising slightly-- about an inch or so, and halting as he grasped the second bench up, gripping it tightly and forcing himself out of the thick substance by pulling, freeing his left hand to help his right when getting his chest above the liquid. 

It wasn't long before he was crawling out with one knee on the bench, his left ankle being the last to shimmy free- 

A pale hand covered in white body paint with a ruffled polkadot sleeve abruptly slid through the thick crimson with ease, grabbing the boy's ankle and earning a frightened snicker of disbelief, because you had to be kidding him- 

A man in a clown outfit emerged, white large shirt filled with purple, red, and green polkadots, and black trousers containing stripes of those same colors. He had the neck of a beer bottle... in fact, all he had from the collarbone up was the shape of a large beer bottle. 

For a while, the clown only loomed over the frightened boy. 

Then, the clown shoved the poor boy down into the red with ease, submerging him in the color that became the only thing the boy saw, hands releasing him only when he began to sink, and no no no no-- he couldn't breathe in this, and he felt himself being suffocated by it- 

A rectangular section of red in front of his eyes suddenly cracked and spiderwebbed like glass, causing him to reach forward and press his fingertips against it, eyes widening as the thick crimson liquid shifted into blue water, the cracks breaking into shards as he rushed forward and out of one of those magician tanks people filled up with water, and for goodness sakes where was he now?! 

The boy stood up, taking in deep breaths of air while realizing he was on a stage in a large room, a much more formally dressed crowd here, yet they all wore the same smiley face masks and none of them moved in the slightest. 

The only ones that really stood out was a girl on his right side with a much more detailed pink masquerade mask that only covered the top of her face, a man on his left side with the mask of Azrael which looked rather familiar to the boy, a man in a police uniform with a small red curtain draped over his face standing at the front of the stage, a woman towards the back of the crowd with a whip in her belt and a face covered in smeared masquerade pink and envy green shadows, a woman attached to a knife throwing wheel on the stage with her back turned towards the audience, a man in a vest that was definitely a butler judging by that kind of attire that was kneeling in front of Jerome with a potato sack covering his face... 

... 

... and one mask in the crowd with a '=(' instead of a '=)' that had a brown cat with curly fur standing protectively in front of them, the crowd member's palm extended outwards. 

For some reason the boy couldn't place, he instinctively found that more intriguing than any of the other ones-- even the woman on the cool looking knife throwing wheel, and that was saying something. 

So, the boy chose to approach the masked person holding out their hand, although his first step forward had the poor boy already falling back through a trap door in the stage, because he wasn't ready for this part just yet... 

This boy despised falling in dreams, as most do, but at least the fall only lasted for about six seconds, even if they were rather lengthy seconds. When they were over, he found himself landing on his ass below the deck of a wrecked ship cracked in half down the middle, but the water that had somewhat filled the slanted deck wasn't what caught his attention-- the hundreds of gray blinking eyes inside the walls were what caught his attention, the creepy interior darting their pupils around rapidly. 

The boy stood up, having to balance himself due to the crashed ship's slant, the water only reaching up to his ankles as he directed his attention to the only thing in the room: a man seating atop a chair he was tied to. 

The man was at the top of the slanted deck, just as still as most of the people the boy had encountered so far had been. This man was wearing a blindfold and a sailor's hat, and he had a hand axe resting in his lap. 

The boy gave a sigh, not exactly having anywhere else to go as he reluctantly did what he was assuming whatever the thing was that was putting him through this shit wanted him to, still not quite sure what was going on as he reluctantly made his was up the tilted deck, and he realally didn't have much of a chance to ponder on what exactly was going on, because he just felt way too out of it to- 

Halfway up the deck, the boy slipped and slid back down to the bottom, at first managing to stay upright by running against the floorboards he was sliding down before falling on his knees, desperately reaching out to balance himself and running his fingertips against the wet floorboards that splashed up droplets of water around his digits, that not doing very much at all as he just ended up falling onto his stomach with his cheek against the floorboard the rest of the way down, squeezing his eyes shut when coming back into contact with the water. 

The boy let out a heavy sigh, just laying there for a while and getting frustrated at how a situation which had initially been rather frightening was now just getting aggravating, before finally forcing himself back up and attempting to climb the deck once again. 

This went on about eleven times before he got up there, having to lunge at the chair to grasp onto it so he didn't slip back down and earning a creak, feet slipping against the floorboards as he scrambled upright, wondering what he was supposed to do once he managed to get his footing and- 

A loud rip was heard, the boy's eyes widening as the rope attached to the wall that was wrapped around the blindfolded man snapped, everything seeming to briefly pause in midair as the boy went flying back and the man went flying forward, and then they were both swooping quickly down to the bottom, the boy hurriedly rolling out of the way of the man still bound to the chair that crashed beside him. 

Shit. 

"Are you-" The boy started while grabbing the man's upper arm to turn him over and check on him, his voice switching to Jack Napier's. "-all right?" He hesitantly finished as multiple needles began to pierce out of the man's skin, blood trickling down from the micro sized holes and into the salt water, turning it red. 

For the love of... 

The ship abruptly began to sink, the boy releasing the man and scrambling away, trying to stand up but just slipping back onto his ass, and shit shit shit- 

He held his breath and squeezed his eyes shut as the red water engulfed him, the familiar crimson liquid taking over his sight as he lifted off the ground and began to float, being tossed and turned by the crashing waves throwing him around, not sure about which way was up while he desperately thrashed around- 

The boy emerged suddenly, gasping in air, splashing around in the red water before finding he could stand upright, the red water that was now now reaching up to his waist ever so slightly thicker and warmer, and yeah this wasn't water anymore... 

He looked around, swallowing dryly while catching his breath, realizing he was back in the theater where he'd seen that peculiar boy with the sad, sad mask. 

This time, however, many people in the crowd were floating around on their backs or stomachs in the crimson flooding the building, there being red x's on their smiling masks, and there were knives dangling above from ropes, the weapons which were littering the ceiling coated in fresh blood, but not dripping. 

The man in the police uniform with a small red curtain wrapped around his face was gripping the halted wheel the woman with her back towards the audience was attached to, the woman with the pink mask hiding her eyes was covering her face with both of her pink gloves hands, the man with the mask the boy didn't recall was Azrael's was holding up a bloodied knife triumphantly, and the person with the '=(' mask was holding the brown curly furred cat in their free arm while keeping their other arm outstretched, and the butler with a sack covering his face was kneeling beside the sad looking person. 

It took a while to tread through the thick red liquid, but the boy managed, not stopping until he was in front of the sad masked one, relieved this time he hadn't gone and fallen through a trap door or something... yet. 

The boy paused, looking at the sad person's stretched out hand, swallowing thickly before hesitantly reaching out to grip the person's hand, eyes widening as the person standing just as still as everyone else suddenly jerked their hand back as cut marks littered where the boy had taken their hand. 

"I'm sorry!" The boy apologized with an anxious chuckle, wondering what weird shit this would bring on now, his voice switching to Joe Carr's, eyes widening as the cat also sprung to movement, hissing and swiping at him warningly. 

The sad person examined his cut up hand dripping in blood, and while the injuries weren't deep they were abundant, taking another step back as the the boy stepped towards them in attempts to help stop the bleeding he'd gone and started just by touching them, the cat leaping away from the person's arms and diving into the blood reaching up to the boy and sad person's hips, swimming away quickly. 

"Are you okay?" The boy asked, feeling guilty at how everything he was touching was getting injured. 

The sad person halted, head tilting, their emotions unreadable due to the '=(' mask, but their body language seemingly taken aback at the boy's question, yet before they had a chance to answer the droplets of blood running along their hands dripped into the crimson around their hips, and suddenly the boy was sinking into the blood covered floor again as the knives coated with crimson hanging from above began spilling with red, and this was REALLY getting old, but this time he had someone going with him as the sad person tried to grasp at him as he also sank, the pair both going down when grabbing one another's hands. 

The sad person's hands slipped away from the boy's rather quickly, the two getting separated, the boy reaching out and grasping at the liquid in attempts to possibly find and grab them by some luck, yet falling through the drenched wooden floorboards softened from the liquid and crashing through a stained ceiling dripping in red, his back hitting a metal table. 

The boy gave an aching groan, just staring up at the ceiling with red liquid spreading through it, no longer caring about the red droplets splashing against his face considering he was covered in this stuff by now. 

As usual, the boy took in his surroundings, jumping slightly when realizing there was a still man leaning over him with a black round hat covering the top part of his face, and an emerald bandana with a yellow question mark covering the bottom half of his face. 

"Geez..." The boy anxiously laughed in disbelief, eying the scalpel in the guy's hand as he cautiously scooted off of the medical table and away from him, giving him one more glance to be sure he wasn't going to start attacking him or some shit before warily going towards the only other thing in the medial room-- a door. 

The only problem was the door wouldn't budge. 

Well, actually, it wasn't the ONLY problem, per se-- there was another problem... that problem being the man with the scalpel twitched to life with each jiggle of the doorknob, causing the boy to hesitantly look over his shoulder at the man jerking to life with every turn of the handle back and forth, resulting in the boy hesitantly pausing and carefully lowering his hand- 

The instant the boy released the door knob, the man stopped, twitching around the table, and started striding around the table much more quickly, causing the boy to take on a defensive stance, sprinting around the room when the man abruptly ran at him, the boy putting himself on the other side of the medical table, causing the man to halt and pause before jerking left, causing the boy to jump right, and vise versa next. 

The man with his round hat hiding his eyes and '?' bandana hiding his lips paused, clearly pondering on his next move. 

"Look," The boy began with a forced smile, his voice switching to Sirius'. "I'm really not sure why you wanna' kill me, but whatever it is I did to piss you off, I'll make up for, all right? Just tell me what to do, and-" 

The man swiped out the blade on his scalpel and nicked the side of the boy's neck as the younger one scrambled back, letting out a frustrated laugh as the older one leapt over the table, because this really was bullshit. 

The boy managed to race around the ever so chasing man, about to ram through the door if he had to and- 

The door opened as the boy sprinted through, slamming shut in the man's face, the boy falling to the ground and quickly turning over to see who had let him ou- 

A mask with a sad '=(' face stared down at the boy quirking a brow, the sad person giving a tilt of the head and seeming to look the boy over behind their mask, leaning over to have a better view of him, causing the boy the shimmy back some while giving an unsure chuckle, watching the way the other straightened up and gripped their chin broodingly, the boy about to ask if they were going to be an ass and attack him, too, but not getting the chance to whence seeing and hearing the way the officers with smiling faces that were in a circle around them suddenly stepped forward, only about a yard or so away from the pair. 

The sad person perked up, looking left and right as the officers gave another step in union, raising their hand to where their lips would be anxiously before looking at the boy and quickly reaching out their bandaged hand. 

"No!" The boy laughed in Jokester's voice, because he wasn't about to go and harm the person again by just touching them like before. "I don't exactly feel like making your hand all bloody again and-" The officers stepped forward once more. 

Nope. The boy wasn't risking bringing about anymore blood considering the least bit of the substance seemed to somehow fill the entire areas he'd been in and- 

Another step, the boy cussing under his breath as the sad person got grasped at by the cops attempting to pull them in, the poor thing thrashing about wildly and reaching out their hand pleadingly. 

... This person was the only one that had attempted to save the boy from these strange events while the others only watched or even initiated those very events. 

Another step, the sad person being dragged into the smiling crowd of masked officers. 

However, there was always a chance this sad masked person was being deceiving for whatever reason, and could very likely prove to be the most dangerous of all of these odd beings. 

Another step, only the person's arm sticking out. 

I mean, when it came down to it, the boy was being closed in on by officers already with no way out, so he was already in some deep waters. 

Another step, cops fingertips inches away from the boy, the saddened person's hand being the only thing desperately reaching outside of the police crowd sucking them in. 

The boy gave a frustrated huff and hopped up, running towards the sad person with only their fingertips visible now as the policemen stepped forward again, the boy reaching into the officers crowd to grasp at the person's hand as cops grasped at him, and no no no no-- the police were dragging him down now- 

The person's hand grasped back, and suddenly, the police halted. 

The boy let out a sigh of relief, however he didn't relax yet, instead just keeping his grasp on the person's hand and pulling them forward, feeling like he was slugging the other through jello, but managing to get them into the small circular opening a few steps back. 

The boy began to bring back his hand, however the person tightened their grasp, earning wide eyes from the boy as they stepped forward, getting right in the boy's personal space and looking up at him as though to examine him as he uncertainly chuckled, "Uh..." 

At that, the person straightened up and pulled back to give the boy his space, releasing his hand and earning a relieved cross between a laugh and sigh, although that relief that didn't last very long due to the boy realizing there was now a thin red chain connecting from his pinky to the pinky of the person continuing to seemingly eye him over before finally just walking around him, the boy cautiously following the person's movements with his eyes, watching how they casually walked towards the officers he'd just gotten them away from, and- 

The boy blinked at how wherever the person stepped the cops moved back, the person getting a few feet forward before looking over their shoulder expectantly at the boy. 

The boy hesitated, looking the person over before gulping and forcing a smile, anxiously following the person until they reached the police station exit, watching them step outside into a white setting, following warily, ready for another trick. 

The boy gave a frown when the white setting the sad person was walking into began to brighten, it becoming hard to look at without squinting, the intensity beginning to engulf the person. 

The boy came to a halt, and despite feeling nothing from approaching the brightness, he feared getting any closer would result in himself burning as a ringing noise accompanied the glow, causing him to reach out towards the sad person walking away while objecting in Mitten's voice, "Hey-" 

The sad person came to a stop, looking over his shoulder and saying in overlapping voices, "Then don't." 

Don't? Don't what? 

Suddenly, the right side of the boy's stomach throbbed terribly. 

Emerald eyes blinked open groggily, the red haired boy with an oxygen mask staring up at a blurry ceiling that was gradually shifting into a clearer view from his hospital bed, an aching stretching exhaustion all throughout him, tongue dry but throat dryer, eyes glossy and lips chapped, breathing somewhat shallow, mind fogged over and groggy. 

It took the boy a while to register what was going on, gradually processing he wasn't sure why or how he got wherever he was, and in fact he wasn't even quite sure WHO he was-- he couldn't even recall faces or names of any loved ones, nor hated ones, or acquaintances. 

Couldn't recall his own face or name, at that. 

Amnesia had the be the answer to those questions, he assumed... what else could be causing this frustrating and anxiety inducing incident? 

The boy looked around, taking in his surroundings: a television mounted on the wall, a wooden chair in the corner of the room, a shut door, a barred window with sunshine leaking through, a tray for food on his right, an end table on his left, a machine he was hooked up to giving steady beeps, an IV drip attached to his arm, and... 

... a nurse call button laying on his lap. 

The boy reached out towards the call button, halting at the striking ache spreading through his fingertips to his shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut and wincing while swallowing dryly before carefully ushering his shaky arm towards the object, straining fingers wrapping around the call button, vaguely numb thumb pressing against it. 

It took less than half a minute for a nurse to arrive. 

"Good morning, Mr. Valeska," She greeted with a reassuring smile and soft voice, tone warm. "I see you're finally awake," Her eyes were gentle and attitude calmly patient. "how are you feeling?" 

Valeska. Valeska was his name? He felt like that was his last name, because it was familiar, but not as familiar as it should have been. Middle name, perhaps? 

"What happened?" The so called Valeska hoarsely asked, tasting dried blood sticking to the roof of his mouth like metallic stale cotton candy refusing to melt. 

So that's what he sounded like. At least his own voice sounded familiar. Scratchy, but he could hear the gist of it. 

"I'm sorry, but I'm not at liberty to answer that," The nurse apologized without missing a beat, her voice oozing with sympathy. "Dr. Hugo made it very clear he was to be the one to go over the events which resulted in your stay here with us." Her expression was filled with guilt ridden features. 

"Can you at least tell me where I am?" Valeska irritatedly requested. 

"Of course!" The nurse chimed, face suddenly absolutely shining. "You're in Arkham Asylum!" 

Asylum?! 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne's birthday was coming up. He didn't really care, in all honesty. Alfred seemed to care more about making the boy's birthday entertaining than Wayne did. Alfred had chosen a dark chocolate cake recipe, a color scheme of yellow along with silver, and ironed the boy's favorite black suit. 

Initially, Wayne had been looking forward to this birthday party quite a bit, because this was supposed to be the first birthday party in years where he had friends to celebrate with, and while he still had friends he could celebrate with, he didn't have the guy he'd been closest to-- he didn't have Jerome. 

The soon to be fifteen year old boy had lost quite a few friends since the incident in the alleyway that occurred nearly three years ago, because for a good while, he didn't interact with anyone other than Alfred and Jim. Wayne had taken a quarter off school, and by the time he went back, his friends had gotten used to him being gone. Wayne had figured they'd just click after a bit of small talk like most close friends who haven't seen each other in a while do, however that wasn't the case. It was obvious the other rich kids who had faced few hardships didn't know how to interact around an orphan boy, and despite his attempts to subtly convince them it hadn't changed him completely, they kept pulling away. 

It was true Wayne hadn't had very many friends in school even before that night at the theater, but he'd had some. Wayne had had Tommy, for one, and Tommy had been kind of a semi-loner like Wayne, so they'd stuck together. Nonetheless, when Wayne came back, Tommy had changed-- a lot. 

Tommy had been Wayne's best friend, so that had hurt quite badly. 

Wayne was pretty sure Tommy's lackeys had only initiated an acquaintanceship with the other because he was the closest friend of the freak orphan kid, and they were intrigued as to what that type of kid was like, because things like that didn't happen to people like them, so instead of sympathizing or pitying at the very least, they investigated for fun rather than worry. 

It probably made Tommy feel good to be spoken by so many people eager to hear what he had to say (about Wayne), and instead of turning away from the wrong kind of attention, he turned away from the guy he'd been friends with since pre-k. 

Tommy didn't stop at that, though. No-- Tommy couldn't just leave Wayne alone and go off with his new group. After all, Tommy had to bully Wayne, too, rather than just talk behind his back. 

Wayne was pretty sure that was because Tommy had initially had a crush on him, and he had to prove to his peers he wasn't attracted to someone different from them-- to an orphan. He had to prove he didn't like guys either, at that, because Gotham was not a progressive place. 

It was clear Tommy still had a crush on Wayne, and in all truthfulness, before Tommy started acting like a stranger, Wayne had returned the feelings. 

It had been a long time ago that things were mutual, and while they never really said anything, it was still evident, because it showed when they had walk in the manor's garden and drift closer until their knuckles were touching, and when they'd dance to music together while filling the room with laughter before finding themselves dancing hand in hand and laughing a little softer, and when they'd sleep in the same bed and wake up curled next to each other. 

That had been a long time ago. A really long time ago. Years ago. 

Tommy still had the feelings, but Wayne certainly didn't after the shit he'd put him through. 

It had become a thing to act so distant towards one another, so Tommy was surprised when Wayne called him and asked him to come over. 

Jonathan had stayed quiet when Alfred let Tommy inside, and he stayed quiet when he casually went to follow Tommy inside Wayne's room, and he even stayed quiet when Wayne politely told Jonathan he wanted some alone time to talk with his friend. 

Jonathan got wanting privacy. Wayne had talked one on one to him and the other kiddos about what he was going through, because out of all of them, what happened to Jerome had definitely influenced him more than any of them. Jonathan had no problem with that. 

Jonathan also got that Wayne was not realizing he was trying to find a place to put those unrequited romantic feelings he'd had for Jerome. Jonathan got that Wayne was just not aware of that. Jonathan got that Tommy was getting better at manipulating feelings. 

Jonathan was not okay with that. 

Jonathan couldn't help but wonder what Tommy feared. 

~*~*~*~ 

"So as soon as I'm feeling better, I can leave?" Jerome questioned warily. 

"As soon as we verify you've substantially obtained your grasp on your identity, we will release you." Hugo answered with a warm smile. 

"Where would I go?" Jerome scoffed, because surely if they were aware of his identity, they were aware of who he was and where he was from. Unless they didn't know shit about his identity and just found his I.D. containing his name on him or something. Then again, his name could totally bring up all types of things about who he was on Google, wouldn't it? 

"I'm afraid that's something I can't just tell you," Hugo answered apologetically. "if we interfere with any of your recollections by giving you all the answers, then there's a chance you'll stop trying to recall your past, and be stuck viewing your previous experience pertaining to who you are as no more than a scripted life story permanently, rather than viewing such as an experience you genuinely recall." 

"What if I don't recall anything?" Jerome scoffed, growing anxious. 

"We'll only have to worry about that if you haven't recalled anything within a year." Hugo assured, earning widened eyes and adding, "No need for concern, I'm almost certain this case won't take anywhere close to being that long." 

A year?! Jerome could possibly be stuck in here like this for a year?! He didn't care how unlikely a possibility like that was-- it was unsettling to hear! "Is there medicine for this? Just therapy? Some kinda' weird psych stuff like hypnotism or some shit?" 

"There's many forms of treatment, and the one that works the best completely depends on you and the aspects of your condition." Hugo calmly answered while clicking open the brief case resting atop his lap. "For now, we'll stick to sedating you, and seeing how you do with the possibility of recalling things through a state of unconsciousness for a while," He reached into the briefcase, rummaging around before pulling something out. "you need to record your dreams in here so I can see whether or not this method works, and if so, how much," He informed, holding out a journal and pencil. "be sure to be detailed to ensure more accurate analyzations of how well this is or isn't working." 

Jerome hesitantly took the journal while muttering, "Got it...", and trying to recall what his previous dream he'd just been having was about... a lot of smiling faces... a sad person... a swarm of cops... a cat... a butler... a woman in a pink mask... a woman attached to a knife throwing wheel... an officer... a blind sailor... a snake lady... 

Hugo smirked as Jerome eyed over the journal with a furrowed brow, the doctor shutting his briefcase and musing, "Assuming that you were dreaming before I came in here, I'll go on and leave so you can jot down whatever it was about before it becomes too frustrating to recall." He held out his hand, Jerome glancing at it before looking up at him. "If you need anything at all, please feel free to call for me, Jerome." 

The first step was to make the child dependent on him. 

Jerome hesitantly shook the good doctor's hand. 

Hugo had him. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne had called Tommy over because- other than Alfred- Tommy had been the only one there for him after that night in the alleyway-- even if he hadn't been there since that. After comforting Wayne the first time, Tommy hadn't seen Wayne again until he started back up to school, and by then he'd turned into a complete ass. 

Tommy was trying to be better now, though, and Wayne had seen that. Wayne had seen it in the way Tommy had invited him to the Valentine's event, and warned him of Rome, and told his lackeys to back off. Tommy had started acting friendly again, and Wayne saw that. 

What Wayne didn't see was Tommy's intentions. 

Wayne might have seen that Tommy had been an ass to him to avoid getting shit for his attraction towards the freak orphan, which was a boy at that. Wayne might have seen Tommy was trying to make up for such. Wayne did not see Tommy was being kind for all the wrong reasons. 

Tommy was still attracted to Wayne. That was obvious. Tommy was trying to be nice to Wayne. That was also obvious. What wasn't obvious was the fact that Tommy had this little plan to get Wayne to return that attraction, despite it being clear Wayne was still getting over how terribly he'd treated the boy. What wasn't clear was that was quite literally the only reason Tommy was being so nice. What wasn't clear was that if Tommy believed he couldn't manipulate Wayne to return the feelings, then Tommy wouldn't have given the slightest shit about Wayne. 

What wasn't obvious, was that Tommy looked at Wayne as no more than a prize to be won. What wasn't obvious, was that Tommy viewed Wayne's friendship as something lacking value, because it wasn't friendship he wanted. What wasn't obvious, was that Tommy cared about satisfying his feelings-- not Wayne's. 

Tommy cared about his version of Wayne-- not the real Wayne. Tommy's portrayal of emotions and his actions towards Wayne were genuine, but not genuine towards Wayne-- they were conditional, and only applied as long as he believed Wayne would return his gestures. 

Why wouldn't Wayne return his gestures, after all? Tommy was such a sweet guy caring so much about him, after all. It would be cruel for Wayne to not return what Tommy was giving him and expecting back, after all. 

That was Tommy's reasoning, in any case. 

Wayne had believed Tommy had gone back to being the way he used to be-- to being the type of Tommy that comforted Wayne when this had happened the first time. That's why Wayne had finally trusted Tommy to come back over and be there for him again. 

"I can't stop missing him." Wayne sobbed, falling apart thanks to not being sure of what to do, not seeing a reason to hold anything in when being confronted with what was now the second horrible event that just made him not care about any other events going on. 

"It's all right," Tommy assured soothingly, letting Wayne cry into the crook of his neck. "give it some time," He certainly didn't miss the guy that had been keeping himself firmly planted between Tommy and Wayne, however Tommy wasn't about to say that. "you'll feel better eventually," Now there was nothing stopping Tommy from getting what he wanted, because Wayne didn't have Jerome to look after him. "just like you felt better after a while of getting over this kind of thing before," Tommy continued rubbing soothing circles into Wayne's back, and now Wayne would be falling into his arms for comfort, rather than Jerome's. "I'm here for you, Wayne, okay?" Tommy was the one by Wayne's side now-- not that pesky bastard oh so annoyingly concerned with being sure he didn't take advantage of the boy practically needing someone to take charge with all the shit he got into. "I've got you..." Tommy was being the good guy here! Some people needed to be a little controlled to be sure they stayed in place! "I won't leave you." Tommy wouldn't leave Wayne like Jerome had-- Jerome was the bad guy here. "I've got you..." Tommy repeated, and he did. He did have Wayne. "I won't leave you." Tommy wouldn't abandon Wayne like Jerome had. 

Wayne felt lips begin to kiss his tear stained cheeks. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome was fairly sure he wasn't used to having dreams that started off from wherever the last one had finished, however he figured that was how shit like this worked when you were trying to puzzle your past back together through said dreams. 

Jerome was slightly more aware he was dreaming than before, and this time his body wasn't gray and white-- it was back to being in full color. This time, he had a name, and a face to put to it, and his own voice as well. 

He still didn't have a name for the sad boy with the '=(' mask that was staring at him, however. 

"Do you have a name?" Jerome questioned, standing outside a police station with four letters above it that kept shifting. The first two shifted to G, to C, to e, to O. The next shifted to P, to b, to q. The last one stayed D. The first one shifted quicker, the second one not as fast, and the one after that randomized the order. 

At least Jerome's voice sounded like his voice now, and not the voices he hadn't realized belonged to his copycats. 

When the sad person didn't answer, Jerome gave a sigh, not wanting to touch the other considering doing so had a habit of harming either him or the one he initiated contact with so far when he was dreaming. Then again, this was the one person that didn't seem to get hurt when Jerome had touched him before, other than the first time, so... 

Jerome looked the sad person over, eyes landing on the sight of two scribbly red arrows drawn into his throat, a few inches between them, pointing at each other like so, '---> <\---'. 

Naturally, between that gap was where Jerome went to press the tip of his fingers, and he did so rather reluctantly, hesitating before touching the sad person's skin. 

When a mark with trickling blood appeared there, Jerome cussed and retreated his hand, relief hitting as the cut stopped spreading after a few seconds, emerald eyes widening when the eerily still sad person suddenly jolted and scrambled away from him quickly. 

"Easy-" Jerome coaxed as the person tripped over their own feet, grabbing their hand before they could fall on their ass, and briefly everything seemed to halt at that. 

Until the asphalt beneath them caved in and the pair fell through as brick walls resembling an alleyway with a staircase erupted from the ground. 

"Shit-" Jerome laughed anxiously, not fully recalling this was a dream as he instinctively tightened his hand around the sad person's, not letting go as they fell at least several stories through what would have been pitch black if not for the carnival lights lined along the walls. "What the f-" Jerome started with a forced smile at the sight of white bandages below that they were quickly approaching, falling into them and letting out a grunt, the cloth breaking their fall as they broke through several of them before becoming tangled up in the last few, finding themselves dangling above a bedroom. 

Jerome let out a strained chuckle accompanied by a sigh, relieved they were seemingly safe despite being in uncomfortable positions, glancing at the '=(' mask beside him and realizing he still had a grasp on their hand, causing Jerome to give an apologetic and forced grin while quickly retreating his hand somewhat embarrassedly. At that, the firm bandages confining them easily tore, and they found themselves falling into the bedroom, the sad person landing into a sitting position on the bed while Jerome fell on his back against the floor with a grunt. 

The sad person looked over the bed at Jerome, tilting their head to the side, earning a smirk as Jerome mused, "You gonna' help me up or what?" When only earning a continued stare, Jerome sighed and rolled his eyes. "Right..." The people here were pretty dang rude. "You at least gonna' tell me your name?" He asked while standing and brushing himself off, causing the sad person to look down at their lap. "Do you speak English?" Jerome muttered unsurely, earning a nod. "Is there a reason you're not answering-" The masked person looked up, Jerome going quiet as they tapped their fingertips against their throat. "You're a mute?" Jerome guessed in disbelief, earning a few quick nods. "Oh boy..." He exhaled, rubbing the side of his neck, causing the sad person to slump their shoulders and look down at the floor, crossing their arms and fidgeting meekly. "No no, it's fine!" Jerome assured with a forced grin. "Can you write down what I should call you? We could communicate that way." 

The sad person made a scribbling gesture with their hand and then gave a shrug, signaling they didn't have any pens or paper, earning another sigh and pondering before pointing to themselves and then making the outline of the letter 'B' in the air, trying to move onto the next letter, but finding their hand trembled and twitched too much when they tried to spell out the rest. 

So, for now he was just 'B.' 

"B?" Jerome asked just to be sure, earning an enthusiastic nod from the boy. "B it is. I'm Jerome." Finally-- Jerome had seemingly found someone he could get along with here. "So can you take that mask off?" 

B reached up to grip his mask, tugging on the edges but not causing it to budge or rip, lowering his hands after a few tries and giving a shrug, causing Jerome to straighten up and approach intrigued, looking B over as the smaller one stared up at him, carefully reaching out to grasp the boy's '=(' mask and- 

Where Jerome's fingertips touched around the jawline of the mask, blood began to seep, emerald eyes widening and fingers retreating, cussing under his breath as B pressed his palms against the new wounds and fell on his knees in a clear amount of pain, and for shit's sake... 

Jerome knelt beside B, apologizing while reaching out in attempts to help stop the crimson droplets falling from where he'd gripped the mask, causing B to flinch and cower, Jerome's hands pausing at that, realizing it probably wouldn't be a very good idea to touch the other at all if he could help it. 

"I wasn't trying to-" Jerome started to reassure, but before he could finish a loud rumble of thunder interrupted him, causing the two to look outside the window at the sight of silver coated clouds rumbling towards them. 

Oh great, what now- 

An abrupt gust wind hit the window that was shuddering terribly, shattering the glass as hard specks of silver rain came flying inside and made cracks wherever the droplets hit the floor, the force of said wind being enough to swiftly tear the room in half, Jerome on one side and B on the other of a gaping crack that was only growing with each second. 

Bullshit. This was bullshit. Jerome was getting real tired of this crap. A part of him considered just easily leaving B stranded on the other side of the room and quickly escaping on his own to have a better chance at getting out of here safely. After all, the door was on his side of the room, and he had just met this weirdo. 

Another part of Jerome was very aware this could very well be the only person that wouldn't attack him here like all the other people he'd encountered had. He was also aware this person could probably help him figure out what was going on. Jerome was additionally aware it would probably be quite lonely and admittedly not the least bit easing to be alone in a place like this. 

There was also the peculiar feeling in Jerome's gut telling him he knew this B guy. 

So, Jerome didn't hold back his instincts as he leapt forward and didn't make it across the room. Okay, well, he KIND OF made it. As in he was dangling off the edge of the cracked floorboard regretting acting upon emotions to save this brat just standing there looking at him and- 

Jerome's hands slipped off the flooring easily considering he didn't have anything to grasp onto, but he only fell for a second. 

B grasped onto Jerome's right hand with both of his own, sliding forward somewhat until only his feet to his waist were against the floor, dangling above Jerome and tightening his grasp. 

Jerome let out a wary chuckle of relief as B began to shimmy backwards, Jerome using his left hand to reach for the floorboard, yet the instant he touched it the area melted to silver, and began to spread. 

For shit's sake- 

The flooring under B melted to Silver, and suddenly it was like they were falling through a waterfall of the gray sparkling liquid, hands attempting to hold on, yet becoming too slippery and sliding away. 

Jerome landed in a pool of silver, ears becoming muffled by the thick liquid, eyes straining to see anything other than the substance covering his sights, not sure which way was up or down as he just swam, chest aching from holding his breath- 

As Jerome emerged from the silver, he took in a choked gasp of air, not wasting any time in looking for B, and feeling dread hit when finding no sight of him, calling out his name and trying to part away some of the liquid with his hands, feeling through it and pacing around, attempting to run into wherever the other could be. 

That is, Jerome found no sight of B until turning around. 

There was a girl with a silver coated cloud as her face, which Jerome would have found pretty weird if all this other strange shit wasn't happening, and on her left was the man from the dream before that was wearing the mask Jerome didn't realize was the mask of Azrael, while on her right was that woman with a whip in her belt as well as masquerade pink and envy green shadows covering her face, which Jerome also vaguely recalled somewhat. 

Then, there was B standing behind them, Jerome almost not even catching that detail with how hard it was to see behind them. 

"B!" Jerome called out, easily walking forward through the thin liquid. "B?" Jerome questioned when not earning a reply, finding the liquid was actually kind of thick. "You all right?" Actually, it was getting rather hard to tread through silver up to his knees. "B-" Jerome's eyes widened, realizing the liquid was solidifying and giving an anxious laugh. "B! Come on, a little help here?" Jerome pleaded with a forced smile, the quicker he walked the quicker it froze, until... "Shit!" Jerome chuckled uneasily, finding himself stuck, not budging in the least. "B!" 

B seemed to jolt awake at the desperate shout, looking around before landing his sights on Jerome, perking up surprised while giving the struggling other a stare, before quickly running around the trio he'd been behind to go help Jerome. 

The only problem was Jerome hadn't just awakened B. 

After only getting a few steps forward, B found himself being held back. The girl with a cloud for a face was holding his left hand, the man in a mask had him by the scruff of his neck, and the woman had him by the calf of his leg with her whip. 

"Hey!" Jerome scoffed with a rather pissed off smirk, thunder rumbling and causing everything to shake. "Let him go!" B was struggling frantically, reaching out his right hand towards Jerome desperately, a crackling filling the air, hair standing on end. "B!" He shouted, legs firmly planted into the silver ground, silver lightning abruptly shattering against the ground between them. "B!" Jerome repeated, a brightness of silver engulfing the room. 

Jerome jolted awake, almost shouting out B's name again, yet stopping himself, realizing he was awake and letting out a stressed chuckle, staring up at the ceiling and swallowing dryly. 

Time to write his second weird ass dream in his journal... 

~*~*~*~ 

To be fair, Tommy had stopped when Wayne told him to. Sure, he didn't stop right away, but he'd stopped after Wayne had kneed him in the stomach and bit his lower lip. It wasn't like Tommy had done anything that bad-- he'd just kissed Wayne a little! It wasn't like he'd taken his pants off or anything like that. Okay, sure, he'd kept kissing Wayne after the other had told him to stop when he moved along to his neck and then tried to soothingly hush him by pressing their lips back together, but it wasn't like Wayne wasn't enjoying himself with how he'd previously been kissing back. 

It wasn't Tommy's fault Wayne had gone and riled him up by returning the kisses and then suddenly changed his mind at such a frustratingly unfair time. You don't give a dog a steak and then decide you want it back. If you try to take it away, the dog's going to try to keep it. 

It's not like Tommy was trying to harm Wayne or anything like that. In fact, he was trying to do quite the opposite. He was trying to give Wayne a good comforting time, and Wayne wasn't grateful for it in the least. Wayne repaid him by being a prude, whiny, bitching tease. 

"Get out." Wayne snapped, still watery eyed from how he'd been crying about Jerome when Tommy somehow felt it would be a good time to make a move on him. 

"You bit my lip." Tommy scoffed in disbelief, pressing his fingertips against the bleeding area. 

"You didn't stop." Wayne retorted, nose stuffy and breathing shaky. 

"Because you definitely weren't complaining when we first started making out." Tommy snapped, because Wayne had initially returned the kisses. 

"I don't care what I was or wasn't doing at first," Wayne shakily spoke, getting up from the mattress and storming over towards the door. "I told you to stop, and you didn't listen." 

Tommy's eyes widened as Wayne approached the exit; if any of his protective friends or Alfred found out Tommy had been a little assertive, he was going to be in big trouble. "Hey," He objected, hopping up and sprinting towards the other. "wait a second-" Tommy couldn't very well have Jonathan injecting him with fear gas, or Ivy poisoning him with a toxic flower, or Harley strangling him, or Alfred calling his home and revealing this, now could he? 

"Get away from me, you creep-" Wayne warned as Tommy slammed shut the door Wayne had started to open. 

"Listen to me-" Tommy pleaded, keeping his hand firmly on the door Wayne was attempting to get through. 

"Tommy, move." Wayne instructed, trying to push by the other. 

"I'm sorry," Tommy persisted, gripping Wayne's upper arms and firmly pushing him beside the door to get him away from it. "okay? I'm sorry." 

Wayne gave a scoff, eyes rolling. "Yeah right," He attempted to push Tommy away from him by the other's chest. "you're just saying that so you don't get in trouble, jackass." Tommy didn't budge. "Let me go-" 

"I didn't mean to-" 

"To what? Suddenly not recall what the word 'no' means?" Wayne sarcastically interjected. "I can't believe I fell for your friendly act." He should have known Tommy had an ulterior motive for acting so nice. "I can't believe I used to be friends with you-" 

"I was trying to help you feel better!" Tommy defended, Wayne flinching at the raised tone and the tightened grasp on his arms. 

"You were trying to make yourself feel better." Wayne corrected haughtily, slamming his foot against Tommy's, managing to get the yelping other to loosen his grasp and slipping away towards the door to go get Alfred make Tommy leave, only to have his wrist grabbed. "Back off!" Wayne huffed, trying to tug away while looking over his shoulder to glare at Tommy. 

"I said I was sorry." Tommy said while tightening his grasp on Wayne's wrist. 

"If you were really sorry you'd be fine with me not just up and forgiving you for being a piece of shit." Wayne countered, trying to get out of Tommy's hold. "Let me go-" 

Tommy shifted so he was instead gripping the squirming Wayne's upper arms, getting a better hold on him. "I'll let you go when we're done talking." 

"I don't want to talk to you-" Wayne shakily argued, and he wasn't sure if Tommy was trying to bruise his upper arms on purpose, but it really hurt pretty badly, and he was tired of this bullshit, so he just yelled, "Alfred-" 

Tommy placed his hand over Wayne's lips, silencing him while ramming him against the wall with his free hand so the smaller one couldn't pull away. "Wayne-" He warned through clenched teeth. 

"You're hurting me-" Wayne informed in a muffled voice as his eyes began to water up again, and oh if Jerome was here this wouldn't be happening... 

"If you'd just wait a minute and chill out then I wouldn't be having to-" Tommy started to accuse. 

"Alfred!" Wayne called out again, because he already felt vulnerable enough getting used to being without Jerome, and this wasn't helping at all. 

Tommy pressed his palm firmer against Wayne's lips to hush him, not very well wanting to get in trouble. "Can you just shut up for one second and let me-" Wayne sank his teeth into Tommy's hand. "Ouch!" 

At that, Tommy just reacted. 

Tommy had expected Wayne to return the punch, but instead Wayne was just on the floor and staring up at Tommy wide eyed while pressing his palm against his bruising cheek. 

Shit. 

"I'm sorry-" Tommy apologized, kneeling next to Wayne, expecting a fight rather than the way that Wayne tried to scoot away from him as he reached out. 

"Get away from me!" Wayne warned, kicking and shoving at Tommy as the other gripped his chin to examine the bruise mark. "Let me go!" Tommy was desperately trying to hush him and affectionately coax him into forgiving him. "Stop it-" Wayne just wanted to be left alone. 

The door opened, Jonathan worriedly walking inside, halting at the sight of a shaken up Wayne attempting to get away from a wide eyed Tommy. 

Jonathan's concern shifted to something akin to rage, which was a very rare emotion for the other to display. 

It was quite frightening. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Why exactly do you care so much for this 'B' character?" Hugo questioned while handing the dream journal back to Jerome. 

Jerome gave a shrug. "It's kinda' just a gut feeling," He admitted. "it feels natural or whatever to stick with him, and he seems kinda' familiar." A pause, Jerome averting his gaze and giving a weak smirk. "Plus, it's kinda' nice to have someone that's not trying to kill me or getting killed because of me," He swallowed dryly, rubbing the side of his neck. "doesn't feel as uneasy or whatever when you're not alone." He was recalling old places, and yet the settings felt so new-- at least having something constant somewhat gradually becoming familiar beside him helped ease the anxiety that arose when experiencing those areas. 

Jerome wasn't quite sure if he cared for B. He was sure he had at one time, but he wasn't sure how long or short ago that time had been, and he wasn't sure if he still felt anything towards him at all. It was like there was still a piece of him that did, and he felt that piece trying to fit back I place whenever they interacted, but outside of the moment Jerome felt very distantly towards whoever this B character was supposed to represent. 

Perhaps if he unmasked B, some of the pieces would fall into the right place and stay there, and Jerome would fully feel something again, rather than just experiencing the faint buzz of a distant emotion. 

For now, Jerome kept B around because he was a tool to not feel lonely, and he was his guide. For now, Jerome felt very little towards B like this. 

There was a part of Jerome that ached because of that. It was a dull ache, but if things continued to go on this way, it would be an ache that grew. 

A part of Jerome missed B. 

Jerome would have to eventually either smother that part, or piece it together until he got the picture of what was going on. 

Hugo planned on manipulating Jerome into smothering it. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne had let Jonathan deal with Tommy after the keeper of fear had promised to not kill his classmate. Wayne had left the room and gone to the bathroom. He'd broken down and cried for what felt like the millionth time since Jerome had... 

Wayne cried about a lot of things. About losing Jerome. About not saving Silver when she was being carried away to Arkham. About how he was probably being a burden on Jonathan since Jonathan was clearly convinced it was his turn to look out for Wayne now. About how Selina still seemed to be avoiding him. About how Azrael wouldn't just leave him alone and it was his fault his friends had been in danger so many times before. About how Alfred still hadn't genuinely apologized for asking Jerome to kill Theo's men and contributing to Jerome's regression. 

About how Tommy had used this vulnerability as a chance to break Wayne and get ahold of him. 

Tommy had been one of Wayne's closest friends. Before he started being an ass, Wayne had been attracted to him just as much as he'd been attracted to Jerome and Selina. Tommy had changed, and he missed his best friend. 

So, for about half an hour, Wayne cried. About half and hour after that, Jonathan knocked on the door and waited to be permitted inside. 

"Tommy most likely won't be bothering you again." Jonathan assured, Wayne's eyes widening at the empty canister of fear gas in his hand. "I allowed him the antidote approximately ten minutes ago-- he's relatively fine and back to being in good health." Well, his mental health wasn't fine, but Jonathan didn't say that. "He's also aware he won't get the antidote next time if he does something like this again." 

Jonathan was aware he wasn't Jerome, but he was Wayne's friend, and someone had to look after the kiddo. 

Wayne was, after all, the first person Jonathan cared about since losing his own family. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome was more aware of when he was dreaming with each sedation. 

He found himself still stuck in a solid pool of knee high silver, B, the girl with a cloud as a face, the woman with smeared masquerade pink and envy green for a face, and the man with Azrael's mask all being gone. 

There was, however, a familiar curly haired brown cat sitting about a yard in front of him, watching him intrigued while flicking her tail. 

"Are you here to help me or attack me?" Jerome scoffed, arms crossing. 

The cat stood at that, giving a long leisurely stretch before prancing over towards him, Jerome taking a somewhat defensive stance, not wanting this thing to claw him up or something like that- 

The cat hopped towards Jerome, causing him to cover his face and cuss, tensing as she landed on his shoulder, giving an impatient 'meow' and causing him to hesitantly lower his hands, uncertainly allowing the expectant cat to slide into his hold, looking down at her with a quirked brow and wondering what- 

The cat nestled into his grasp, and the silver melted, Jerome giving a groan as he abruptly sunk through, tightening his grasp on the cat. 

Jerome felt like he was being sucked down by a strong current, the cat somehow not seeming to mind getting wet, which let him know he was definitely in a dream. Suddenly, he found himself sliding to a halt, the silver liquid getting thicker, bubbles coming out of his mouth as he gradually descended through what was getting unsettlingly close to feeling like jello, relief washing over him when feeling cool air hit his ankles, the rest of him eventually following. 

Jerome took in a gasp of air as he fell less than a story high before landing on his feet, looking up at the ceiling that looked like silver ocean waves gravitating in the air, a few droplets splashing down onto his face as the cat jumped out of his arms, causing him to turn his sights to the feline shaking the silver off and licking her paw, rubbing it against her nose to groom herself before calmly pitter pattering over to a frozen up B and looking over her shoulder to meow at Jerome. 

Jerome hesitated, wanting to examine his surroundings before approaching B; he wanted to have B by his side if possible until he got everything figured out, but Jerome wasn't about to risk anything and everything for him-- just because Jerome was dreaming didn't mean this shit wasn't unsettling, and he'd prefer to avoid being too freaked out with how this stuff was feeling more and more real with each sedation. 

There was a girl with a red flower for a face, a boy with the face of a scarecrow, a man with the face of a coin in which it was smiling on the front and glaring on the back, and a body with four heads consisting of blank skin for faces other than a thin and thick eyebrow on the first one, a giddy smile on the second one, long sparkling silver eyelashes on the next one, and a high hairdo on the last one. They were all holding off six men in robes that were hiding their faces. 

Then, there was a man in a plague doctor's mask and hat, his outfit consisting of a penguin's orange and black color scheme, and there was the detective with a red curtain hiding his face, the pair attacking the man with the mask of Azrael. 

There was also the man with the round hat hiding his eyes and a green bandana with a question mark hiding his lips, holding his hands up defensively, facing a man with a police uniform and a donut for a face. The donut guy in a police uniform would've been amusing if his glazing and dripping jelly wasn't blood. 

Then, there was the woman with envy green and masquerade pink smears covering her face, her arms wrapped protectively around the girl with a cloud for a face. 

All of them were still, except for the cat meowing and looking at Jerome while pawing at B's leg expectantly. 

Jerome got the message, finally approaching at that, looking the boy over unsure of where to try to shake him awake, worried touching the wrong place could harm him. B had his ankles and wrists tied together with a rope, his hands stretched out, Jerome hesitantly reaching towards the rope around the boy's wrists and pressing his fingertips against it, resulting in his tight confinements loosely falling to the ground, B perking up. 

Well, that worked. 

The cat purred, rubbing her cheek against B's ankle while circling him, Jerome starting to ask, "Are you all ri-", before B abruptly fell forward, Jerome tensing as the boy pressed his face into his chest and clung onto him, not making a noise despite how his body was shaking with sobs. 

Jerome wasn't expecting the surge of emotion that hit him, feeling like everything was swirling together as he wasn't sure whether he was feeling concern, relief, or something else entirely as he felt something deep in his gut seem to settle into place, like a puzzle piece he'd been trying to fit everywhere and finally found the right fit for after cramming it in so many places. Regardless of what it was, it ached, and Jerome hadn't even realized there was a single droplet rolling down his cheek as he just stood there. He was trying to soak in the emotion without letting any of it go like a sponge attempting to not let one bit of water leak. He had been distantly aware he'd felt this emotion before for B, but he was actually experiencing it now, and this entire thing was still much to fuzzy to get a good grasp on, but it was clearing up, and Jerome was more than glad he finally had a piece of himself back. He'd found an emotion that had been lost, and now it was his again. 

Jerome didn't recall a lot about B, but he CARED about B again, and for now, that was enough. 

That single tear that had been rolling down the wide eyed Jerome's cheek hit the floor, and a crystal clear layer of water spread out, causing Jerome to pull back and look at the rising water warily, finding it was rising rather quickly as it reached their waists, and then their necks, and okay what now- 

Jerome and B found themselves floating calmly in place as everything around them got tossed around in a blur of quick colors by tumbling water, not stopping until it was a new setting entirely, the bubbling water soaking back into the ground at that, Jerome and B feeling their feet touch the floor again.

That was certainly a lot better than being dragged under crimson by a clown. 

Jerome looked around, finding they were outside a warehouse in which a man with ice crystals for a face was standing outside the right of the door, while on the left stood a man with a graffitied grinning face of what Jerome didn't realize was the trademark grin his copycats sprayed onto the walls of Gotham. 

On the other side of the open warehouse doors was a girl with a red and black diamond for a face as well as diamonds for her clothing, and the cat, along with a small mouse sitting atop the cat's back. There was also the girl with the flower face, and the boy with the scarecrow face behind them. 

Jerome was about to walk towards the warehouse, but B stopped him, hopping in front of him, Jerome blinking and realizing the boy's black turtleneck and pants was now a gray jacket and dark blue jeans. 

B extended his hands and arms to his sides, like he was about to take a bow, yet instead stepping back, and as his foot touched the snow the setting around them blurred and shifted, Jerome quirking a brow as they appeared in a haunted house, B now in a what seemed to be a vampire costume. 

B did a little spin to show off his bat costume, Jerome watching amusedly as B waited for a reaction, causing Jerome to give a smirk, B practically beaming behind his '=(' mask at that and hopping forward, the setting changing once again, along with his outfit. 

This time they were in a kitchen full of pumpkin spices, B wearing a gray sweater and black leggings, earning a chuckle and nod from Jerome, causing B to clasp his hands together to convey his excitement before giving two jumps, the setting and clothing changing once more. 

They were in a masquerade ball now, and this time B was no longer wearing the '=(' mask. Instead, B was wearing a sleek dark gray mask with what looked like carved owl feathers on the edges, Jerome having a red and purple royal court jester's mask. 

B smiled, Jerome staring at him somewhat taken aback, clearly not expecting the new mask, causing B to give a laugh with no sound before reaching out his hand, Jerome arching a brow and glancing down at it before feeling his ears heat up embarrassedly, looking around at the people wearing '=)' masks that were frozen in dancing positions around them. 

Jerome reminded himself this was just a dream of course, but he couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed about being asked to dance. 

B's smile fell when Jerome rubbed the side of his neck and averted his gaze while clearing his throat, the boy looking away while drawing his hand back- 

Jerome sighed, hesitantly taking ahold of B's hand, earning a surprised look as B's lips parted into an 'o', before they turned up into a smile, Jerome feeling somewhat awkward as B stepped forward while taking ahold of Jerome's wrists, lowering one of Jerome's hands to his right hip, and gesturing Jerome's free arm to wrap around his back, Jerome swallowing dryly as B stepped rather close at that, giving a slight laugh with no sound at how Jerome forced an anxious smile when they began dancing around the people frozen in place. 

"I'm trying to piece together what all of this is supposed to mean," Jerome admitted, aware he was talking to his version of someone he'd once known rather than that actual person themselves, but not really caring since this was the closest thing he got to having something from his past-- regardless of how real it was. "the symbolism is all coming at me kinda' fast, and it's hard for me to focus when things keep shifting," He forced a smile, brow furrowing and gaze averting. "it doesn't really help that it's hard to recall all of this by the time I wake up." 

B followed Jerome's dance steps, staring up at him quietly. B had been quiet this entire time. Jerome couldn't recall what he looked like, or even sounded like. Jerome couldn't recall how B acted, at that. In fact, Jerome really wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel towards B with how his emotions were all mixed up. Sometimes he felt an overwhelming wave of protectiveness. Sometimes he felt a rush of aggravation. Sometimes he felt barely anything towards the boy. Jerome could feel protective, or possessive, or uncaring towards B at random. Everything about B and the rest of who Jerome had been were getting terribly mismatched, and the pieces that clicked into place were weak, easily being flicked away by other pieces desperately trying to find somewhere to cram into place. 

"All the shit I've been seeing here has been coming and going so fast, and I haven't gotten a chance to really take in any of the places I've been yet, because it seems like I'm forced to leave right after being forced to go there," Jerome continued, swallowing thickly, feeling silly talking to a part of his dream so seriously, unsure of whether or not this was significant in the least, or just him talking to himself. "so can we just keep going faster?" Jerome wanted to get this over with, and things had already been going so quickly, so... "Until we get to the part where I..." Jerome trailed off, referring to the injury on his stomach. 

Jerome just wanted to find out what happened to him. It ached to relive things that had already happened. It ached that he was becoming aware that these events were dreams. That they were once real, but now they were just bits and pieces of something he no longer had a grasp on. 

It ached for Jerome to not know who B was. What B was to him. It ached to just be around B, because Jerome could feel something had been there, but it wasn't there anymore. Perhaps it was somewhere else. B was a lost puzzle piece he was scrambling to find, along with the other pieces of his past. There was a chance Jerome would never find it-- that he'd kicked it too far under a rug, and now he couldn't pull the rug up. 

Perhaps he'd recall who B was a long time from now, when he finally moved on... the same way one moves from a house and finds that one thing that had once been so precious to them, despite shrugging it off over time. If that was the case, would Jerome even care anymore by then? 

B's smile fell at Jerome's words pertaining to just wanting to get this over with, obviously not wanting to dance, B looking down and giving a silent sigh. 

As they continued dancing, B shifting away from Jerome somewhat while also continuing to dance as Jerome stared at him with a forced smile while adding, "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can find you, right?" Jerome felt like he was bargaining with himself. 

The sooner Jerome got the imaginary B to finish guiding him, the sooner Jerome recalled the real B, and the sooner he could start looking for that B, right? 

B didn't reply. Of course he didn't reply. He couldn't reply. Jerome doubted B would reply even if he could have, nonetheless. B could have nodded, after all. 

"B, please," Jerome exhaled, growing tired of the boy he'd just been feeling an overwhelming amount of care for, his emotions continuing to be tossed around like an unpredictable storm residing in his chest. "I want to find you." 

Jerome wanted to find himself, too. 

B halted, Jerome doing the same, one hand remaining on B's hip, his arm lingering around his waist, B's left hand remaining in Jerome's chest, and his right against his upper arm, emerald eyes blinking as B looked up with a smile that looked so unlike a smile with how sad it was. 

A sad smile for a sad boy. 

B kept that smile on, and gave a nod, stepping away from Jerome and earning an uncertain look, nothing happening at first. 

And then, the still crowd surrounding them which was full of people with smiling masks gradually began to dance. Their movements were sluggishly gradual, and contained long hesitations between each of them. A heavy slide of the foot back from the ladies, a quietness filling the room all at once, and then altogether a heavy stomp forward from the men, a hesitant silence, and then a dip slinking forward for the men, and a dip close to crashing backwards from the women, their arms moving in union, and hands remaining locked. 

What caught Jerome's eye, however, was the appearance of that trademark 'HAHAHA' smiley face which was graffitied all over the walls of Gotham by his copycats as tribute to him, the black and red symbol tattooed onto the familiar blank face of a man walking through the crowd of people sluggishly parting the way for the man smoothly striding through. 

The man was wearing a jester's outfit. 

Jerome didn't recognize the trademark look, however it certainly felt familiar. 

When the man reached the cautious Jerome and awaiting B, Jerome looked at B and uncertainly said, "Who's this asshole supposed to be?" 

Jerome wasn't sure why he'd use such harsh wording. It was instinctive. 

The graffitied man only stared at Jerome with painted eyes at first, hands behind his back and chin raised, an eerie quietness filling the room. 

Until the graffitied man snapped his fingers, and B suddenly seemed to just be powered off, the boy looking at his feet while falling backwards limply, Jerome feeling his eyes widen as two owls suddenly swooped down to wrap their talons around B's arms before whooshing off and dragging the limp boy into the crowd. 

"Hey!" Jerome objected, trying to run after B, halting and pursing his lips as the people abruptly began to dance around normally-- quickly. They danced in front of him, Jerome attempting to look over their shoulders for wherever B was being carried to, letting out a frustrated sigh, glaring at the watching graffitied man before reluctantly forcing his way through the crowd as joyful music blared and skipped every now and then and became distorted once in a while, attempting and failing to yell over the sounds of laughing and dancing and songs which only got louder. 

Eventually, it got to where Jerome was being bumped into. It was gently at first, but then the bumps began to become more frequent, and they began to make him stumble more, until they began to make him have to catch himself from coming close to falling over. 

It didn't take very long for Jerome to actually fall onto his hands and knees, each of the dancers seeming to look down at him all at once, their laughs becoming louder, music skipping more and more, couples shoving into him more violently. 

Jerome squeezed his eyes shut as a spotlight shone upon him, forcing his vision to become blurry as he attempted to stand, only to be knocked over again, and oh dear Jerome felt absolutely trapped- 

The ground began to shake, and loud crashes were heard, several things sprouting up around the defenseless Jerome, screams filling the room, the sequence of events seeming to occur all at once, Jerome unsurely looking around as the dancers began to pull away from one another and run, red flowers, scarecrows, spiked canes, and held hands with stains of masquerade pink and envy green erupting from the grounds, silver clouds crashing in from the windows and sending out jolts of silver electricity, foxes emerging from underneath the tablecloths upon buffet tables full of donuts and alcohol that tumbled over, the music shifting to riddles as red curtains and piles of two faced coins fell onto the scattering people with '=)' masks. 

Jerome was pretty sure this... stuff... was here to help him. He didn't stay to find out. 

Instead, Jerome searched for an exit, and the first one he saw he sprinted towards, a familiar body with four faces waving him through, not stopping until he was on the other side of the door and away from the screams being shut off behind him as the door closed on its own and became iced over. 

Right when Jerome's dreams got a little less creepy, this shit happened. He was fairly sure he was a bit of a troubled individual-- possibly a lot of one... probably a lot of one, actually. 

Jerome took in his surroundings, eyes first landing on the ever so watching graffitied man that had started all this shit, before moving his gaze towards the sight of a familiar cat sitting atop the two bloodied owls that had kidnapped B, feathers in the feline's mouth. The next thing that caught Jerome's eye was- 

-was... 

B. 

B in a slouched, still, limp sitting position on the couch, looking like a rag doll. 

B wasn't moving-- at all. 

Jerome felt dread fill him, and despite not recalling B at all, the part that did recall him was absolutely aching. 

Jerome wasn't sure whether B was all right or not, a horrible realization settling in as he couldn't help but wonder if B was even still alive in the real world, or if he was only in his dreams now. 

Jerome rushed towards B, the graffitied man smoothly stepping in front of him, causing Jerome to clench his jaw and step right, the man also stepping towards Jerome's right, and then Jerome's left when he went left, earning a glare, stepping forward as Jerome tried to back up and go around him. 

When the graffitied man stepped in front of Jerome again, Jerome gave a pissed off exhale, not having this bullshit as he resorted to reaching out and shoving the man in a jester's suit by his chest while warning, "Move!" 

Jerome's palms stained red the second they came into contact with the graffitied man, emerald eyes widening when the man abruptly shifted into nothing but blood taking the shape of a body, seeming to hesitate and hover before shapelessly splashing to the floor. 

Jerome generally would've found that unsettling just like everything else here he found unsettling. Really, he did find it unsettling, but more than anything, he was just worried about B, carelessly stepping through the puddle of blood tracking red footprints against the floor as he approached the boy on the couch. 

"B?" Jerome sighed, kneeling in front of the other, preparing for the worse as he reached out to press his fingertips against his jawline in attempts to wake him, that being the only visible sliver of flesh other than some of his bandaged neck and throat, crimson from his fingertips staining B's skin. 

At first, nothing happened, but after a few lengthy seconds of Jerome looking the boy over warily, B began to look up, doing so in a tired fashion, head tilting when seeing the rush of clear relief spreading over Jerome's face. 

"Are you all right?" Jerome chuckled shakily, looking B over concerned and forcing a smile, realizing he was still holding B's jaw and clearing his throat, hands retreating. 

B seemed to realize what was going on after looking around, giving a sigh and smiling at Jerome reassuringly while giving a nod, and there was that sad smile again... 

B reached up to take off his masquerade mask, Jerome raising a brow, the setting around them shifting into another one as B's fingers lifted said mask, only for Jerome to find it had been replaced with the sad '=(' paper mask. 

Jerome kept in his sigh-- he had wanted to see what B looked like. 

They were back in the bedroom they'd fallen into through a ceiling of bandages before being swept away by silver clouds. This time, it was nighttime, and there were no silver clouds. 

There were fireworks, however. 

As Jerome directed his attention to the fireworks, B walked over towards a drawer Jerome was fairly sure hadn't been there before, however it seemed that was because he was still piecing together the unfinished locations of his past. 

As B rummaged through the drawer, Jerome glanced back over towards the window as a particularly loud and bright firework erupted, subtly looking back at B afterwards, realizing the boy was drawing something over his mask, casually averting his sights back to the fireworks when B turned around, not looking at the boy approaching him until he was in front of him. 

B was carefully holding out a set of scissors in his hands, dotted lines going straight across the frowning lips printed on his mask. 

Jerome just stared at B for a while. "You want me to cut part of your mask off?" He questioned in disbelief. 

B nodded eagerly, pushing his hands out farther, and despite his mask Jerome could feel his pleading stare. 

"No." Jerome scoffed, B flinching at that. "I cut that place on your throat just by touching it, I'm not about to risk-" B gave a persistent gesture forward with of the scissors in his hands. "I said no!" Jerome laughed anxiously, backing up so his calves were against the bed, B giving a silent huff and stomp. "I am not-" B lowered the scissors to his left side, right hand reaching out to grip Jerome's, earning wide eyes as he brought Jerome's hand towards his throat. "Don't-" Jerome objected, trying to jerk his hand back, not succeeding as his fingertips pressed against the bandages wrapped around B's throat. 

Jerome held his breath, B just staring at him, waiting for something to- 

The bandages crumbled like dirt under Jerome's touch, fingertips meeting B's throat, nothing happening even as B ran Jerome's fingertips from his neck to his jawline, no injuries appearing. 

Jerome still hesitated, nonetheless, chewing on his lower lip. 

But then, B let Jerome's hand go, and made a pleading gesture by bending his knees a bit and putting his hands together the best he could with scissors in hand, and Jerome let out a long exhale. 

So, Jerome gripped B by the nape of his neck to still the boy staring up at him, and angled the scissors against the first few dots, pausing and swallowing dryly before cutting through the thin paper, and letting out a breath of relief when no blood spilt. 

Jerome continued along carefully until the bottom piece of the mask fell, revealing B's smile. 

B had a not so sad smile at first, but it turned sad after a few seconds, and Jerome quirked a brow. "What-" 

Tell me, dear reader, do you recall what happens next? 

B stood on the tips of his toes, lips pressing against Jerome's, and at the touch the setting around them shifted to daytime where Valentine's Day cards littered the floor, Jerome's eyes widening as he jerked back at the unexpected action, that causing the setting to change again, this time finding themselves on a school staircase as songs from a Valentines Day school dance could be faintly heard in the distance. 

B was smiling sadder than ever. His smile somehow looked sadder than even the sad mask had. 

B stepped back while looking down sadly, and the setting shifted to being outside a mansion of a place at nighttime. 

Apparently B wasn't related to Jerome all things considered. Apparently they weren't just friends either, right? Because that had to symbolize something more than friendship, didn't it?

Now, Jerome wasn't drunk. Jerome was fully aware of his actions, in fact. Despite dreaming, he was aware he was dreaming, and he was aware of what he was doing in the dream. This was a peculiar style of dreaming in chapters in order to recall his past-- it was not like most dreams, meant to just blow off steam, or to cope with things; this was a dream where Jerome generally acted out no differently inside it than he would awake. 

So Jerome was aware of what he was doing as he stepped forward. He was aware there was less than a foot between him and B. He was aware he was looking B over intrigued. He was aware he was not also stepping back. 

B didn't really have anymore room to back into, causing him to just press his back against the exterior of the manor, the scene shifting back into the bedroom, it being morning this time. 

Jerome was aware of how he gripped B's chin and lifted it somewhat. He was aware he leaned down. He was aware he closed the distance between them. 

Jerome was aware he was kissing B. 

What Jerome wasn't aware of was who B was. He wasn't aware they were no more than heavily bonded best friends. He wasn't aware B's feelings weren't returned due to the age thing. He wasn't aware he'd put a stop to B's kisses, because he didn't want to take advantage of B. 

After all, how could Jerome be sure of who B was, when he wasn't even sure who he himself was? 

Jerome wasn't aware his emotions were just as misplaced as all the other pieces of him, because he was almost certain B kissing him symbolized they'd been something. 

Jerome wasn't aware he was acting on bits and pieces he got from his dreams, rather than the full picture that the dreams were still trying to clear up. 

Jerome wasn't aware this wasn't how it went. Jerome wasn't aware this wasn't what things with B had been. 

Jerome had misinterpreted. 

When B began returning the kisses, the misinterpretation began to solidify. 

Jerome was so desperate to recall his past, that he took what he could get, even if it wasn't true. 

Jerome was in love of the idea of recollecting something so significant, rather than genuinely being in love with something so truly significant, because this was a lie, and Jerome was mistaking the idea of something as something that had been real by taking away the wrong thing from the symbolization. 

Jerome was smiling against B's lips as the other draped arms around his neck, Jerome's hands lowering to rest on B's hips, and ignorance really was bliss. 

B was smiling, but no longer in a sad way, pulling back to smile shyly up at Jerome and earning a breathless chuckle, causing B to push his lips back against Jerome's and let out a content silent sigh against his lips, relaxing in Jerome's touch while running one hand through ginger locks and using the other to grip Jerome's shirt. 

Jerome felt like he deserved a bit of a dream after all the nightmares. 

Jerome shifted forward while pulling B a little closer, wanting to get as close as possible to who he was convinced was his partner. Which technically, B was. A partner in mischief, that is-- not romance. 

B began trying to get closer, too, tugging Jerome down somewhat while pressing harder into the kiss, Jerome's hands instinctively gripping his waist as B backed Jerome up until Jerome was laying against his back on the bed, and B was in his lap, and the kisses were getting needier, because Jerome needed to find B, because B seemed to be the most important part to his past, and Jerome was sitting up to meet B's kisses as B placed his hands against his chest when Jerome cupped the right side of his face, and- 

Jerome felt something abruptly wash over him, an overwhelming warning taking him over, because a part of him was aware this wasn't right-- this wasn't how it happened. 

This was all wrong. It was going to far. It had already gone further than it should have. Jerome had already messed up by initiating a kiss. He was sure getting himself into deeper waters. 

Jerome woke up with a start, emerald eyes widening as he took in a breathless inhale, chest rising and falling shallowly. 

"Geez..." He breathed, staring up at the ceiling, the fleeting feeling of something being wrong once again being temporarily whooshed away by a whirl of other emotions trying to properly piece themselves together in the right places. 

Oh, how the story of Jerome's past was going terribly off plot. 

~*~*~*~ 

"You truly don't need to feel as though you absolutely must go to Arkham," Jonathan commented as Wayne began to get ready to leave. "it's a wretched place, and I doubt you realize what it has in store for you," A pause. "whatever you reckon may occur in there, you should realize is probably ten times worse-- and that's not an exaggeration." 

Wayne hesitated at the doorway, not saying anything at first, waiting a few lengthy seconds before looking over his shoulder to eventually reply with a determined look all too commonly seen on the stubborn boy, "This place could hold the answer to why I had my family taken away from me," He turned to fully face Jonathan. "all the evidence Alfred and I have been gathering leads to Hugo Strange." He straightened up, arms crossing. "not to mention Silver seems to be in trouble, and I already set up an appointment through Quincy..." He sighed, hand running through his hair and brow furrowing. "Plus, Selina could be there considering that's where she was planning on sneaking off to last time we met." Wayne had to go. There were too many reasons to go that he couldn't just ignore. 

Jonathan was aware of when there was no changing Wayne's mind by now. "If you'd like, I could accompany you." It was a reluctant yet genuine offer. A part of Jonathan was surprised he'd even offered it considering Arkham had put him through enough tortures to likely cause him to regress at the mere sight of the place filled with horror and cruelty, and all the types of things an mental institution should not be nor contain. 

Wayne was taken aback by Jonathan's offer as well, and despite how it honestly would have been nice to have someone facing whatever he was about to face with him, he was aware Jonathan had faced horrid things in Arkham. He wasn't quite sure what exactly those things had been, but he was sure Jonathan had faced them. 

So, Wayne smiled, and said, "Thank you, but no.", for Jonathan's sake. 

Wayne didn't want anyone having to face Arkham with him. He wouldn't put his friends through that. He has to do this alone. 

Jonathan gave a nod, swallowing dryly, forcing his averted gaze to meet Wayne's. "In that case, good luck," He approached Wayne before extending his hand and lifting his chin. "and be safe." Please be safe. Jonathan had lost the two people he'd been close to-- one to a fire, and one to a cop. He couldn't lose another one-- it would surely break him again, and he feared he'd regress back to seeing the scarecrow at such a vulnerable event. 

"Thanks." Wayne said with another smile while shaking Jonathan's hand. 

Jonathan stopped shaking, about to pull back, yet pausing to add, "And you certainly haven't lost all of your family.", referring to Wayne bringing up how he'd lost his family to Hugo. 

For a second, Wayne reckoned Jonathan was referring to Alfred, before realizing... 

Jonathan's hand drew back, and he certainly wasn't expecting Wayne to step forward and wrap his arms around him, brow quirking as he took a few seconds to realize the younger one was hugging him, pausing and glancing around uncertainly before clearing his throat and hesitantly wrapping his arms around Wayne in return. 

Wayne still had Alfred, just as he still had Jonathan, Selina, Ivy, Harley, and Jen. 

Wayne still had a family, as did Jonathan. 

They all did. 

~*~*~*~ 

Hugo choked on his tea while reading Jerome's dream journal, because Selina had certainly never reported Jerome and Wayne being in any romantic relationship. Sure, she'd revealed Wayne had an attraction towards Jerome, but he'd been under the impression Jerome never returned the feelings. 

It was clear Jerome had moody personality swings, because in losing your identity, you lose your personality to an extent until regaining such, but this seemed to be way too significant to just be that. 

The doctor read the line over again a few times, just to be sure he read it correctly, as though it would change, or offer a new meaning. 

After that didn't happen, Hugo continued reading, and then re-read the entire chapter over again, looking for some kind of hidden part explaining the peculiar find. 

Since that didn't happen, Hugo tried to figure out if he'd possibly miscalculated, and 'B' stood for something else, but he was almost certain it didn't, so when he came up with nothing, Hugo resorted to just re-reading the surprising line. 

'B and I kissed. A lot. Until I woke up. I guess we were together?' 

Perhaps Ms. Kyle had lied to Hugo about Jerome and Wayne's relationship? Or could their relationship have been kept a secret? There was a chance they'd began seeing one another after Selina had stopped reporting to Hugo. Could Jerome be lying to him for some reason? 

None of those possibilities sounded right. 

Hugo was almost certain something was amiss, and he felt as though Jerome was getting his past mixed up, just as Theo had, and Fish initially had. 

Perhaps Hugo could use this to his advantage... 

~*~*~*~ 

Regret. Wayne felt a lot of regret. He and Fox were both in trouble now. Gordon probably was, too. 

Wayne and Fox were stuck in a room with Nygma on an intercom threatening to release a poisonous gas if they didn't answer his question. 

"Who runs Wayne Enterprises?" Nygma kept giddily asking. 

"The Board of Directors." Fox persisted while Wayne insisted it was someone else. 

Wayne had pretty much listed everyone he could come up with. 

"Me?" The obvious one. "Falcone? Fish? Penguin?" Those who ran Gotham. "Alfred?" His guardian who handled his assets until he was eighteen. "Fox? You?" Trick question perhaps? "Hugo? Is it Hugo?" Did Wayne even know who Nygma was referring to? "Thomas Wayne?" Was Nygma implying he was still alive or something? Wayne doubted it, but... he had to try everything. "No one? Everyone? Capitalism? The people of Gotham? Another country? World leaders?" Wayne was bullshitting answers now. 

"Who runs Wayne Enterprises?" Nygma repeated, staring down at the answer Hugo had given him. 

'The Court of Owls' read the piece of paper. 

Nygma had initially refused to do this. However, Hugo had assured Nygma the gas was harmless, and this was a mere game that would allow Nygma and Wayne along with Fox to be released afterwards. 

When Nygma announced their final answer was incorrect after counting down and Fox insisting, "The Board of Directors.", the gas released, and Nygma's eyes widened as Wayne and Fox fell to the ground. 

"You said it wouldn't-" Nygma started to accuse, joyful demeanor gone as he glared Hugo down while standing. 

"Careful now, Mr. Nygma," Hugo warned calmly. "if I didn't know better I'd say you have a soft spot for the boy." That managed to make Nygma shut up. "You shouldn't express such fondness towards someone just because they bothered having a go at a few of your silly riddles in the past." 

That wasn't fair. Wayne was one of the only people who had been decent to Nygma back when he was weak and sheepish and let people walk over him. He'd actually found Nygma's riddles amusing. That counted for something-- Nygma hadn't wanted to cause any harm to him. 

"You told me we'd all be leaving here regardless of whether he answered right or not." Nygma stated upset, because Hugo had said the gas wasn't dangerous-- that it was placebo. Just smoke. This was only supposed to be a sick game of Hugo's where no one got hurt this time. 

"It's sleeping gas." Hugo informed carelessly, intrigued as to the amount of criminals the good little Wayne was friends with. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome was pretty much almost constantly aware of when he was dreaming now. 

The dreams continued picking up where others had left off. 

B was nuzzled up against Jerome's chest, still laying on him where they'd been kissing before on the bed, not moving at all until Jerome ran a hand through his hair, the touch causing B to stretch awake and sit up, face still masked from the tip of the nose up, but lips smiling before dipping down to press a kiss to Jerome's lips. 

Jerome gave a grin, reaching to run his hands along B's sides, chuckling as he flipped them over so he was hovering over the surprised B, looking down at the boy staring up at him taken aback before giving Jerome a silent laugh and reaching up to cup his cheek, Jerome's smile softening somewhat, moving to press a kiss against B's palm. 

Jerome wasn't aware he wasn't feeling love, because he'd never been in love. Not with B, or anyone else. 

He was only feeling what he believed love felt like, because Jerome didn't love B, even if he believed he did. 

He had never done these things with B-- these were just things he wanted to do if he ever did fall in love with anyone. 

None of this had ever occurred, and Jerome didn't realize that. 

Jerome's dreams were portraying more than just truth now. 

B propped himself up on his elbows so he could press kisses against Jerome's jawline, but he'd barely gotten a couple of kisses in when Jerome found himself being yanked off by the man in a butler's vest with a sack hiding his face. 

And so, the nightmares came back. 

"Hey-" Jerome objected as the butler threw him to the floor, B reaching out as Jerome crashed through the floorboards like they were paper, falling into the next room with a grunt. 

Bullshit. This was bullshit. 

Jerome had fallen in a dim room where it was rather hard to see anything other than a trio of lamps hanging over a table containing a trio of objects, Jerome giving a sigh and reluctantly approaching said table, because he may as well get this crap over with. 

There was a pile of blood stained robes, a map blank other than of the state of Maine and the city of Rome covered in bloody fingerprints, and a wad of cash splotched in blood with a penguin's face rather than a man's. 

Jerome wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with this crap. Probably touch it and have some more weird shit happen. 

So, Jerome reached out towards it, and found the objects came to him this time instead. 

Emerald eyes widened as the robes wrapped around his palms, the map tearing between the two locations and coiling around his wrists, the bills in the cash dividing themselves to wrap around his fingers. 

Jerome yanked away as the blood from the objects soaked against his hands, his jerk back causing the objects to crumble like fragile wet paper, leaving his hands dripping in crimson. 

The lanterns over the table shut off, yet Jerome was only briefly in the dark before a door several yards away opened, B standing in the bright threshold, Jerome letting out a sigh of relief and rushing forward, not halting until he was outside. 

"Hey." Jerome chuckled, stepping forward to kiss B in relief at seeing the other was back, because Jerome really didn't want to be all alone when facing his past, and he just wanted to get back to the dream part rather than nightmare part, because Jerome would certainly prefer kissing over facing creepy bullshit like that. 

B backed away from Jerome with a frown on his lips before the other could kiss him, however, causing Jerome to arch a brow and look down at where B was giving a nod to gesture towards, Jerome seeing his hands were still dripping in blood. 

"Oh," Jerome chuckled anxiously, trying to dry them on his jeans. "I just- uh-" He forced a smile as the liquid appeared to spread on his jeans, yet not leave his hands still covered in blood. "I got grabbed or whatever by some bloody stuff in there and-" B pointed at Jerome and shook his head at that, causing the other to look up at him and arch a brow. "Huh?" B emphasized pointing at him, Jerome just staring for a while at that. "What are you-" When B pointed more firmly, the scenery around them shifted, the hall they were in becoming a room where they were surrounded by robes hanging on clothes racks all around them, cash with the face of penguins raining all around them, the walls, ceiling and flooring being made up of large maps of Rome and Maine. 

The robes' sleeves were wrapped around B, and the cash was raining more so around Jerome, and the stickiness of the map made it tough to lift their feet off the floor. 

Jerome wasn't quite sure what this was supposed to represent. "B-" He started worriedly, because despite how the mask was covering the boy's eyes, he could FEEL the disappointed look B was giving him. 

As B covered his ears at Jerome's words, the setting changed again. 

Now they were in a parlor. The girl with the face of a red flower, and the girl with a red and black diamond for a face, as well as the boy with the face of a scarecrow were all sitting around a pile of blank cards. 

B was standing in the hallway, Jerome frowning and taking a step towards the door, eyes widening as it slammed shut and the kids sitting still around the cards all covered their faces at once before going still again. 

"B!" Jerome called out, rushing towards the door and finding no one there when opening it, causing Jerome to step into the hall, looking right and still seeing no one there, and then looking left only to find the guy wearing what Jerome didn't realize was the mask of Azrael standing at the end of it. 

Jerome felt a mixture of fear and rage wash over him, instinct taking over as he rushed towards the other standing as still as a statue, Jerome just acting at that. 

"Where's B?" Jerome questioned irked, a quarter of the way there as the man didn't react. "Where is he?!" He snapped pissed, halfway there, the man not moving in the least. "Answer me!" He warned enraged, less than a quarter of the way to go, his whirl of emotions only rising as the man didn't speak nor move. "Where-" 

A door flew open in front of Jerome, B stumbling out of the room and in front of Jerome, grabbing his wrist and backing up, Jerome turning to face him as he tugged desperately. 

"What-" Jerome started when seeing B's mask was stained with streaks of tears, B trying to pull him forward, Jerome's eyes widening as he began to realize what was going on and looking over his shoulder right as the masked man stabbed him before stepping back and freezing up like a statue again. 

Jerome fell to the floor as B knelt beside him, his legs feeling like jello, staring up at the boy sobbing despite not making a sound as water droplets dripped from his cheeks to Jerome's face while his hand pressed against Jerome's stomach in attempts to stop the spreading crimson seeping through his shirt, the words 'Then don't!', appearing scribbled all over the walls, floor, and ceiling. 

"Don't what?" Jerome questioned, reaching up to cup B's cheek. 

He didn't get an answer, however, because right as Jerome touched B, he began to wake up. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne also woke up. 

However, rather than waking up in the same room as Fox where they'd been gassed, he woke up in Jerome's room. 

They'd both waken up about the same time thanks to the drug that had been injected into them with the intention of rousing them from their sedation early. 

Wayne had waken up first, finding himself on the floor and standing, becoming groggy and nauseous, eyelids and limbs heavy, feeling upset and anxious as he recalled the situation he was in, forcing his blurring eyes to focus and take in his surroundings, looking around the room for Fox, realizing he was in a different room and- 

Wayne froze up when his sights landed on Jerome sitting up while rubbing the sleep out of his emerald eyes, giving a yawn and cracking his neck from side to side before stretching and swallowing dryly, blinking a few times tiredly while turning his gaze towards Wayne, quirking a brow and raising his heavy eyelids, because this boy certainly wasn't Jerome's nurse- 

"Jerome?" Wayne breathed in disbelief, eyes watering up as shock, and uncertainty, and hope, and relief all washed over him. 

Jerome tensed up at that, looking the boy over unsurely, because it was like hearing his voice and seeing his face made something connect with Jerome, and oh those were definitely B's lips and tacky goth fashion style. 

"B?" Jerome hesitantly questioned taken aback, just to be sure. 

Suddenly, Wayne didn't even recall why he was here, who he should be looking for, or where he was. 

He just cared about Jerome. 

Wayne smiled weakly, a droplet of water that had gathered in his eyes pouring down his cheek. "You're-" His voice went hoarse and choked. "You're all right?" He said with a relieved sigh and soft laugh, not caring about the peculiar new nickname Jerome had for him, because he just cared Jerome wasn't gone after all. 

Jerome gave a chuckle, and oh Wayne had believed he wouldn't hear that laugh ever again. "More or less." 

Wayne wasn't sure whether he gave a choked sob or laugh at that as tears began pouring down his cheeks, not caring his legs felt weak enough to give in as he just rushed over towards Jerome while saying, "I missed you-" 

"I missed you, too." Jerome instantly replied, sitting up and putting his legs over the edge of the mattress, and while he could tolerate the ache in this position, he didn't want to push it by trying to walk, waiting for Wayne to get to him. 

Wayne didn't even question any of this. He could do that later. He just cared that Jerome was here. "How's..." He trailed off, gesturing towards Jerome's bandaged stomach lacking a shirt. 

"It's fine." Jerome waved off assuringly, hesitating before his arms stretched out as he gave a grin. 

Okay, good-- Wayne could hug Jerome then. 

At least, what Wayne went for was a hug. 

What Wayne got was hands gripping his hips and pulling him into Jerome's lap so the other could reach his lips in a kiss. 

Wayne instantly reacted by pulling back, looking down at Jerome surprised. 

Whoa. Okay. Yeah. That was different. Jerome had never initiated a kiss. In fact, Jerome had made it very clear he wasn't interested in kisses from Wayne, so Wayne had backed off. 

So why was Jerome... 

Jerome's brow arched. "Oh, uh... was that not okay?" Had he and B broken up? Was this not B after all? 

Or had he and B never been a thing? 

No-- that was silly. Of course they'd been a thing. Why else would they have kissed? Jerome had feelings for this guy, too, right? 

Surely those feelings weren't misinterpreted. They felt so genuine. Jerome's dreams couldn't have strayed from the truth, could they? If so, then that meant so much of what Jerome was piecing together could very well not be a part of the puzzle. 

Wayne felt his cheeks heat up. "No, it's fine, I- um... I just wasn't expecting that?" It was very fine with Wayne if Jerome wanted to kiss, of course. It was also certainly not expected. 

Perhaps Jerome had realized he had a thing for Wayne after almost losing him or something? Was that the cause of the new behavior? 

Jerome and Wayne were both misinterpreting things. 

Jerome gave a relieved grin at hearing the kiss had been fine, causing him to tug Wayne down by his to kiss the other again. 

Despite this being the second kiss Jerome had given Wayne in the span of fifteen seconds, it almost surprised Wayne more than the first. The only difference being that this time, Wayne didn't pull away, and instead hesitated before smiling and melting into the kiss, brow furrowing and bluish gray eyes squeezing shut. 

Because why would Wayne pull away when the guy he'd been failing to water down his crush on was suddenly making sparks seem to fly all throughout Wayne just by pressing their lips together? 

Wayne had been closer to Jerome than anyone, and doted on Jerome, and missed Jerome. 

And now Jerome was quite literally closer to him than ever, and kissing Wayne, and Jerome was back by his side. 

Wayne was relieved. He was so relieved that he felt tears gathering in his eyes. The aching in his chest that had been brought on by losing Jerome was aching more than ever, making it hard to breathe or ponder on anything other than Jerome. The aching was wonderful, and Wayne wasn't sure he'd ever experienced crying of joy, and while he'd had an idea of what being so happy you cried felt like, it was so much more impacting than he'd expected. 

Wayne hadn't realized the water was even escaping his eyes until Jerome's hands were cupping his cheeks and running his thumbs against the tear streaks, looking up at Wayne worriedly while saying, "Hey-" 

"I missed you." Wayne repeated, leaning back down to kiss Jerome again, because the more they kissed the realer Jerome felt, and the realer this felt, because Wayne was still soaking in the fact this wasn't a dream after all. 

Wayne had dreamt of lost loved ones before. This loved one was found now for real, and no longer lost, and that was real rather than just a wish. 

Even better, Jerome was not only back, but also kissing him. 

Wayne was rather fixated on how Jerome was kissing him, but can you really blame him all things considered? 

Jerome ran his hands from Wayne's cheeks to his jawline, chuckling against the other's lips, "Looks like I'll just have to find out all about who you are again, huh?" 

Wayne's brow furrowed as Jerome began kissing him again, reluctantly pulling away from the affection, realizing something was off and saying, "Huh?" 

Jerome resorted to kissing along Wayne's jawline and shrugging off, "Nothi'n,", trailing down to his neck. "just sayi'n amnesia isn't all that bad if I get to meet you again." 

Wayne pushed Jerome away by the other's torso, staring down at him wide eyed, earning a raised brow at how he'd gone from melting into Jerome's kisses to pushing away from them. 

Oh boy... perhaps Jerome hadn't returned Wayne's feelings after all. 

At least, not in the most aware way, in any case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! This wasn't intended to be a Halloween chapter, but since I realized it contains slightly scarier scenes than the other chapters, I suppose it can be an early Halloween present lol! 
> 
> I finally made some fanart for this fic ;) It pertains to this chapter, so if you'd like to take a look, feel free to refer to the link below! :D 
> 
> Link~ http://quellines-stories.tumblr.com/post/166424357406/jeromes-nightmare-fic


	38. Sustained Influences of a Sibling

"You have amnesia?" Wayne questioned in disbelief, finally beginning to realize Jerome's behavior really was too good to be true. 

Jerome gave a slight grin, finding the concern warming and muttering, "Yeah,", while moving to kiss Wayne's jawline. "but I'm already working through recovery." Jerome didn't want to talk about this right now-- the state he was in was a fragile subject. He would much rather just kiss his partner. Or at least, who he believed was his partner. Technically, Wayne kind of was-- his partner in mischief that is. Not exactly the kind of partner Jerome reckoned, however. 

Wayne wanted to let Jerome litter his neck with kisses. He really did. It was nice. A little ticklish, but it felt nice. Wayne didn't want to put a stop to the pleasant affection. However, it was more than clear Jerome was acting on something he was misunderstanding, and Wayne wasn't about to take advantage of that. It was a tempting offer to keep the matter hush-hush with how Jerome was now kissing up his throat to his chin and- 

No. Wayne shouldn't be sitting there enjoying this. He should be stopping it. Temptation wasn't an excuse. 

The tables had turned. Now it was Jerome offering the kisses, and Wayne having to decline them so he didn't take advantage of the other. 

"Jerome, stop." Wayne reluctantly sighed as Jerome began to kiss along an untouched sliver of his neck, pushing Jerome back by his chest firmly while shifting off of him and onto the bed. 

Jerome's smile fell to a frown. "What's wrong?" He questioned, Wayne's cheeks heating up as his bluish gray eyes averted. "Was it too much?" Perhaps Wayne wasn't good with kisses below the jawline yet. That was Jerome's bad-- they could totally just stick to lips if that's what Wayne was comfortable with. 

No. It wasn't too much. Wayne had found the kisses enjoyable. They weren't like the kisses Tommy had been attempting to give him-- they felt affectionate, rather than demanding. Maybe a little heated, too, but mostly affectionate. Almost loving, really, but it wasn't quite that, because the love wasn't love-- it was misinterpretation. 

The fact that Jerome didn't try to hold Wayne down and chastise him to loosen up when Wayne told him to stop, and instead stopped when asked to, was also a plus compared to Tommy. 

"Why-" Wayne gave a sigh, feeling embarrassed, silly, and awkward. "Why in the world did you kiss me?" He wanted to find out what was going on. 

Jerome wasn't sure why Wayne seemed so surprised by this. "Because we're together." He answered like it should be obvious. "Right?" He nonetheless added, because perhaps this wasn't B, or perhaps they'd broken up, or perhaps they'd for some reason agreed things wouldn't work out. 

"Why-" Wayne swallowed thickly, throat clearing, forcing his gaze to meet Jerome's. "What exactly has you believing we're a thing?" 

Oh dear. That phrasing made Jerome's gut sink. "We kissed, right?" Jerome chuckled uncomfortably, earning questioning eyes. "Under fireworks or some shit?" That felt significant to him. He didn't realize a part of that significance was because a sleeping piece of him was aware that the part where Jerome kissed Wayne back was where Jerome's past recollections began to be seen all wrong. The puzzle pieces were being crammed into place and making a more abstract picture which was giving Jerome an incorrect view of what had gone on. 

Fireworks? Jerome recalled kissing under fireworks? What- 

Oh. 

Oh. Jerome had recalled New Year's Eve. 

"Yes," Wayne hesitantly answered, looking Jerome over and trying to figure out how much Jerome had regained of his past, and if anymore of it had been misinterpreted. "but you made it pretty clear you just wanted to be friends." 

What? "When?" Jerome questioned taken aback, figuring that meant he had realized he and Wayne should just be friends after dating for a while, because clearly they'd been dating, right? That's what Jerome's dreams had been trying to tell him, hadn't they? Jerome sucked at interpreting most of the bullshit he dreamt about, but that had seemed pretty clear. 

Jerome didn't realize his actions in the dreams had influenced how B was being portrayed. He hadn't realized he'd gone from having a true concept of Wayne, to having his own idea of what Wayne was to him after committing actions that weren't true to his past, due to misinterpreting the abstract picture of his past, which wasn't yet full or correctly pieced together. 

Wayne didn't know much about amnesia. He wasn't sure why Jerome was asking 'when' they'd chosen to just be friends. He felt like if Jerome recalled kissing him, he should recall when and why they'd kissed. 

Perhaps Jerome was just picking up bits and pieces. Perhaps that's how amnesia worked. Perhaps that's why Jerome didn't realize he'd turned down Wayne the instant the boy confessed his feelings, because Jerome felt like there was too much of an age gap as teenagers. 

Wayne had believed you recalled everything all at once with amnesia, or didn't recall anything at all. That's how Hollywood movies always seem to portray it. The character would find things familiar, but wouldn't really recall anything unless it was a sudden reaction to something significant, or they'd just never recall anything. 

There was a possibility Jerome had just recalled the kiss along with things like that, and not much else about Wayne, nor himself. Perhaps that's why Jerome was treating this new information like a break up, rather than what it was-- unrequited feelings. 

"Can you tell me what all you know about your past?" Wayne requested, avoiding the question. "So I can figure out what all I need to fill you in on?" Wayne felt like it would be easier to explain what they'd been if he found out what Jerome was and wasn't aware of. 

Jerome perked up at that, giving a smile and shrug. "Sure!" He agreed, reaching towards his bedside drawer to pull it open and rummage through, bringing out some kind of journal. "I'm not a big fan of interpreting dreams, but I feel like I got this figured out pretty well." He proudly stated, beaming as he turned it to the first page recorded in pencil, multi colored pen markings being his notes pertaining to certain parts. "All right, so I'm pretty sure I'm related to this lady that has something to do with snakes, and she has this clown guy that's probably her boyfriend or husband or something that's a pretty big drunk." Wayne raised a brow at that. "I guess I'm a performer of some kind? Like a ring leader, magician, or comedian... one of my acts went wrong though? Something to do with knives. I had this assistant in a pink mask, and a volunteer on a knife throwing board. There were police involved. I'm not really sure who the lady with pink and green stuff on her face was supposed to be-- she seemed kinda' suspicious because she usually stayed towards the back. I'm pretty sure this man in a black and red mask had something to do with it since he was holding one of the knives that were on the ceiling." Wayne just stared at Jerome yapping away. "Anyways, you were at this event, and you had a pet cat with you? And a fancy gentleman by your side? You got your throat injured somehow, apparently. I guess I got injured, too, because I ended up in a medical room with this questionable examiner, but you helped me get out of it and away from the police investigating me for some reason." Jerome looked up at Wayne with a grin. "Did I know someone on a ship or something? There was this captain with a blindfold on, and I couldn't figure out who he was supposed to be." 

Wayne stared at Jerome, soaking in the quickly spoken words. "Um..." Wayne had little to no idea on what Jerome was referring to. 

Jerome shrugged it off. "It's not important. In any case, you're rich or some shit, right? I'm pretty sure the mansion we spent some time in was your home or whatever. You got kidnapped by this girl and two people from the event that went wrong-- the guy in the black and red mask, and the lady with a pink and green face." Wayne was attempting to piece together what Jerome was saying as fast as he was saying it. "The cat helped me find you, and a bunch of people came to help me rescue you. There was a flower girl, a diamond gal, a scarecrow guy, a penguin man, and this body with like four heads instead of one or two, a donut officer, plus some people from the police station and the event gone wrong." 

Some of that stuff was stuff that let Wayne kinda' get where Jerome was coming from... to an extent. "Anything else?" He uncertainly asked, still trying to- 

"Oh yeah, of course! After that you showed me a few seasons had gone by-- Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentines Day, New Years, and all that. Some of it was out of order, but it's whatever." Jerome glanced down at the book, still smiling. "We went to this masquerade where you got kidnapped, and I guess I ended up killing the kidnapper or something like that? The cat helped free you, too." Jerome rubbed the side of his neck. "After that is when we kissed." 

Jerome was referring to how Wayne had kissed him after they first met the dangerous Jester at the New Years Eve charity. Wayne had wanted Jerome to realize he'd liked him after realizing he should confess his feelings in case it ever became too late after having such a close call. They'd kissed under fireworks. 

The more recent the recollection, the more Jerome's ramblings made sense. 

"Is that it?" Wayne asked just to be sure when Jerome eyed him over at that. 

Jerome swallowed dryly, gaze averting, smile becoming forced. "Your bodyguard or butler or guardian or whatever ended up getting me involved with something containing robes in Rome and Maine or something, and I got some blood money from that penguin guy for doing it? I really didn't get this part-- he might have gotten me to disguise myself in robes?" Wayne didn't say anything to that, making Jerome fidget somewhat, realizing whatever robed men, Rome and Maine, and being paid by the penguin guy meant probably was a touchy subject considering Wayne had refused to listen to him about it in his dreams. "After that, I was suddenly playing cards with the scarecrow guy, flower girl, and diamond gal, and you were being hunted by the guy from the charity with the red and black mask. I went to help, you tried to get me away, and-" Jerome went quiet, the corners of his lips twitching somewhat, smile threatening to fall. "And I guess that jackass is the reason I'm in this position." He laughed hoarsely, gesturing towards the recent stab on his stomach. 

The raven haired boy furrowed his brow at that, not saying anything for a long, long while, just eying Jerome over with this look in his eyes that looked like he was pitying Jerome, and Jerome didn't like that-- he didn't want people to treat him like a child needing to be coddled. He wanted Wayne to care because he cared about Jerome-- not because he had to. Not because Jerome was in a predicament Wayne wasn't used to. He just wanted Wayne to care about him because he was him, because Jerome wasn't any different like this. A little off, perhaps, but he was still Jerome, and he felt like Wayne was viewing him as a stranger. Jerome wasn't even viewing Wayne at a stranger, because despite not fully recalling what all he and Wayne had done or been like through recollections, and only recalled stuff through allegories his dreams offered, Wayne at least felt familiar to Jerome. Yet the look Wayne gave Jerome made it seem like Jerome didn't even feel familiar to the other. 

"Wayne." The boy finally said, earning a furrowed brow, not sure what the other was referring to, wondering if Wayne was perhaps a person that had been the reason they'd just become friends- "My name is Wayne." Jerome blinked, realizing this possibly wasn't B after all- "Only Alfred calls me 'B.' I don't like being called Bruce because I prefer my last name being used." 

Jerome couldn't help but give a rather charmingly attractive smirk at that, looking Wayne up and down a bit suggestively while flirtatiously purring, "Someone's a bit formal." His smirk quickly left his lips when Wayne frowned and looked away. "Not that there's anything wrong with that-" 

"You wouldn't flirt with me." Wayne interjected, Jerome going quiet. "You wouldn't flirt with me, or kiss me, or enter a relationship with me if you were in your right mind right now, so I don't want you to do any of that unless you're back to your old self." 

Jerome backed off, however couldn't help but to pause and ask, "Did we have a bad break up or something?" 

Wayne gave an exhale, fingers running through his hair as he looked at the wall and swallowed thickly before finally looking at Jerome. "Because we never dated." He admitted with an exasperated shrug, Jerome arching a brow. "I kissed you, and you told me things wouldn't work out, so I'd really rather not do something you clearly didn't want to do when you were-" Wayne gestured towards pretty much all of Jerome with his hand. "-you." 

"I am me," Jerome scoffed at that, Wayne's eyes rolling before sliding shut, because Jerome was acting like Wayne wanted to kiss him, and Wayne did, but Wayne didn't want to take advantage of him, and apparently Jerome wasn't getting that. "me having amnesia doesn't make me any less me." Jerome didn't have many things to identify with. He had his obscure dreams, Wayne, and his name. That was about it, and he was desperate to grasp onto as much as possible when his past seventeen years was out of reach for who knows how long. 

Jerome was desperate to hold onto his idea of B, despite the real Wayne being right there, because right when he'd gotten familiar with B, Wayne came in saying he was different than what Jerome had become comfortable with. 

"No, that's not what I-" Wayne hesitated, considering his wording, realizing Jerome- who was never the most stable person- was even least stable in this state, the boy wanting to choose his words carefully so he didn't upset the other by stressing him. "I just meant that..." A lot about Jerome seemed different. His smiles weren't as mischievous-- they were sweet. It was like he'd reverted to whatever he'd been like before snapping and killing Lila. "You are still you," Wayne finally confirmed, Jerome glaring ever so slightly, and usually Jerome's glares were somewhat unsettling to say the least, but now his were just... hurt more than anything. Like a kicked puppy. "just like you're still you when you're drunk," Wayne continued, Jerome frowning at that, looking more upset than dangerous at the frown, which was also weird. "but when you're drunk, you're not all there or whatever, okay? You act out irrationally. You don't consider your impulsive actions and just go with off the wall reasoning-" 

"Gee, thanks, Wayne." Jerome scoffed with an eye roll. 

"Like most people act when drunk." Wayne assured, Jerome averting his gaze. "You're not in your right mind drunk, and you're not in you're right mind when you have amnesia. The actions you take are sometimes actions you wouldn't usually make, because you misinterpret things a lot easier either way." Jerome kept his gaze on the wall as Wayne spoke. "That's why I'm not about to encourage you to make hasty choices like wanting to enter a relationship-- not when you're like this," Jerome hesitantly looked at Wayne at that. "particularly when I'm aware you wouldn't return the feelings otherwise." 

Jerome looked Wayne over, like he was searching for something. "Is there any particular reason I didn't return the feelings?" He felt like he was missing something. 

"I'm fourteen. You're seventeen." Wayne answered softly, rubbing his upper arm. 

Oh. So Wayne had just started high school, and Jerome was almost an adult. 

That made sense now. 

"Oh." Was all Jerome said. 

The feelings he'd had began to fade, but they'd never really been feelings for Wayne-- they'd been feelings for the idea of being in love, which was something he could only imagine, because he'd not yet experienced it outside of insincere dreams. 

Wayne was already missing Jerome's lips against his jawline, but as nice as that had felt, he would have preferred kisses that were undoubtedly willing, rather than given due to a misinterpretation. 

"We were best friends." Wayne revealed, earning a weak smile. "More than best friends," He wanted to provide Jerome with as much as he could about his past, and wanted to start by detailing what they'd been. "less than partners, and not close like siblings, but more than best friends-- we were really close. Closer than I've been with anyone." Bond. They had had a bond. 

"How'd we meet?" Jerome asked, laying back against his bed that Wayne sat at the end of, wanting to have more than the abstract scenes from his dreams. Wanting a description. 

Wayne couldn't help but smirk. "You were a magician," He casually hummed. "a really cool magician. I usually hated magicians, but I admittedly enjoyed you're act-" A pause, Jerome grinning cockily. "-until you held me hostage." 

Jerome's grin fell. "I what?" 

Wayne found Jerome's reaction amusing, to say the least. "You worked for this prude called Theo that wanted me killed, so he told you to murder me," Jerome looked absolutely horrified. "but he'd set you up so he could kill you to save me in order to get close to me as my personal hero," Wayne gave a shrug while adding, "you lived though, and ended up deceiving everyone until you were about to receive an autopsy from Nygma and-" Wayne's smile fell. 

Nygma. The guy that had just gassed him when Fox guessed wrong about who ran Wayne Enterprises. The guy assisting Hugo in keeping Wayne trapped in Arkham. 

Jerome quirked a brow at that. "And..?" 

Wayne suddenly seemed to recall just where he was. 

"We have to go." Wayne stated, getting up from the bed; he'd been so relieved about seeing Jerome, excited about kissing Jerome, and surprised about hearing Jerome had amnesia that he almost didn't realize they were both still trapped in Arkham. 

Jerome arched a brow at the sudden urgency, watching as Wayne stood and offered his hand to help Jerome up. "Go?" Jerome didn't take the hand. "Go where?" 

"Away from here," Wayne answered, realizing Jerome was blissfully unaware his doctor was a sadistic bastard that valued fascinating scientific experiments over assisting humanity. "now." Before Jerome asked why, he informed, "Arkham's dangerous." 

"Dangerous?" Jerome scoffed. "What's so dangerous about it?" Was Wayne a patient here rather than visitor? Did Wayne and Jerome both need help? Because if so, Jerome was accepting that help, and Wayne seemed a lot more reluctant. "This place is great!" Jerome had a sweet nurse, a doctor that was a good conversationalist, a nice view despite the bars in the window, and good food! 

Wayne wasn't sure why Hugo was so caring towards Jerome unlike the other patients. Wayne didn't want to find out. He just wanted to get them out of there. It was already peculiar enough that Hugo had kept Jerome being alive a secret, and Wayne didn't want to find out why he did that, either. If a doctor found a way to bring people back and didn't brag to the news about it, then they were probably planning something. Wayne didn't feel like sticking around to find out what. 

Wayne wasn't going to argue with Jerome when that would just be wasting precious time. Instead, he went with, "You trust me, right?" 

Jerome faltered. "Well... I mean- yeah?" Of course he trusted Wayne. Wayne was the one that guided him in the dreams of who Jerome had been. 

"Then trust me when I tell you we need to find a way out of here." Wayne persisted, causing Jerome to chew on his lower lip. "Let me explain when we're safe, and if you still want to be a patient at Arkham after that, then I won't stop you." 

That... 

... 

... was fair enough. 

Jerome swallowed thickly and gave a nod, letting Wayne help him up, wincing as the bandaged right side of his stomach ached, his right arm draping around Wayne's shoulders, Wayne's left hand reaching behind the taller ones back to grip Jerome's left hip, helping the other leaning heavily on him limp towards the door. 

Wayne found this probably wasn't going to work with how he had to bend his legs while shuffling forward to be sure Jerome didn't fall on him, Jerome's right foot dragging on the floor as each step he took weighed down on Wayne. 

So, Wayne resorted to leaning Jerome against the wall the door was on, telling him to stay there while he went to look for a wheelchair. 

Wayne was aware there was an unlikely chance the door would open. He'd probably have to try to break it down and injure his shoulder ramming into it a few times, or attempt to break the window's glass behind the bars and scream for help. Wayne grasped the doorknob and turned it as hard as he could to the side while shoving forward in one quick motion in attempts to open it. 

The door instantly swung open when Wayne pushed it, causing him to stumble forward before jumping back and instinctively slamming it shut, because he hadn't expected that to work, and he felt like he'd opened that door way too carelessly when he should have been cautious. 

Jerome gave a snort of laughter, earning a glare from Wayne before the younger boy huffed and opened the door again, more carefully this time-- barely creaking it open to peek through, looking one way and only opening it a bit more when seeing no one was there, glancing the other way and finding it was still all clear. 

This was probably one of Hugo's bullshit tests to see what Wayne did-- like a rat in a maze. What else was Wayne supposed to do other than risk going along with this supposed experiment? Stay in Jerome's room? Stay in Arkham? No way. 

So, Wayne glanced at Jerome, earning an encouraging grin, and geez Jerome's smiles were looking a lot more innocent and less wicked, which was almost more unsettling than the dangerous smirks Wayne was used to him giving. 

It was like Jerome just hadn't... snapped yet. 

Perhaps this really was what he'd been like before killing Lila. 

"Stay here." Wayne whispered, as though he was worrying he'd missed someone lurking in the hall that could hear them. 

"I can't exactly go anywhere unless I crawl." Jerome sarcastically snickered, remaining heavily against the wall. 

Wayne grumbled under his breath before swallowing dryly and letting out a long exhale, staring at the exit sign on the right side of the hall and getting into a readying stance... 

... 

... before sprinting towards it. 

If this was a trap, Wayne wanted to see if he could avoid it by being quick on his feet. 

Wheelchair. Wheelchair wheelchair wheelchair wheelchair. Wayne was looking for a wheelchair. Where would one be? Storage closet? A room built solely for holding them? Scattered around randomly? Technically, Wayne didn't need an exact wheelchair per se-- he just needed something with wheels on it that could hold up Jerome. A trashcan that could roll around would even work. It wouldn't be ideal for Jerome, but it was better than being trapped in Arkham for whatever purpose Hugo had in store. Perhaps Wayne could even find a coffee table like the one he'd wheeled Jerome out on at Oswald's place when Penguin's rogues had beaten Jerome up. 

Wayne was aware that if the elevator didn't work and they had to use the staircase, they'd be in big trouble. He'd worry about that when it came to that part though. For now, he just needed to do one step at a time, and find something to get Jerome out of there. 

Wayne had gotten to the elevator, cussing under his breath when realizing he'd only gone by patient rooms and no storage closets, or anything else that could possibly contain what he was looking for. He looked behind him, squinting his eyes to stare down the long hallway, not catching any sight of anything other than more patient rooms. 

Perhaps the building had a basement floor. That would be a good place to keep wheelchairs, right? This was an asylum that contained a hospital-- it HAD to have wheelchairs, didn't it? With Wayne's luck, they were possibly all stored at the entrance, where a handful of guards were sure to be. Wayne had to try the elevator. The option wasn't ideal considering it most likely had a camera inside, but it was better than being out of options. Besides, there were cameras in the hall anyways. 

So, Wayne reluctantly pressed the button, and waited patiently for it to- 

The elevator immediately dinged, Wayne growing cautious at the supposed good luck, warily backing up as the doors slid open. 

"Heya' Wayne," A familiar voice greeted, Wayne's blood going cold at the face of the man grinning at him. "going down?" Jester chided with a smirk, standing in the middle of the elevator with his hands behind his back. 

Shit. 

Wayne backed up, not taking his eyes off Jester as the other grinned wickedly, taking a step towards Wayne for each step Wayne took back. 

"You're working for Hugo." Wayne stated, realization finally washing over him. 

"Ding ding ding." Jester confirmed with a chuckle, right pointer finger waving in the air at each 'ding' before lowering his hand to push them into his pocket. "Sorry I couldn't just tell ya' right off the bat," He mockingly spoke, switching a blade out of said pocket. "employer confidentiality and all." His knife raised, Wayne swallowing thickly as Jester eyed him over, looking for where to mark first. "Couldn't have you finding out who was bringing us all back, could I?" 

Wayne frowned at Jester's phrasing. "Bringing all of who back?" 

Jester smirked. "It's a secret," He gestured Wayne forward. "if you come here, I'll tell you." 

Nope. 

Wayne turned around, sprinting down the hall, only getting a quarter of the way back to Jerome's room when the door to the staircase across the hall he was running along opened, Fries' stepping out, Wayne's eyes widening as he cussed under his breath and sped up, halfway back to Jerome's room now- 

Fries raised his freeze ray while walking forward, icing over the door before Wayne could reach it, causing Wayne to object, "No!", as though that would convince Fries to stop, the boy skidding to a halt, desperately looking at the door frozen shut and not knowing what to do. 

Meanwhile Jerome was waiting for Wayne to come back, when he saw frost spread through the cracks and handle of the door, having to look twice and blink a few times to make sure he was seeing... whatever it was that was happening. 

Jerome held his aching side as he limped off the wall and in front of the door, gripping the handle only to quickly yank his hand back, brow furrowing at the freezing touch, eying the door over unsurely while calling out in a hesitant voice, "Wayne?" 

Wayne was backing away from the calmly approaching Fries, and consequently right into Jester's hands, eyes widening as he felt the copycat wrap his left arm around Wayne, right hand raising the knife up to Wayne's cheek while humming, "I've never carved a chicken before-" 

"Hugo wants him back in one piece." Fries warned, giving Jester a look as the copycat trailed the knife gently down the tense Wayne's jawline, tracing his skin. 

"Hugo wants him back alive," Jester corrected musingly, the blade against the wary Wayne's throat now. "he didn't say anything about him having to be in one piece." 

"Jester." Fries warned firmly, Wayne squeezing his eyes shut and swallowing thickly as the knife drew a trickle of blood against the boy's collarbone. 

"Oh come on," Jester scoffed, angling his knife back against Wayne's throat. "it's no fun if they don't put up a fight and squirm a little." Jester liked his job. Because he had fun at his job. He didn't plan on stopping that. "At least gimme' a second to just carve his pouty lips into a nice smile-" 

"Please-" Wayne interjected, not wanting to beg to be released when it harmed his pride and he doubted begging would help, but not exactly wanting to be maimed either. 

"Ooh, you hear that?" Jester laughed, Wayne wincing at the loud noise. "How polite!" He pressed his lips against Wayne's ear, causing the boy to cringe. "I might just go easy on you if you behave." Perhaps Jester would just carve his name into Wayne's skin. He was feeling merciful. Then again, he could always really make the boy scream by chopping off a finger. Just a little one. The pinky- 

"Let him go before I ice you over for good this time." Fries threatened, poor Wayne shaking in Jester's grasp. 

Jester's eyes rolled. "You're never any fun." He huffed, pausing before moving his arm that was around Wayne's waist up to his hair, gripping his locks tightly while giving a tug, forcing Wayne to hold in a noise of pain as his neck curved back, Jester warning in a much more serious voice, "Try anything funny, and you'll be begging for mercy for hours.", while pressing the blade of his knife just barely against Wayne's throat for emphasis. 

Wayne felt Jester draw back before shoving him away, tripping towards Fries', causing the older man to catch the boy by the upper arm, seeming cold, emotionless, and stern, yet also pushing Wayne behind him in a manner which could almost be described as protective, clearly keeping Jester away from the boy he kept a firm hold on. 

Wayne would have almost felt somewhat thankful towards Fries if Fries didn't end up holding him still as Jester stuffed his weapon back into his pocket, only to pull out a needle instead. 

Jerome was attempting to open the icy doorknob by wrapping his sheets around it, letting out a huff when finding the handle frozen shut. 

"Jerome!" Wayne called out, causing emerald eyes to widen. "Help!" Jerome panicked, dropping the blanket that had been slipping against the handle, gripping the doorknob tightly and ignoring the cold ache against his skin, firm grasp attempting to rotate the ajar handle. "Jerome!" Yeah, that wasn't working. Instead, Jerome hesitated before reluctantly limping in front of the door, already grimacing before letting out a shaky sigh to calm himself, eyes squeezing shut, trying to ready himself by clearing his mind and then just suddenly ramming his right shoulder against the door before he had a chance to chicken out. 

Jerome's entire right side came into contact with the hard wood that didn't budge, a strike of pain jolting through his injured stomach and spreading all throughout him, eyes widening as the wound barely being held together by small stitches in soft flesh ripped open in an instant, and he couldn't stop himself from falling to the ground to clutch his side, and shit he felt sick at how badly it felt to have already achy skin torn again, eyes watering and voice so choked he couldn't even let out the noises trying to leave his throat, seeing black spots, and he hadn't recalled what it felt like to get a wound like this until now. 

"Jerome!" Wayne's voice pleaded again, Jerome instinctively reaching towards the door frozen shut, helplessly pressing his fingertips against it, wanting to help but not knowing what to do, trying to ask Wayne what was going on out there but choking on his words as another wave of pain hit. 

Jerome didn't recall Wayne, but he did recall what it felt like to care about Wayne, because it was like a reaction to go into overdrive when hearing the boy call for help. It felt familiar to care about this kiddo that NEEDED him. Did Wayne get in trouble a lot or something? Jerome felt like he did, but this time, Jerome couldn't get his ass into gear-- not like this. 

Wayne had managed to slip out of Fries' hold. Probably because Fries' hold was somewhat half assed. Wayne didn't manage to make it to the staircase exit down the hall, however, because Jester had tackled him against the floor before he could get there. 

"Jerome!" Wayne shouted again, staring at the door covered in ice, wanting to see it burst open and Jerome coming to the rescue like Wayne was used to, but knowing that wouldn't happen with the state Jerome had been in. Even if Wayne didn't admit that, it didn't change it. "Jerome!" Wayne yelled rather than accept the situation, struggling to get Jester off of him, legs pinned down by the copycat's, fingers gripping at Jester's right wrist attached to the hand grasping the needle the older one was trying to insert into the smaller's neck, Wayne not knowing in the least what the copycat was attempting to inject him with. 

"Hold still, you little runt." Jester growled warningly as Wayne attempted to squirm out from underneath him, continuing to push the needle towards Wayne's neck as the boy sank his nails into Jester's wrist. 

It was already bad enough to get a shot at the doctor's, and it was considerably worse to get one that could do a number of things to you from a guy without a medical license that wanted you either writhing or not breathing. 

Wayne resorted to bringing his left hand back to swipe at Jester's face like Selina had taught him to do, and while he'd given the copycat four satisfying crimson scratches across the face, the release of one hand resulted in Jester easily shoving away the other, Wayne's eyes widening as the needle sank into the side of his neck while Jester injected the drug into him as Wayne's nails collided with Jester's skin. 

"Shit!" Jester hissed while yanking the needle back, dropping it on the floor as he pressed his fingertips against one of the scratches stretching from under his right eye to his jawline, sneering when bringing his digits back and seeing blood, glaring at the Wayne attempting to scoot away on his back from the enraged copycat. 

Wayne was already feeling disoriented, fatigued, heavy eyed, and numb from the drug. The standing Jester wrenching Wayne to his knees by his shirt before landing a blow against Wayne's cheek certainly didn't help the boy feel any better. Wayne weakly tried to push Jester away as the other raised his fist again, legs feeling like jello as he attempted to pull back. 

Before Jester could give a second punch, Fries gripped Jester's shoulder menacingly, giving a bruising squeeze as the copycat dropped Wayne to the floor, Fries' voice warning, "That's enough." 

Jester fumed, glowering at Fries before glancing at the out of it Wayne curled up on the floor, Jester seething and hesitating at first while furiously considering what kind of punishment would be fit for the little shit, eventually settling for spitting at the boy Fries had told him to leave alone, turning to shove by Fries and storm back towards the elevator while growling, "Brat.", under his breath, leaving Wayne to be dealt with by Fries. 

Fries glanced down at the boy fading in and out, wide bluish gray eyes going in and out of focus while darting around frantically. 

Jerome was pretty sure he heard Wayne call out a few more times, but he could barely keep his emerald eyes open as blood pooled through the bandages around his stomach. 

Wayne and Jerome couldn't stop their eyes from sliding shut. 

Hugo watched the scenes play out from the surveillance camera being displayed on one screen from the hall, and the other being in a hidden camera from Jerome's room contained in the machine Jerome had been hooked up to that had monitored his pulse. 

Well, Hugo had seen how Jerome had reacted to Wayne in this state-- which meant Hugo had chosen what to do next. 

"Ms. Peabody," He spoke up, the woman awaiting instruction from the doorway not answering, but raising her chin and staring at him readily. "go retrieve 514A," He didn't take his eyes off Jerome's screen, watching the boy bleeding out on the floor from a reopened wound. "and get the doctors into Jerome's room immediately." 

Peabody had been worried 514A was the route Hugo would go with... 

Nonetheless, she did as directed, because she'd seen what happened to you when you said 'no' here, and so she kept doing anything but. 

She knew the routine. Knock on the door and give the patient five seconds to ready themselves for a visit, then open the door. You didn't have to order any restraints or check the peephole first since this one was deemed one of the few non-threats in Arkham. Greet the patient by their number, state your profession at Arkham and your name if this was your first time meeting them, step inside, and turn on the lights if they're off. Explain why you're there, and wait for the patient to reply. 

Peabody didn't get to the part where she had to explain, however. The patient was already aware of why he received visits outside of appointments. 

"You need me to pretend to be someone." 514A stated knowingly, a boy staring at her that would have been identical to Wayne in every way if not for his shoulder length long hair, skinny physique, and the scars from various experiments under his clothing. 

Peabody stopped herself from frowning. "Yes..." 

514A was sitting with crossed legs on his bed with his back against the wall, snapping rubber bands against his wrists. It was something he often did in attempt to regain feeling in his limbs constantly feeling like tingling numb jello. He didn't recall what it was like to feel anything-- they'd done something to his body a while back that made his nerves unable to detect pain. It was fine at first-- seeming like a gift the good Dr. Hugo bestowed upon him. Nowadays he just wanted to feel normal. 

"It's been a while." 514A commented, not looking at Peabody, just staring at the wall across from him. "Why can't Clayface do it?" Why couldn't one of Hugo's proudest children do it? Why did Hugo want the trash he'd thrown away when finally perfecting Clayface to do it? Why did Hugo suddenly want 514A back? 

514A had been groomed into being a patient meant to intake information quickly, and then act accordingly to that information by creating a persona out of that info, and becoming close to people that could be played by him if he used that information just right and put on a successful act through his persona. 

514A was intended to steal identities, and then use those identities efficiently to manipulate those familiar with said identities. 

The only problem being 514A couldn't just up and shape shift and mold himself into the faces or bodies of those identities, regardless of how well he played the part. It had become tiring for Hugo to spend so much money on makeup teams and costume designers to disguise him, and there were times 514A just couldn't disguise himself if he was physically drastically different from the person he was supposed to imitate. 

Clayface was the improved version of 514A when it came to physical imitation, however 514A had always been better at imitating personality, which was something Clayface lacked. Clayface also wasn't exactly good at recalling the information given to him about whoever he shifted into, unlike 514A. 

Clayface was a cheap and quick trick. 514A was a manipulator that was good at what he did. 

Nonetheless, 514A was still seen as an inconvenience since Clayface was a quicker fix despite the flaws of his personality. So, 514A had been put away like a less doted on pet in a cage, only being given food and water, and never being allowed to leave his room. Not even to go into the lounge. 

After all, Hugo couldn't have people seeing his personal little Wayne wandering around, now could he? That would raise too many questions. 

Despite Hugo being so dismissive of 514A for over two years, 514A was certainly his most prized child, for reasons not yet realized to the boy who had been kept ignorant of the outside world since he was two, Hugo keeping him blind and unaware of who he was. 

Hugo adored 514A more than any of his other children. He also despised 514A more than any of them. It was a complicated thing, and how he treated 514A could be set on or off by varying things. 

Peabody couldn't help but soften her gaze. "Five-" 

"Don't call me that." 514A said, pleading more than warning, the rubber band around his bloodied wrist snapping off, squeezing it in his grasp. 

Peabody hesitated, looking him over with a furrowed brow before giving a sigh. "Thomas..." She instead went with as the boy's eyes watered. "Junior..." She added, using both the names he liked. "Please, we don't need to keep Hugo waiting." 

Thomas Jr. hated Hugo now. He'd looked up to him until he was twelve. Until Hugo had one day snapped and ordered all these awful procedures on him. He'd seen this place as his home until he realized it had become a prison. When he'd realized the doctors had been feigning a kindness towards him because they were told to, until the second Hugo began to do harm to him, in which the other doctors realized they could do the same-- and they did. 

Peabody had been the only one that didn't show her true colors were cruel. 

"Okay." Thomas Jr. softly said without arguing, not wanting Ms. Peabody to get in trouble, regardless of how he didn't want to go with her-- not when it meant having to see Hugo. 

Perhaps this time wouldn't be bad. Perhaps Hugo wouldn't experiment on Thomas until he was begging the doctor to stop. Perhaps he wouldn't talk to Thomas about what a failure he was as a prototype that had been exceeded. Perhaps he wouldn't be cruel. 

Perhaps Hugo wouldn't take out his frustrations on Thomas Jr. for how Thomas Wayne the First had betrayed the bitter doctor. 

Thomas, Hugo, Martha, and Peabody had all taken care of Junior since he was two. They'd made Arkham a comfortable home for him, keeping him unaware of the horrifying secrets it held among most other patients. They'd been good to Junior. Then, Thomas told Hugo he was going to tell people about something to put and end to whatever it was he was talking about, and Hugo had gotten very, very angry. 

Thomas had made plans to take Junior away from Arkham. Thomas had told Junior he was going to meet a new family member, and then take their family very far away to a place called Switzerland. Thomas had told Junior that he was going to do this after they got back from something going on at a theater since they'd already made reservations, and that had to go to the event to avoid it getting out to the public that they hadn't arrived, so suspicions as to where the Wayne family was wouldn't arise. Thomas had told Junior that he'd come straight for him when the showing was done, since bringing him to the showing would attract too much attention if they saw he had a secret son, which could put them all in danger if some very bad people that had to do with courts and owls found out he'd snuck Junior away from Arkham's clutches. Thomas said Junior should keep this a secret from Hugo and Peabody, because they wouldn't get it. 

Thomas had never come for Junior that night. Thomas hadn't come at all since then. Junior believed Thomas just had to stay low for a while, and Junior was being patient. Martha stopped visiting, too. 

Junior was still waiting for Thomas to take him away from this place that was no longer a home. Thomas had promised he'd come, and Junior believed him. Junior couldn't wait to meet whoever his new family member was when Thomas and Martha did come. Perhaps Junior had a sister, or brother. 

Thomas Jr. pondered about that. He pondered about it a lot. Even as he followed Peabody up to Hugo's office, Thomas pondered on it. 

Thomas didn't look at Hugo's eyes, keeping his gaze on the ground as he quietly asked, "Who should I pretend to be?" Because why else would Hugo call him here? Hugo never visited with Thomas anymore-- not unless there was something he needed from the boy, like experimenting scientific tests on him. 

Hugo stared at Thomas, eying him over before straightening up, approaching the boy that was forcing himself to not run away, stopping in front of the smaller one and looming over him before reaching out. 

Thomas fidgeted as Hugo placed a hand on his shoulder, but relaxed when earning a gentle squeeze. 

Hugo was having a good day. That was nice. Thomas didn't have to worry about being tested on this time. 

"You're going to be referred to by your last name: Wayne. You're even going to look like you." He informed, earning a blink, Thomas staring up at him taken aback. "but you will have to act like someone else." 

Despite how Thomas hated Hugo for what he'd put him through for over two years now, he could help but feel pride swell in his chest at the warm smile Hugo gave him. 

Thomas was like a beaten dog still laying its cheek against the lap of it's usually aggressive master when being given a treat, rather than a boot in the stomach. 

After all, Hugo had raised him, too. 

As Hugo gave Thomas the plan, Jerome was patched back up. 

When Jerome woke up, he was back in bed, once again hooked up to the machine monitoring his pulse, bandages fresh. 

He had dreamt of removing B's mask and seeing Wayne's face. 

Jerome felt worse than the first time he'd waken up in this bed. 

Dehydrated. Groggy. Sick to his stomach. Achy all over. Injury feeling like it was stinging with fire. He just wanted to go back to sleep. He probably could have, with how heavy his eyelids were and how blurry his vision was. 

However, B- er... Wayne, that is- was laying beside him. Which caused Jerome to tense up with how the boy was nuzzled up against his neck, one arm tightly around Jerome's torso, a leg resting over Jerome's waist. 

Cuddling. They were cuddling. Jerome was fairly sure Wayne had said they weren't a thing. That they were just friends. That Wayne had just entered high school and Jerome was almost an adult. 

Wayne yawned, Jerome tensing as the boy somehow scooted closer to him despite already being wrapped around him, Jerome giving a forced anxious smile when Wayne began kissing good morning kisses up Jerome's neck to his jawline while muttering, "How are you feeling?", pulling back to shift so he was sitting in Jerome's lap and staring down at the other- 

"What are you doing?" Jerome laughed uncertainly, attempting to scoot higher up against his pillow, earning a quirked brow. 

"What do you mean?" Wayne asked oh so conveniently innocently, earning a scoff. 

"Why are you..." Jerome questioned, trailing off while shooting Wayne off his lap, ushering Wayne to sit at the foot of his bed, trying to put as much distance as possible between him and the boy. 

"Why am I what?" Wayne cluelessly asked, head tilting, Jerome looking him over cautiously. 

Jerome just eyed Wayne for a while, like he was searching for something before finally scoffing, "Being so..." He felt like this should be obvious. "... touchy feely or whatever!" He finished with an anxious chuckle. 

Thomas Jr. had been taught what to say here. He was going off of what Hugo had told him to do and the information given. As usual. "Because we're partners?" Thomas answered, like it should be obvious. 

Okay. So Wayne was either lying before about that, or he was lying now. "You told me I didn't exactly return the feelings, kiddo." Jerome brought up unsurely, smile wary. 

Thomas looked at Jerome like he'd spoken a different language. "What are you talking about?" 

Jerome was trying to figure out what was going on, recalling the earlier events. "We were kissing, and when I told you I had amnesia you pulled back to tell me-" 

"What? No I didn't." Thomas denied, earning a stare of disbelief. "You tried to sit up while we were kissing, sat up too quickly, reopened your wound, and ended up falling off the mattress. You've been passed out for almost the entire day." 

Jerome didn't say anything at first before finally persisting with a forced smile, "No, you-" He scoffed. "I didn't-" That wasn't what happened. "We kissed, I told you I had amnesia, you backed off, told me I just want to be friends, started talking about how we had to get out of here because it was dangerous, ran off to get me a wheelchair, and then started screaming for help when the door got frozen shut!" 

Thomas frowned for a few lengthy seconds, before raising his brows and seeming to get something, giving a smile at that. "Bad dream?" 

Jerome scoffed again. "No, it wasn't-" 

"So I randomly told you the hospital was dangerous and the door somehow froze shut?" Thomas chuckled sweetly with a soft smile. 

Jerome crossed his arms defensively. "Well, I mean, when you put it like that-" 

"Why in the world did you believe we were just friends?" Thomas interjected amusedly, shifting back towards Jerome, earning a cautious gaze. "Hm?" He hummed, placing his hands against Jerome's knees and leaning forward. 

"Because you just started high school, and I'm almost an adult," Jerome answered, sinking towards the mattress and away from the boy invading his personal bubble. "a three year gap is a bit too big for me right now." Maybe if they weren't teens, it would be different, but- 

"I'm fifteen," Thomas countered. Thomas corrected. Thomas lied. To be fair, his birthday was coming up. "but I was fourteen when we met, and you were sixteen-- you're seventeen, now." Thomas stared at him innocently. Convincingly. Manipulatively. "It sounds your getting some stuff mixed up-- you should rest some more..." 

... 

... ...Had Jerome dreamt that shit up? It had all felt pretty real, and he'd gotten used to being aware of when he was dreaming considering his dreams picked up from where they'd left off. Then again, his last dream before their encounter had concluded his past and what had caused him to gain amnesia seemingly, so perhaps his body was moving onto having vivid dreams, the way it can when healing from a cold and whatnot. Perhaps his recollections of the past were finished for now. 

Perhaps Wayne was telling the truth. 

For a long while, Jerome just stared at the smiling boy, eying the younger one over unsurely, a few lengthy seconds going by until Jerome finally said, "I don't recall you having long hair." 

Thomas blinked, but chuckled, giving Jerome some space and pulling back. "I used to have short hair, but ever since I believed I'd lost you, I just kind of just... let it grow out." Thomas looked Jerome over, catching his expression. "Is everything okay?" 

Perhaps Jerome hadn't really noticed B's hair when they saw each other earlier that day for the first time in a while. It had all been a blur, after all. Perhaps Jerome did faint when kissing the other and trying to sit up as his injury reopened. 

Perhaps Jerome was wrong. 

Jerome swallowed thickly, hesitantly sitting upright, looking the boy over one more time, like he was searching for a lie. "I'm-" He cleared his throat. "I'm fine." He assured, finally answering the other's question. 

After all, why would Wayne lie to him? 

Thomas smiled, his first task completed. Jerome believed him. To an extent. 

"Good." Thomas said while leaning forward to press his lips against Jerome's, steadying himself by placing his hands flat against Jerome's lap, Jerome tensing at first, before eventually relaxing. 

Jerome let his eyes slide shut, not pulling back this time, instead letting the other kiss him, and eventually hesitantly beginning to kiss back, hand raising to cup the imposter's cheek, causing the younger one to deepen the kiss, pressing their lips together a little harder, melting into Jerome's touch and maneuvering so he was back in Jerome's lap, hands pressing against the older one's chest, sighing contently against Jerome's lips, letting Jerome run his hands up his sides as the twin dipped more so into the kiss and- 

No. Something didn't feel right. 

Jerome pulled back. 

Thomas raised a brow. "What's wrong?" Had Jerome caught on? It had been quite some time since Thomas had had to imitate anyone, and he definitely wasn't used to doing it out of disguise nor by his (last) name. 

Jerome could tell something was off. He just couldn't tell what. "Nothing." Was Jerome just being paranoid from sleep deprivation? Maybe Jerome was just paranoid in general-- he was still figuring out all his traits. 

It's like when someone visits their childhood home or town that they barely recall. Despite it being familiar, they're aware it's all wrong with the change brought upon it over the years, but they'd left when they were so young, and come back after so many years, so it's tough to figure out what's different through the bits and pieces they do recall. Then, second guessing whether something is REALLY different, and going over and over what that something is until it's like a word you keep repeating because it sounds wrong, until you're not sure what's right or wrong anymore. 

Jerome recalled very little about himself, and even less about those around him. What he did recall was abstract, and more like recalling a family video that had been recorded and displayed, rather than a recollection he experienced. 

Thomas was aware Jerome was contemplating on something. Hugo had told him to not let Jerome ponder on anything. To distract Jerome. To trick and lie to Jerome. To keep Jerome trapped. To keep Jerome's mind on him. To keep Jerome around by using Thomas as bait. Hugo would control Thomas, and Thomas would control Jerome, so Hugo would have them both under his surveillance. 

Thomas was used to being used as bait meant to lure and trap. This was nothing new. He was aware of how to keep people distracted enough that they couldn't find the truth, until they eventually stopped looking. 

"Jerome," Thomas continued softly, placing a gentle hand on Jerome's cheek. "what's wrong?" He asked again, big grayish blue eyes staring up into uncertain emerald irises. 

"I'm just-" Jerome swallowed dryly, something seeming... off. Off about this entire thing. Off about Wayne. Off about Wayne's eyes... "I'm not in the mood." It wasn't a complete lie-- Jerome really didn't feel like having a make out session when he wasn't sure what was going on. Wayne told him what was going on, but Jerome didn't fully believe him. It was a gut instinct. He was aware something was wrong. He just wasn't aware what exactly it was. It had to do with Wayne. With Arkham. With everything that had occurred since Jerome had waken up. 

Thomas blinked taken aback. "Oh." Usually the guys he had to lure in couldn't keep their pants on. "Okay." Usually, they were pretty expectant. "That's... fine..?" Usually, Thomas didn't have much of a choice when put in situations like this. "Are you all right?" Maybe Jerome wasn't wanting to do anything intimate because he felt sick? He could be woozy from the stitch tear earlier. Why else would he be acting so odd? 

Jerome smiled, leaning forward to give Thomas a kiss, and Thomas knew it-- Jerome was going to change his mind about not being in the mood, because it didn't take shit for guys like him to get riled up, and he was just going to tell Thomas to do something he didn't want to rather than at least asking him if he wanted him to, because Jerome was like every other shitty jackass Hugo had paired Thomas up with before- 

Jerome pulled back from the brief kiss that was no more than a brush of closed lips, Thomas blinking at that, Jerome reassuring, "I'm all right, really-- just not in the mood right now." 

Thomas only stared at Jerome before finally just saying, "Okay." This was different. Hugo had always made him accompany guys that were sleazes, because it was easier to control them through risqué acts than it was to control gentlemen through respectful acts, or villainous men through cruel acts. Gentlemen and villains could see through artificial acts of kindness, and theatric tough-guy acts. Sleazy guys were busy being controlled by something other than common sense in the state they were in. 

So what kind of act was Thomas supposed to put on for Jerome? 

Jerome's smile shifted into a frown. "Uh, sorry," He apologized, clearing his throat, feeling guilty at the stare Wayne was giving him, assuming his 'boyfriend' was disappointed by that. "I just-"

Thomas blinked out of his brooding, gaze quickly softening reassuringly. "No no, don't be! It's all right!" Thomas was far from being disappointed that Jerome wasn't in the mood. "Seriously, it's fine-- I'm not really in the mood, either." Truthful. Thomas wasn't supposed to be truthful. He was supposed to put on a completely false act, so the real him didn't get attached. 

Jerome quirked a brow, because Wayne's body language had signaled he'd been rather... well-- in the mood. Perhaps Jerome had been reading him wrong, or Wayne was just trying to be reassuring so Jerome didn't feel guilty. 

Jerome didn't consider the fact Thomas had been acting, because that's what Thomas did with his clients-- that's what his job was, and Hugo was his boss... Hugo was also someone Thomas did not want to displease considering getting a demotion was the equivalence to having to face a torturous experiment that didn't stop negatively influencing you for half a year, and traumatize you forever. 

So, Thomas would act no differently around Jerome, despite how Jerome wasn't exactly as demanding as the other jobs Thomas was used to. In fact, Jerome was peculiarly enough quite the opposite. 

Thomas couldn't appreciate that too much, though-- he had to look out for himself first and foremost, so he'd be able to easily run away in good health with his real family when they finally came back to rescue him. 

Thomas had to be sure he was ready for whenever the Wayne's came back, because they would come for him like promised, right? 

Thomas, Martha, and whoever his other family member was would eventually rescue Thomas Jr. like they said they would, wouldn't they? 

Thomas Jr. couldn't believe otherwise, because nowadays that hope was the only thing that kept him going. 

That's why Thomas would have to do whatever Hugo told him to when it came to Jerome-- he had to keep surviving by obeying the man in charge of this wretched place until his family came for him. 

Hugo expected Thomas to act like he'd always acted before since that had always gotten the job done, so Thomas had to act accordingly. Thomas had to be enticing. Alluring. Distracting. Thomas had to manipulate. To lie. To pretend. To keep Jerome fixated on him, rather than leaving Arkham. Thomas had to convince Jerome he was undoubtedly normal ol' Wayne. 

Thomas couldn't go easy on Jerome just because Jerome was a little nicer than what he was used to... Thomas couldn't get attached.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't read this chapter yet, stop reading this chapter note if you want to avoid spoilers, and feel free to instead just come back to it when you're done! The below note also contains spoilers pertaining to season 3 of Gotham! 
> 
> Okay, I've been wanting to write in 514A for a while now! His character in the show has so much potential, and I wonder if the show's going to do any more with him.
> 
> I feel like the show wasn't quite sure what to do with 514A outside of making the Court of Owls using him as a tool to replace Wayne, and a plot point to make a worried Selina care about Wayne again. 
> 
> Everything felt kind of fast paced with 514A in the show. At first, Wayne genuinely seemed to care about him with how he refused to throw him out when Alfred insisted they should, and constantly checking up on him. I really would have liked to have seen more of that :( 514A is made out to be a character that's not used to people being nice to him thus getting quickly attached to those showing the smallest amount of kindness, and I would have preferred him looking up to Wayne as a big brother-- at least for a little while, anyways. 
> 
> That would have made the impact of the Court of Owls kidnapping 514A a lot more significant. 
> 
> Instead, Selina seemed like an excuse to make 514A get jealous of Wayne and instantly despise him, and I'm so tired of the trope of using love triangles to make one person automatically hate another. I just feel like it would have made a lot more sense to make 514A care about both Wayne and Selina, because they both looked out for him when Selina gave him food and Wayne gave him a place to stay. 
> 
> Like, I get 514A's main plot point was meant to be to replace Wayne, but imagine how much more interesting it would have been for 514A to initially look at Wayne as family, only to be groomed by the Court of Owls to hate him after he'd already gotten attached, which would have also made the Court seem even more villainous! 
> 
> 514A could have hated Wayne AFTER the court convinced him he was a third wheel to Selina and Wayne's friendship, or the show could have gone a step further and made 514A hate Wayne for having all the things Thomas never got to have in Arkham! 
> 
> Additionally, it would have been neat to see 514A and Jerome interact since the show implied they'd been on the school bus that had crashed, even though that later on turned out to be a red herring. I mean, seriously, the Joker-based character interacting with an imposter future-Batman? That could have gone SO many interesting ways! Thomas' reaction to Jerome claiming to know him and Jerome's reaction to Thomas either not recalling who he was or saying something villainous rather than goody-two-shoes would have been amusing, to say the least. A fight between someone as persistent as Jerome against someone that can't feel pain would have also been cool! Heck, they could have even teamed up against Wayne as their common enemy. 
> 
> Okay, I've rambled a lot lol-- I just really want to see the show explore 514A's potential if they bring him back this season, and I'm so excited I get to finally have a go at writing this character! 
> 
> In any case, for those who's also interested in 514A, feel free to look at the link below for who he's supposedly based on, AKA Talon, who's honestly one of my favorite Batman characters... Then again, pretty much every Batman character except for Jervis Tetch (Mad Hatter) is a favorite character, lol! 
> 
> Link~ http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Lincoln_March


	39. A Twin, a Charmer, and a Doctor

Wayne saw flashes. Flashes of his own past. Flashes of testing how long he could hold his breath in the manor's pool when he'd first began training. 

Flashes of walking down an alleyway. Of being held hostage at the alleyway. Of losing two of the most important people in the world to him in the alleyway. Of pearls scattering on the ground in the alleyway. 

Flashes of jumping from one building to another to show Selina what he was made of. Flashes of running away with a bag of money stolen from a bad man with Selina by his side. 

A flash of watching Azrael run from the GCPD. 

And then, Wayne woke up. 

But when Wayne woke up, it wasn't next to Jerome, or Fries', or Jester, or Hugo. 

It was next to Fox laying a few feet away from him, and Gordon tied up in a chair a few more feet away from him. 

"Jim?" Fox spoke up groggily. "Jim!" 

Jim perked up, that seeming to get the dazed detective's attention, looking over at the two looking just as exhausted as he was, if not more so. "Hi." 

"Hi..." Wayne said back tiredly, his own grogginess making him a bit uncertain of what was going on, still working on fully waking up as he tried to recall what all had happened before he was knocked out cold. 

"Are we alive?" The out of it Fox found himself asking skeptically. 

"So far so good." Jim answered in his usual serious tone. 

"Had to be sure-- I thought we were dead." Fox said half jokingly half seriously as he stood up with a groan. "Wow... that was unpleasant." Being in a room filling with what has been revealed as so called toxic gas was not a very nice experience, and Fox couldn't help but wonder what the purpose of the seemingly harmless gas had really been. "How are things for you?" He asked while approaching the tied up Jim. "We've had a hell of a time." 

"The same." Jim answered, not exactly having much else to say apparently. 

Fox narrowed his eyes, something seeming a bit off about Jim. "You okay?" Sure, Jim preferred giving answers that were short and sweet, but usually he'd ease up on his tough demeanor around Wayne in situations like this, and already be bombarding the kiddo with questions on whether or not he was all right the instant Jim got the chance to. 

"I'm a little groggy." Jim answered. "He drugged me." The detective added, referring to Hugo and Nygma. "made me talk." He admitted, guilt behind his firm expression. 

"About Wayne Enterprises, right?" Wayne asked just to be sure while helping Fox untie the detective. 

"About everything." Jim corrected. "Bruce," Jim said a bit louder, causing Wayne to pause and look at him with a quirked brow. "I never should have made that oath to you." 

Wayne's brow furrowed, realizing Jim was referring to the promise about bringing justice upon the man that had taken everything away from him. The promise to bring justice upon Hugo Strange. The promise that had gotten them trapped in Arkham. 

But now wasn't the time for that. Now was the time to escape. Besides, it wasn't Jim's fault he'd gotten captured-- he'd done all he could so far, and Wayne was both aware and thankful for that. Wayne knew fully well what the risks were of snooping around here, so Wayne and Wayne alone had accepted them. 

Thus, Wayne started to assure, "That's not really-" 

"I was arrogant, and naïve, and I'm sorry." Jim interjected, Wayne and Fox exchanging questioning glances to one another at that, because Jim never- "I've tried to do the right thing, but what a fool I've been." What the hell? Since when did Jim start talking like he was in victorian times? 

Yeah, okay, Fox was right-- something was definitely up with Jim. 

"Uh..." Fox began quizzically, leaning forward to eye Jim over. "What kind of drugs did they give you?" 

"I'm not sure." Jim answered. Clayface answered. The imposter answered. The thing only pretending to be detective answered. Hugo's prized child answered. A beta experiment answered. The upgrade that had replaced Thomas Jr. answered. 

Whatever you want to call it answered Fox's question, but it certainly wasn't the real James Gordon that answered him. 

Fox was aware something was up with the so called Jim. Wayne, on the other hand, believed Jim was just acting weird because of whatever he'd been drugged with. Which meant Wayne was convinced they were all relatively safe for now, or at least as safe as possible. Which meant Wayne had something else to worry about. 

"We have to hurry up and get Jerome and get out of here." Wayne stated, quickly moving to undo the last bits of Jim's bindings. 

"Jerome?" Fox questioned taken aback, wondering if perhaps the boy was in shock from the traumatizing experience of fearing being gassed with toxins, and perhaps not quite in his right mind because of it. "Wayne, Jerome's not..." Fox trailed off. 

"This is my second time waking up," Wayne stated, freeing Jim completely from his restraints. "I woke up- I don't know... a while ago. Maybe a few minutes, maybe an hour, maybe even a day?" He scanned the room for any signs of a possible exit. "I woke up in Jerome's room. We-" Wayne swallowed thickly. "We talked to each other before I got attacked by that Fries guy and Jester-- they injected me with some kind of drug that made me pass out, and I woke up here." Wayne began to pace around the room, examining it, continuing to search for a way out. "Hugo must have- I don't know... paid someone off to say Jerome didn't make it, and for some reason he's keeping him here as a patient." Wayne's words we're rushed-- urgent... not making much sense, if any. 

"What are you talking about?" Jim- no. Not Jim. Clayface. Clayface asked. "I was brought in right as you guys were passing out. You've both been laying in the same spot the entire time." That's what Hugo had told Clayface to say. 

At that, Wayne halted, his gut sinking, turning to face Jim in disbelief. "What?" 

Clayface continued to speak the script that Hugo had given him. "Could it have been a dream, Wayne?" 

Wayne's expression fell. "No." He instantly objected. "No, it wasn't-" He recalled what it had felt like to see Jerome again-- it felt too vivid to be a dream. Dreams didn't feel that real. "I wasn't dreami-" Jim and Fox were staring at him with worried frowns, and Wayne didn't need their pity, because they were acting as though Wayne was being a fool and really believing in something so silly, and Wayne KNEW it sounded too good to be true, but he also knew it was true-- it had to be. He was certain of it. "I saw him. I hugged him. I talked to him." Kissed him. "There's no way that was a dream." Wayne could still hear Jerome's voice, and feel his arms around him, and recall the words he'd said to him. The entire thing felt incredibly real-- it WAS incredibly real. "It was-" Fox and Jim were pitying him. "No, don't-" Don't give him that look. "It wasn't a dream. I saw Jerome. I know I saw Jerome." It had been too real to be anything even close to a dream. "I-" Hadn't it? "I-" Wayne felt his eyes watering up, realizing how silly he sounded. "I saw him." Wayne's voice broke, because that couldn't have been a dream. "I saw Jerome." Jerome had been there. Jerome had been real. Jerome had been alive and well. "I know I did," Wayne insisted, and suddenly he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself or Fox and Jim of that. "I- I know I did..." 

The sad truth was, Wayne had had vivid dreams of Thomas and Martha coming back, too, and sometimes when he woke up, he didn't realize they were just dreams right away, and for an instant he felt overjoyed and relieved after awaking and believing they were all right after all. 

But only for an instant. 

~*~*~*~ 

Peabody couldn't keep quiet about this anymore. It was one thing when Hugo was in danger, and one thing when her own life was in danger, but an entirely different thing when Thomas was in a danger like this. She kept quiet when he was only in danger of Hugo's wrath since speaking up about it would just worsen the situation, but she wasn't damn well keeping quiet about this. 

She watched from the end of the hall as Hugo signaled the guard to shove Nygma back into his room and lock the door, not bothering to keep his promise and allowing Nygma to go free under the condition he interrogated Wayne about who owned his company. Peabody was aware of Hugo's intentions-- he was trying to turn Wayne against the criminals he'd befriended, and she was even more aware that Hugo's actions only looked like he was trying to set the boy on a lawful path at first glance, but in reality he had something much more sinister in mind. 

"Ah, Ms. Peabody-" Hugo started to greet whence approaching the end of the hall. 

"We've got to get Thomas on that next bus out." Peabody spoke up, not bothering to be politely quiet about this any longer, because the longer she got all antsy about the situation at hand, the more Thomas' chance of being trapped here in what was about to become a battle field grew. 

Hugo halted, brow arching. "Why Ms. Peabody, it nearly sounds like you're giving me an order." His tone was friendly enough, maybe a little surprised-- but it had undertones of danger. 

"You're evacuating everyone else," Peabody persisted, not bothering to take the hint and back down. "why risk keeping him here?" 

"Because Jerome is still in the process of being conditioned into becoming dependent on Thomas," Hugo answered nonchalantly, walking by Peabody, causing her to follow. "and Jerome is clearly at least somewhat aware Thomas doesn't quite seem like Wayne," He calmly continued. "which means Thomas' work cannot risk being interrupted until Jerome is fully convinced he's his oh so adored billionaire friend." He spoke of the manipulation casually. "If we just barge in now and order an evacuation, Jerome will no longer feel as safe as we've worked so hard to make him feel here at Arkham, and doing such a peculiar and sudden event could cause Jerome to begin to realize this place isn't as homey as we've convinced him it is." Hugo put his hands behind his back, chin raising as he straightened up. "You wouldn't want the progress we've made with Jerome be for nothing, would you?" 

"The progress will be for nothing if Jerome and Thomas get killed," Peabody countered. "the GCPD are full of bad cops that don't give a damn about the patients here. Hell, I'm not sure there's any Gotham cops at all that do give a damn about them." She sped up to Hugo's side, looking his expressionless face over. "What if they come in here and just starting firing instead of bothering to deescalate the situation when they realize they don't know how to handle the patients?" 

"Jerome and Thomas are on a floor the elevator skips unless you punch in a code that only you and I know, and the staircase door looks like no more than a wall from the outside." Hugo waved off dismissively. "In any case, even if they did somehow manage to stumble upon their floor, Jerome and Thomas have the entire level to themselves, and are in one of the middle rooms. The ever so inadequate GCPD would be more than likely to reckon the entire floor was abandoned after the first few rooms and not bother checking the rest." 

"Wayne knows Jerome's alive now," Peabody reminded. "there's no way he's about to leave here until he's found him, and with his kind of money he'll make sure the entire GCPD is helping." 

"If Clayface didn't manage to convince Wayne his little encounter with Jerome was a dream, then Clayface will simply resort to refusing Wayne's pleas and instructing the GCPD to pull back, just as we told him to." Hugo mused. 

"And if Arkham gets shut down?" Peabody persisted. "Thomas and Jerome will be trapped on that floor. The could starve-" 

Hugo gave a sigh, finally coming to a halt to face Peabody. "You are correct in realizing that there are a number of things that could go wrong in this situation, just as there's a number of things that could go wrong in any situation, however the likelihood of such is incredibly low, and I can confidently assure you of that." 

"But-" Peabody started to object. 

"I understand that you still hold a misguided sense of maternalism towards Thomas and feel as though it's somehow your responsibility to look out for him," Hugo interjected a bit too unsettlingly calmly. "after all, you're only human, and being such comes with the flaw of acting on irrational emotions," Well that was somewhat insulting. "which is precisely why you need to continue working on not allowing yourself to act on those very things anymore, until you can shut them off altogether." Hugo's tone suddenly went very, VERY stern as he said, "Because this is something currently hindering how you wish to act on the rather delicate situation at hand, I and I alone will be the one handling Thomas' matters so you do not have to." He leaned towards the uneasy Peabody, only a few mere inches taller than her, but seeming to tower over her. "Have I made myself clear?" He left room for no objection. 

Peabody swallowed thickly, quietly answering, "Crystal clear..." 

Hugo pulled back at that without another word, giving a smile that looked nothing like what a smile should. "Good." His cheery tone held little cheer. "Now I have more important matters to attend to, and I must ask that you continue attending your own before the GCPD's arrival." 

Peabody only nodded, causing Hugo to leave in satisfaction. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Well it's getting late," Thomas said while faking a yawn, feeling wide awake despite it being close to midnight; his sleep schedule had gotten screwed up a while back thanks to having a windowless room and losing track of time. "I should probably get back to my room." 

As pleasant as Jerome was being right now compared to Thomas' other jobs, Jerome was bound to turn out like all the others had, and if he by some chance actually turned out to be a reasonable being, then Thomas couldn't risk an irrational attachment that would make him vulnerable. 

So, Thomas planned on spending the bare minimum amount of time around Jerome to decrease disappointment and risk. 

"Oh," Jerome's smile fell, and Thomas would have felt bad if he wasn't so cautious of having a seemingly nice 'job', because he'd had those before, and there hadn't been a single time their true colors didn't turn out to be not so nice. "yeah, I'm kinda' tired, too." Jerome put back on a small smile. "You could sleep in here tonight, if you want?" 

Thomas felt his gut sink, keeping on a casual expression. "Is the bed big enough?" It was a rhetorical question. 

"Yeah, totally!" Jerome answered with a grin, shifting over towards the edge of the bed so Wayne would have plenty of room. 

Thomas hesitated, but tried to cover it up, because Hugo had made it clear he was supposed to do whatever Jerome wanted as long as it wasn't escaping Arkham. "Okay, sure." Thomas said nonchalantly, walking towards the mattress calmly. 

Jerome had caught the brief hesitation despite the other's attempt to react casually, causing Jerome to realize there was a chance he and Wayne hadn't shared a bed before despite assuming they were bound to have done such at a sleepover or something. 

"You can sleep on the bed!" Jerome offered, almost tearing the stitches again with how quickly he stood up. "I'll just take the chair." He assured worth a smile. 

Thomas quirked a brow, eying Jerome over; usually when someone wanted Thomas to 'spend the night', they either acted like they didn't notice Thomas' uncomfortable reaction, or they just assumed Thomas would want to, rather than asking if he wanted to. 

The jobs certainly never offered to take the couch, or in this case chair. 

"No, you need the bed," Thomas objected as Jerome limped over towards the chair. "you should be laying down and resting up with an injury like that." 

"I can rest just fine on the chair." Jerome waved off with a pained grin, side aching as he lowered himself into the seat. 

"Jerome, no," Thomas persisted with a sigh. "I can sleep in the chair-" 

"If you don't take the bed then I'll just lay on the cold hard ground, and then we'll both be miserable." Jerome warned with a smirk. 

Thomas gave a huff. "Fine, I'll take the bed, but only if you do, too." 

Jerome's smile faltered, clearing his throat. "Uh- well... I mean- are you... ya' know... are ya'-" Jerome rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Are you all right with that?" 

There was a question Thomas had never really been asked before. It felt nice. Too nice. Jerome was being suspiciously nice. Or maybe Thomas was just getting attached. Then again, maybe Thomas just wasn't used to the concept of someone being genuinely nice, rather than just acting nice. Or, maybe that's exactly what Jerome was doing-- acting. 

Either way, Thomas answered, "Yes." He wasn't quite sure whether that was a lie or not. 

Jerome seemed to somehow be aware of just how uncertain Thomas was, because he didn't do the easy thing and just accept Thomas' answer without question. Instead, Jerome stood back up while adding, "We can put a pillow between us if you'd like?" If Thomas was possibly shy about sharing a bed, maybe that could help. 

Thomas almost agreed in relief, but then he realized Hugo had made it clear he should show no discomfort around his jobs, so Thomas started to tell Jerome there was no need to do that. 

Before Thomas could do such, however, Jerome had already began to lay on the mattress as he propped up his first pillow so it went down the middle of his other pillow they would share, giving Thomas a reassuring grin. 

Thomas almost felt safe around this job. Almost. 

Thomas predicted that would end whenever Jerome would surely show his true colors. 

~*~*~*~ 

After sneaking into Arkham, being caught by a Hugo just itching to experiment on her, and nearly killed by one of her closest friends she had believed was gone for good long ago, Selina finally had a chance to relax. 

Selina felt like she deserved some rest after managing to convince Bridgit- who was convinced her real name was Firefly- that she was on the side of the girl Hugo had manipulated into believing she was some kind of royal being meant to be doted on and bowed to by everyone every second. 

Was it annoying that Selina had to play the part of a servant so Firefly didn't fry her ass? Yes. Was it at least relieving to be reunited with one of her closest friends that Selina had sobbed over losing for months? Also yes, and considerably more so, the joy overweighing the aggravation. 

Was it infuriating Hugo had manipulated Bridgit like this? Definitely. Did Selina plan to get revenge? You can bet your ass she did. 

For now, however, Selina played the part of a servant, and did so less because she was acting out of fear from what Firefly would do if she didn't, and more so because she just wanted to talk to her friend Bridgit again. 

About 99.99% of their conversation consisted of Firefly boasting proudly, but the other percent consisted of Bridgit seeming to come out and almost recall Selina whenever she rarely said something genuine, before regressing back into having a somewhat conceited behavior. 

Yet little by little, more of Bridgit seemed to shine through. 

~*~*~*~ 

'Jim' just so happened to conveniently find the vent above them had loose screws all around its frame, and was easy to tug off. 

That's how Hugo had told Clayface to 'help' Wayne and Fox 'escape' the room they were 'stuck' in. 

Fox felt relieved, yet also noted the peculiarity of every screw being loose enough to undo with Jim's bare hands, hesitating as he approached the vent, acting as though he was only examining how big the vent was, and not letting on he was suspicious of Jim's out of place behavior; drugs or no drugs, something about the detective was just a little too off to only be behaving oddly due to being under the influence. 

Call it a hunch, or call it instinct-- either way, Fox remained on his toes around Jim. Around Clayface. 

Wayne, however, was too antsy about Jerome to bother catching the funny ways Gordon was behaving, not bothering to be cautious in the least as he immediately let Gordon help heave him into the vent. 

"Wayne, don't go until me and Jim both get-" Fox started to say, but Wayne was already crawling off. "-up there..." 

"I'll see you guys at the exit!" Wayne assured, as though he was already on his way to said exit, and not on his way to find Jerome, because Jerome had to be here-- he just had to... there's no way that Wayne had just dreamt of reuniting with Jerome when it had been so real that even now Wayne could still feel the hug Jerome had given him. Not to mention the kisses, of course. 

The kisses Jerome had given him when he wasn't in his right mind. 

Jerome was in a vulnerable state, and probably uncertain of what all was going on, so Wayne had to find Jerome ASAP-- before someone else did. 

So, Wayne wanted to find Jerome quickly. Wayne realized that was easier said than done, however, as he found a vent panel giving out underneath his palms, plummeting into the room below with a yelp. 

~*~*~*~ 

Peabody had been told what to do. 

Told to board the patients seen as most worthy by Hugo's standards on the transport disguised as a school bus, and then exterminate the rest. 

Peabody had also been told what to not do. 

Told to not interfere with Jerome and Thomas-- to just leave them be. To take the chance of losing a boy she'd raised for twelve years. 

Peabody did as she was told. For the most part. 

Every once in a while, she'd conveniently seem to not notice someone hiding in a not so good hiding place, instead of killing them. She generally did this when they were a minor, or a patient who's crimes weren't too intentionally cruel. 

Peabody hadn't signed up for this. Kids were never supposed to be involved. Patients that genuinely needed help to cope with calming harmful impulses were never supposed to be involved. Thomas Jr. was never supposed to be involved. 

Martha and Thomas were never supposed to be put in harm's way. 

The only ones that were supposed to be involved were criminals that had had a grasp of control on the cruel crimes they committed, yet still committed them just because they wanted to. 

That's how it had started out. Peabody wasn't sure about agreeing to becoming a part of a company that tested on anyone whatsoever. However, she was convinced when assured the test subjects were people who had committed rape, assaulted a child, abused a significant other, and so forth. Still shaky on the entire human testing thing, but convinced when it would only be used on people like that. 

The other patients would at least genuinely be helped. 

Thomas and Martha had been the same way, but Hugo? Hugo had been anything but. 

Martha and Thomas wanted to further humanity by making the world a more peaceful place. Hugo wanted to further humanity by testing its limits to see how far his species could go. Peabody was admittedly somewhere in between, so the original arrangement was something she eventually began satisfied with. 

Eventually, Hugo wanted to do more tests, which meant more patients. Thomas and Martha, on the other hand, wanted to bring down the amount of patients being tested on by only allowing tests on those who didn't show possible signs of reform. 

Things began to get heated between Hugo and the Wayne's, and for a while Peabody feared them turning on one another-- feared having to choose a side, rather than being comfortably in the middle. 

But then, Thomas Jr. came around after an incident in which he was close to breathing his last breath, and Hugo used what he'd learned from a select group of experiments to save the two year old. 

Hugo hadn't perfected his research at that time, however, so Junior had to remain in Arkham to remain stable. 

Junior hadn't saved Hugo and the Wayne's relationship from falling apart, however-- he'd merely delayed it for about eleven years. 

Martha and Thomas had quieted down for a while, because Hugo had proved his methods could line up with their goal to further humanity to an extent. 

But then, Hugo began to go too far as he experimented on more and more people with standards outside the agreement, and the finishing touch was them finding out Hugo had stabilized Junior at age ten, and had been acting as though Junior absolutely had to stay at Arkham to remain in good health for over two years in which he could have been back home. 

Hugo had been so close to Junior. Hugo had also been close to Thomas and Martha. It didn't stop Hugo from ordering a hit on them, and then using Junior for experiments like doing so somehow got back at the murdered couple. 

Peabody had chosen Hugo's side rather than the Wayne's to stay alive, but at what cost? 

This wasn't what Peabody had signed up for in the least. 

Nonetheless, Peabody did as she was told, because that's what she'd been doing for a while now. 

Peabody was told to not interfere with Jerome and Thomas, so she didn't. 

At least, not at first. 

But eventually, Peabody just said, "Oh screw it." 

~*~*~*~ 

Thomas had relaxed when Jerome dozed off, relieved it seemed Jerome really did seem to only be interested in resting as they shared a bed. 

Despite the relief, Thomas couldn't help but feel wide awake, staring up at the ceiling while Jerome drifted off. Thomas attempted closing his eyes and tried to calm his restless mind, and did that for about fifteen minutes before eventually giving a sigh and glaring up at the ceiling. 

The bed was small, particularly when it was being shared, but not uncomfortable. Snug, yet homie. It wasn't like Thomas was right on the edge of the mattress or anything like that. 

The room was at a pleasant temperature. Not too chilly or hot. A little cold, but just enough so. The blankets were soft, and just thick enough. 

As for the usual hunger pangs and dry throat, they were gone. Thomas had finally been given a filling meal, and permitted to drink as much water as he liked. 

Thomas wasn't being kept awake by discomforts. 

Perhaps Thomas was a bit bothered about being in an unfamiliar room around a stranger and back into doing his job. It felt off after being locked away in isolation for so long. It felt odd to have a window, and working bulb. 

Thomas sat up, looking over the pillow and eying Jerome over, wondering if perhaps he was being kept up by the fact Jerome just seemed a little too nice. Sure, Thomas had met gentlemen before-- he'd met a lot of them through the work Hugo had him do. A lot of nice jobs. 

Those 'gentlemen' always turned out to not be so nice later on. 

Thomas felt a little more relaxed when checking Jerome over to be sure he really was asleep, before finally managing to shut his own eyes and eventually starting to finally drift off. 

But then, the door opened, causing Thomas to sit up and look at the person standing in the doorway. 

"Come on," The figure spoke. "we need to get you out of here." Peabody sounded urgent. 

~*~*~*~ 

"It's settled!" Firefly exclaimed proudly. "I will be the queen of embers, and you will be my ever so loyal knight of felines!" 

"I mean, I guess that beats being a servant." Selina agreed with a shrug. 

"Of course it does!" Firefly left no room for argument. "You and I will rule this dim city together, and light it up so it shines brighter than the sun itself!" 

"Uh, yeah... YOU might be able to live in climates like that, but I doubt I'd survive over a hundred and twenty Fahrenheit." Selina brought up. 

"Then I will just have to get my frost nemesis to make you a suit to keep you chilled just as he keeps himself!" Firefly stated without hesitation. 

Selina raised a brow. "Frost nemesis?" She blinked. "Wait, you know Fries?" 

"So that is Freeze's true name!" Firefly exclaimed in victory, as though she'd won some kind of prize. "You seem to know quite a bit about this city's citizens... perhaps you should be a stealthy spy rather than a knight?" 

Selina shrugged. "I kind of already am, so..." 

"Excellent! Then I- queen of fire- and you- spy of felines- will rule this city together!" Firefly declared. "I will turn any who gets in my way into ash, while you rip out their throats!" 

"Or," Selina spoke up. "we could negotiate with people so no one has to get barbecued." 

"We can do that, too," Firefly waved off dismissively. "but first, you need to come up with a suitable alias-- a new name to be known by!" She gave a grin of anticipation. "So, what will it be?" 

Before Selina could answer, the door opened, Selina going wide eyed at the sight of the person standing there, shifting somewhat behind Firefly in an uneasy manner. 

Firefly, however, gave a wide smile, and rushed towards the figure. "Advisor!" She greeted cheerfully as Selina remained warily in the background. "What brings you here?" 

"An evacuation, my child." Hugo answered, clearly not pleased with how Firefly had spared the pet he'd given her as he stared at the glowering Selina with disdain in his eyes. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne groaned, sitting up and glaring up at the vent he'd fallen through, knowing the impact from the floor was going to leave some bruises on his jaw and stomach. 

It looked like Wayne would just have to wait for Fox and Jim to catch up with him, and then have one of them pull him back up or something. 

At least, that's what Wayne figured he'd have to do at first, before realizing he wasn't alone in the locked room. 

Wayne's eyes landed on a girl sitting in the corner of the room, arms wrapped around the legs tucked up to her chest, chin resting on her knees. She looked completely calm, and was only about ten years old. Her hair was light blonde, her eyes bright blue, and her satin dress a gentle shade of red. Beside her laid three artifacts stacked upon one another: a big book about historical artifacts, a small sketch book, and a stone statue that could be held in your hand. 

Had Wayne fallen into a patient room? Was this kid a patient here? She was so young! Regardless, she was acting strangely relaxed despite the fact a boy had just fallen through her ceiling. 

Wayne wasn't sure as to whether he should apologize, introduce himself, ask if she was okay, beg her to stay quiet, inquire as to who she was, or hightail it out of there as quickly as possible, but he found himself going with no more than, "Hey." Hey. Just hey. Great talk, buddy. 

"Hello." The girl replied calmly with a sweet voice, just staring at Wayne at that. 

Eventually, Wayne awkwardly said, "Um, sorry about... crashing into your room, or whatever..." He stood, brushing himself off. "Could you please just- I don't know... not mention this to anyone by any chance?" He forced a smile that didn't really look much like a smile, seeming more awkward and wary than anything. 

"I won't," The girl evenly assured before stating, "and this isn't my room." 

"Oh." Was Wayne's reply, not quite knowing what to say. "Okay." He scanned the room for an exit other than a vent, but when he quickly found none he looked back at her. "So who are you then?" A patient? 

Briefly, the girl faltered and hesitated, before swiftly regaining herself and answering, "You can call me Jay Luna," Wayne got the feeling that wasn't her real name considering the hesitation and phrasing; he had wanted to find out what the girl's name was-- not what he could call her. Not her nickname. "and you can call her Charm." 

Wait, what? 

"I can call who Charm?" Wayne questioned, because he'd checked the room, and it was just her and him; perhaps she was schizophrenic or somethi- 

The so called 'Jay Luna' uttered a single word under her breath, and before Wayne could ask her what she'd said, her hair became drenched in an inky color that was jet black, and her irises flickered into a deep emerald shade, dress shifting into a silky green, skin being tinted here and there with a soot-like substance that smoke rolled off of and lingered around her. 

Oh what the hell was this now? Wayne didn't have time to deal with this crap, and he'd seen enough horror movies to know this shit should be avoided. 

"You can call me Charm." The girl answered in an eerie voice as Wayne desperately searched for an exit, the smoke surrounding her beginning to spread and fill the room rather speedily. 

As in so speedily, it wasn't long until Wayne could see nothing but smoke. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Wait here." Hugo instructed, gesturing inside Arkham's cafeteria, Selina halting and eying him over cautiously, yet reluctantly doing as told when Firefly gladly walked through the threshold without hesitation, Selina giving a sigh while following. 

Firefly stopped in her tracks, Selina nearly bumping into her, Selina not at all liking the way Firefly went tense, causing Selina to get in an alert stance, ready to fight whatever it was that Hugo had tricked them into walking into. 

"What is HE doing here?" Firefly questioned in distaste, giving Hugo an accusing glare over her shoulder. 

Selina blinked, still wary but calming somewhat when realizing Firefly wasn't about to fight anyone, shuffling to the side so she could remain behind Firefly, but see whatever she was looking at. 

Selina's eyes widened. 

"You two are my most valuable children, and right now I need to keep track of you both in the safest area in Arkham, which is here," Hugo answered as explanation, and Selina was well aware that by 'children' Hugo meant 'experiments'-- she'd found that out the hard way when she used to be in the same place as them. "so play nice, and don't risk getting into a silly brawl that will damage either of you." Hugo spoke of them like they were objects he didn't want becoming damaged goods. 

At that, Hugo shut the door, and Selina wasn't comforted by the locking sound it made. Selina felt trapped. 

Selina had something else on her mind other than escape, however, and that something was the other person that was in there with her and Firefly. 

"Fries!" Selina exclaimed, rushing over towards the man sitting down with an averted gaze. "You're here!" Selina laughed in relief, Firefly rolling her eyes at how her loyal spy of felines bothered hugging her nemesis. "I missed you." Selina admitted while pulling back, because Fries had looked out for her when she was coming here and being experimented on in exchange for seeing her mother who had turned out to be Clayface, and Fries had been the closest thing Selina had ever had to a father considering Alfred generally disapproved of her as well as Wayne's other criminal friends. "Are you okay?" Selina asked with a smile, excited to see one of the only things she missed from this cruel place. "Fries?" Selina questioned softly when not earning a reply or glance, smile falling. "Fries..?" 

Fries blinked, hesitantly looking at Selina with a dazed gaze, taking a few lengthy seconds to furrow his brow before going wide eyed. "Selina?" He muttered. "What are you- why are you-" His concerned expression suddenly fell into a very, VERY cold one. "You shouldn't be here." He stated in a chilling tone. 

Selina felt her very core ice over in fear, the worry in her gut sinking down like a weight; what in the world had Hugo done to Fries while she was gone? 

~*~*~*~ 

Peabody had gotten Thomas and Jerome onboard the Arkham bus disguised as a school bus. She'd been anxious as hell the entire time, and constantly looking over her shoulder expecting Hugo to be two feet behind her, but she'd done it, and she'd done it without getting caught so far. 

It would have been nice if she could just sneak the two boys outside of Arkham's gates, but that was too risky with the GCPD police cars surrounding the asylum's grounds; there was no way they'd just let her walk out of there with two patients, so her next best bet was having them somehow escape on their way of being transported to a different facility. 

Admittedly, Peabody had considered leaving Jerome in Arkham and just helping Thomas escape. After all, Jerome was still unstable, which meant he could still misinterpret something in his past, and risk having a misinterpretation that had him become enraged at Wayne for something he wasn't recalling right, and take that rage out on Thomas for something not even his brother had actually done. 

There was also the possibility of Jerome somehow finding out Thomas was only pretending to be his brother and Jerome's closest friend, and given Jerome's history, there was a chance of that not ending well for Thomas. 

However, when it came down to it, Thomas had been locked up in Arkham since he was two, and hadn't been in the outside world since. Jerome on the other hand had experienced just about everything in the outside world when traveling in the circus. 

For now, Jerome was also loyal and protective of who he believed was his best friend-- of Thomas. 

So, Peabody brought Jerome along, and as Jerome boarded the bus she told him, "Please... promise me you'll look after Wayne out there." 

Jerome quirked a brow at the statement before giving a grin, looking at Peabody like she'd said the most obvious thing in the world, and cheekily replied, "Of course I will!" 

Next up to board was Thomas, who Peabody pulled into a hug while quietly speaking so only he could hear her, "I don't care how you do it, but do whatever you have to to find a way to make the driver wreck," She gave Thomas a gentle squeeze, her eyes shutting and brow furrowing. "and then you need to get out of that bus before anyone can stop you, and you need to run as far away as you can." She kept her voice low. "Keep Jerome with you and keep the act up so he'll protect you, and if you have to, then you can always ditch him later when you're sure you can make it on your own, and he can just go back to your brother." Peabody slipped a scalpel into Thomas' pocket. 

Thomas' eyes were watering, and he wasn't sure whether that was because he finally was so close to freedom away from Hugo's clutches, or because he was scared of what the real world would be like. 

Or because this meant having to leave Peabody- the one thing that kept him going when Hugo experimented on him- behind. 

"Okay." Thomas choked out nonetheless, weak and shaky arms returning the hug tightly. 

Peabody pulled back, cupping Thomas' cheeks and pressing a kiss against his forehead before looking him right in the eye and saying, "No matter what, you keep yourself as far away as you can from Arkham, and always put yourself first, all right? Don't trust anyone you meet that you believe might be there to bring you back-- not even for an instant." Thomas gave a nod, eyes watery, Peabody pausing at that before saying, "I love you, Thomas-- you're damn well the closest thing I've ever had to a son, and I'm- I'm... sorry I couldn't get you away from here sooner." 

Thomas felt something in him break, but before he could utter a word back, he felt himself being pulled away from Peabody, and onto the bus with the other patients, because the driver couldn't get behind on schedule. 

Thomas sat next to Jerome as the bus left Arkham. As it left where Thomas had been raised. Left where Thomas Jr. had promised to wait for Martha and Thomas Wayne. 

Thomas Jr. just sat there as he left Peabody. As Thomas left the one person who had bothered to stay in Arkham and actually raise him. As he left her-- his family. 

Hugo called patients his children. Hugo had called THOMAS his child. But when it came down to it, that was just a nice word Hugo used to describe experiments so they'd get dependent on him and listen to him easier. 

Peabody- unlike Hugo- really did consider Thomas her child, however. 

And now, he was leaving her, and for someone who couldn't feel pain, Thomas felt something absolutely aching in him. 

Jerome noted Wayne's misty eyes, and so Jerome placed a hand against Wayne's knee, and offered a reassuring smile, figuring Wayne was just anxious about moving to a new facility. 

It wasn't a familiar Peabody that was comforting Thomas, though-- it was Jerome... someone Thomas had met less than a day ago. 

Nonetheless, it was still something, so Thomas accepted the gesture, and allowed himself to lean on Jerome, because now Thomas had no one else to lean on. 

Then, the lady called Fish Mooney got on and tried to hijack their ride. How absolutely peachy. 

~*~*~*~ 

After Hugo had made sure Firefly and Mr. Freeze were as safe as could be under the given circumstances of Arkham being raided by the GCPD, Hugo moved onto checking his other two valuable patients. 

As prized as Firefly and Mr. Freeze were to Hugo, the two patients he REALLY had a vision for were Jerome and Thomas. 

Sure, Jerome couldn't walk through flames without being burned, and Thomas couldn't survive in sub zero temperatures with a t-shirt and kakis, but that didn't mean they weren't important assets that could allow Hugo to shape Gotham through them even more than he could shape it through the assistance of a queen of fire, or king of ice. 

Could Hugo control Gotham through threats of turning his defiers to ashes or broken shards of ice? Probably. 

Although Hugo preferred a much meeting subtle route just in case his plans ever went south, so those he controlled would be the ones facing the consequences, rather than himself. 

So Hugo would much rather subtly control Gotham through Jerome and Thomas, rather than risking drawing attention through threats of fire and ice. 

Perhaps Hugo would have Thomas replace his brother... after all, no one other than their parents were aware Bruce had a twin, and Hugo didn't exactly have to worry about them babbling anymore; just imagine what Hugo could do when pulling the strings of a Thomas pretending to be Bruce! Hugo would have access to Wayne Enterprises-- the very company that kept the gears of Gotham running! The Wayne riches would be Hugo's to claim! 

Or, if Thomas for whatever reason didn't work out, then Hugo still had a grasp on Jerome, who was closer than anyone to the actual Bruce Wayne... imagine the THINGS he could make the boy do for Jerome... 

Hugo had both Thomas AND Jerome-- one of them were bound to work out. 

At least, that's what Hugo believed until he got to their room, only to find it was empty, and at that a seething Hugo with an all too calm expression went to find Peabody. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne wasn't sure what was going on, because he was fairly certain that- while Hugo could probably do a lot of things- making him teleport wasn't one of them. 

Initially, Wayne figured this was one of Hugo's mind games, in which he'd just done something like filled up the room he'd fallen into from the vents with smoke. 

However, Wayne had never seen smoke this pitch black before, particularly with emerald shaded tints in it. The smoke also didn't cause his eyes to sting or water, and it had no scent to it. Additionally, there was no heat rolling off of the smoke, which actually felt quite cool on the contrary. There was no crackling indicating a nearby fire, either. The way the smoke moved reminded him of fog-- if fog was dark black, that is. There was also specks of shining black and sparkling emerald soot that sprinkled off of it whenever being touched. 

Plus, when Wayne attempted to turn around and make his way towards the door which had only been a few feet behind him, he found there were no walls around whatsoever. There was also no tile he noted when realizing the ground felt soft and uneven, kicking away some of the smoke around his ankles and finding he was standing on piles upon piles of dead plants. 

Wayne rubbed his eyes and pinched his wrist to make sure he wasn't dreaming, and when confirming he didn't seem to be, that left only two possibilities he could come up with for the time being: 

Hugo had used some weird ass drugs on him that were strong as shit, or that Jay Luna or Charm girl or whatever her name was had done... this. Whatever THIS was. 

Wayne predicted it was the latter considering he didn't feel drugged up and out of it, and that would explain her transformation. 

"Hello?" Wayne cautiously called out, his voice echoing into the distance, that further confirming he was no longer in that small room. 

"Don't worry yourself with fear," A husky voice spoke up, Wayne spinning around towards the source of the speaker, his eyes squinting in attempts to see through the heavy smoke. "I don't intend any harm towards you, and I plan on letting you go back to your world after we speak." The smoke towards where he was looking cleared, revealing the little girl Jay Luna with bright blue eyes and light blonde hair, wearing a satin dress colored a gentle red. 

Beside the ten year old girl was an emerald eyed woman with raven black hair that looked like she was in her twenties, wearing a silky green dress, her skin tinted with what seemed to be soot here and there. 

The woman resembled whatever Jay Luna had transformed into at Arkham-- that Charm... persona... or whatever you'd call it. In fact, Charm had some facial features that resembled Jay's-- were they sisters or something? 

"What's going on?" Wayne questioned cautiously, because that seemed like the most suitable thing to ask, staying on his guard despite the woman's reassurance, keeping his eyes skeptically on the Jay and Charm holding hands. 

Wayne had considered instead asking why Charm spoke like she was from the sixteen hundreds, but decided not to since that would probably be impolite. 

"I brought you here to warn you of the path you're attempting to pursue with the criminals you've allied yourself with," Charm answered, it sounding like there were two voices speaking whenever she spoke, one alluringly gravelly, the other sweetly honeyed. "and to make it clear that the sooner you break the bonds you've made, the better," A pause. "because eventually, you are each bound by fate to turn against one another, and the more time you take denying this, the more time you allow yourself to get attached to those you call 'friend', and the more you will all suffer when you must go against one another." 

Well Wayne certainly didn't like the sounds of... whatever that vague shit was. "What do you mean?" Wayne questioned, not quite following, mind and pulse still racing from... well... whatever the hell was going on, only somewhat comprehending what she was implying. 

Charm looked Wayne over for an instant, her face blank, yet her eyes almost seeming reluctant, or hesitant... maybe a bit concerned-- like she was double guessing something. 

Nonetheless, that expression vanished almost as soon as it came, Charm's hand raising towards Wayne, causing his eyes to widen, wondering what weird shit she was going to try on him now- 

A breeze suddenly came into place accompanied by a whistle of wind, causing Wayne to blink and look over his shoulder at the source of the sound, seeing the smoke had cleared out a pathway. 

"I'll show you." Charm answered, causing Wayne to gulp, because he doubted he had a choice in the matter. 

~*~*~*~ 

Selina had managed to picklock the door open, but found that apparently didn't help the situation at all when Freeze and Firefly refused to escape with her, insisting they wait for Hugo. 

Firefly clearly believed she really was a royal being and Hugo was her faithful advisor, but Fries? Fries had always hated Hugo, and it wasn't a secret to anyone that the only reason he stuck around was because Hugo had claimed he had done what Fries had failed to do-- he had preserved Nora. 

Hugo had sworn to save Nora if Fries stuck around and allowed Hugo to 'test his vitals and whatnot', which was how Hugo liked to phrase his words when he wanted to experiment on someone. 

Selina had been given the same deal when it came to being given the opportunity to see her mother Hugo had claimed to be caring for in Arkham, but the instant Selina found out it was just Clayface impersonating her mom, she got out of there as fast as she could, and never went back-- until now... for Bridgit. 

Selina's incident with Arkham made her wonder if Hugo even actually had Nora like he'd claimed, and she knew Fries had wondered the same, but he'd taken the risk because Nora was quite simply his world-- he'd quite literally given up everything for her. 

Regardless, Fries didn't give himself up completely-- even after losing so much, there had still been a sense of humanity in him. 

But now? Freeze was acting different. A lot different. 

Before, Fries had a set of rules, and you could TELL he had a set of rules. He refused to attack children, and innocent men and women. He chose to only experiment on those he saw as scum when trying to find a cure for Nora, and kept these rules even after Hugo recruited him. 

Before, Fries would give people in general the cold shoulder, but only gave chilling glares and icy tones towards cruel individuals like Hugo and Jester. 

Before, Fries had empathized with Selina when finding out she was sacrificing herself into torturous experiments just to have a chance at getting back someone she loved, and it didn't take Fries long at all to begin acting warmly towards Selina, and being more like a father towards her than anyone she'd met before. 

But now? Now that bit of humanity was gone. That flicker of warmness was gone. Fries was gone. 

Perhaps Selina should have seen this coming considering the last time she'd seen Fries, he was falling apart. 

Now, all that was left in his place was Freeze, it seemed. 

Selina only believed this more when Hugo told Freeze and Firefly to kill the remaining captives of Arkham, then told them to also kill Selina when she objected, resulting in Bridgit refusing while insisting she needed Selina because she was her friend, only for Freeze to stand and tell Bridgit to get out of the way while he approached Selina with his freeze ray ready. 

As Freeze and Bridgit fought and Selina ran, Hugo knew he should have never spared Selina after she'd found out Clayface was impersonating her mother and left Arkham that night only to never return until now... Hugo should have sent someone out to kill her so he would have never ended up in this mess where Firefly got feeling a little sentimental. 

At least Hugo had managed to take that sentiment away from Fries, in any case. 

~*~*~*~ 

Thomas had done what Peabody had told him to, and found a way to make the 'school bus' wreck when his eyes landed on the bus driver's water bottle. 

It had been easy enough for Thomas to suddenly slump forward while shutting his eyes before simply sliding off towards the side with a rather convincing groan he was quite proud of, not hesitating when allowing his body to just fall in a heap against the bus floor with a THUMP; it's not like Thomas could feel pain anyways. 

Apparently, Thomas had been pretty damn believable. Maybe a little too believable with how a worrying Jerome was instantly kneeling by his side while attempting to shake him awake. Maybe Thomas should have told Jerome the plan before just up and doing this and getting the other into a frenzy. Whoops. No going back now, in any case. 

Then again, Jerome's genuine concern made it all the more believable. Plus, Jerome was still convinced Arkham was anything other than a bad place due to Hugo giving Jerome much nicer treatment than the other patients got so that Jerome would want to stick around and let the 'good doctor' continue 'helping him' at the 'nice' asylum. 

So, perhaps it was a good thing Thomas didn't tell Jerome he was faking this so they could escape Hugo's clutches once and for all, because Thomas wouldn't have wanted to risk explaining why they needed to leave only for Jerome to not believe him and ruin Thomas' one chance to freedom by not allowing him to go through with this. 

One of the two guards in the front rushed over and asked Jerome what happened, and when Jerome said he didn't know the guard became skeptical, being cautious when examining Thomas, yet not completely shrugging his little act off considering how hard Thomas had hit the bus floor without doing as much as fidgeting. 

The guard slapped Thomas around a little, attempting to wake him up, loudly questioning if Thomas could hear them, and Thomas wasn't exactly fond of being handled so roughly, but this was barely anything compared to Arkham, and he wasn't about to blow his cover by getting all huffy about it. 

Thomas had claimed he couldn't breathe in a hoarse voice barely above a whisper, and repeated it when the guard questioned what he'd said, causing them to ask what he meant, and Thomas personally felt like that should have been obvious, but continued nonetheless, claiming his throat was on fire, and getting annoyed but not showing it when the guard once more asked what he meant, and did Thomas REALLY have to do all the work here? Did he just have to straight out say it? Were their investigative skills really that shit? 

So, Thomas continued acting and dryly asked for something to drink, and was about to just straight up tell the guard it conveniently looked like the bus driver had some water as the guard looked around frantically for some kind of drink, but then the bus driver offered his water, and oh yes Thomas' plan was working nicely. Or at least, nicely enough. 

The guard stood, and when Thomas grasped their arm while standing with them, they told him to lay back down and wait, but Thomas insisted in a groggy voice that he needed water while stumbling forward rather convincingly, causing the guard to firmly tell Thomas to sit back down as Thomas stumbled forward again rather far, and by the time the guard realized what Thomas was doing as he stumbled towards the bus driver with the water again, it was too late. 

It was easy enough. Using the scalpel Peabody had slipped into his pocket to stab the arm of the bus driver as the guard that had been assisting him lunged forward, the other guard at the front of the bus quickly standing, the two guards in the back starting to get up. 

It was too late though. The bus harshly swerved, and Thomas along with the guards went flying every which way, Jerome's eyes widening as he watched the scene unfold from his seat while the bus abruptly rammed into something and suddenly jerked, gut sinking as it flipped over and everyone screamed while attempting to hold onto something. 

A once again freed Fish tried to take control once more as she grasped at the wheel of the bus spinning out of control. 

~*~*~*~ 

"What is this place?" Wayne questioned uneasily, eying the small town laid out in front of him that was veiled by smoke, standing at the beginning of the cleared path that had brought him here, not quite sure he wanted to continue forward. 

"Not a place that will bring you any physical harm." Charm assured despite that not exactly being very reassuring, still holding onto Jay Luna's hand as they walked around him, keeping her sights forward rather than looking at Wayne as she added, "You're future, essentially.", when sensing the look Wayne was giving her at the vague answer, as though giving another vague answer was any better. 

"My future?" Wayne questioned skeptically, and a bit sarcastically, but more so in disbelief than anything. 

"Yes," Charm answered completely seriously, as though it should be easy to believe. "that's what I said." She confirmed, glancing over her shoulder. "Are you not interested in seeing what the path you've chosen will bring upon your cherished city?" 

"What exactly is this 'path' I've chosen that you keep talking about?" Wayne asked with narrowed eyes, walking forward nonetheless, hesitantly following. 

"Everyone chooses a path," Charm answered, gesturing towards the town veiled in smoke. "but very few have the chance to clearly see the chance they've chosen." She gave Wayne a very serious look. "You're lucky you get an opportunity like this-- not many get to glance into their future." 

"Right..." Wayne muttered, still not sure he fully believed this was REALLY supposed to somehow represent his future. 

Regardless, Charm continued by adding, "Each choice you make defines the path to your future bit by bit. A small decision leads to a small bit of your path being cleared, while a big decision leads to a chunk of your path being cleared, and your most significant decisions determine whether you stay on the straight path you've put yourself on from the start, or if you steer a different way." 

"No pressure..." Wayne said under his breath. 

Whether Charm chose to ignore him or just didn't hear him was unclear when she said, "Your path is like grass, and your choices are the machete cutting it." Wayne gave a snicker at the description, earning a look and covering it up with a cough before clearing his throat apologetically, Charm giving a sigh. "Although there are things which your choices cannot shape-- things which are set in stone, so to say. Like a boulder you have to go around." 

"Why can't I climb the boulder?" Wayne piped up. 

"A very, VERY large boulder." Charm corrected. 

"I'm a good climber." Wayne countered. 

"A very large boulder that reaches the skies and would take more than a human's lifetime to climb." Charm countered right back. 

"A human's lifetime..?" Wayne inquired uneasily. 

Charm didn't comment on that, instead explaining, "You should be aware you having to eventually go against those you stand beside is one of the things you cannot shape with a choice. It is set, and something your path will have to come across." Wayne's face scrunched up in a frown, his head tilting at the words, arms crossing. "Your choices only have so much they can influence outside of your own path, and it's the paths of those you cross time and time again which mingle with yours that often create these set aspects of the future which you simply cannot change, because when it all comes down to it, you can control your actions, but not the actions of those you cherish nor despise." 

Wayne stopped in his tracks, suddenly seeming to understand what Charm was getting at, as though he was finally registering the words she oh so properly spoke. "You're talking about my friends." Charm also halted, turning to face him at that, and giving a hesitant nod. "You're saying we're going to grow apart when we grow up." 

Charm paused, her expression almost becoming sympathetic. "It's... a bit more complicated than that." 

Wayne had figured that, but it still made his gut sink. "You're saying we're going to have a fallout then?" Wayne wasn't sure why he hadn't gotten that right away-- he felt confused, and groggy, and out of it... like he was in a dream. 

"Essentially, yes." Charm confirmed quietly. 

At first, Wayne seemed to be absolutely crushed at her words. But then, a rather stubborn expression took place on his face. "How do you know that?" He interrogated upset, and Charm had foreseen the denial, because generally people did refuse to accept at least some part of their futures. "Even if you can see the future, how could you be so certain about something like that?" Charm allowed Wayne to speak, staying silent. "It would be one thing if you just said it was likely, but there's no way anyone can just- just... know exactly what can and can't be changed." 

"I don't know every exact detail of what the future must and must not become, nor the exact detail of what is and isn't likely to occur," Charm informed, chin raising as she straightened up. "although I do know the gist of these things, and I know that eventually you will have to go against those you call friend, because that occurrence bound by the universe to happen is covering your horizon, and not something you can simply go around nor over when it is too wide and too tall." Charm paused. "You can avoid it for a little while, or a long while, but only a while nonetheless, and eventually, it will be something you are forced to face, because each choice you make every instant of your life inches you closer to what your future has in store for you." 

"Even if I did believe this bull crap, I'd just keep avoiding it then!" Wayne snapped, Charm quirking a brow, yet knowing fully well revealing to anyone that their future contained only hatred for their loved ones would make anyone upset. 

"You can only avoid the inevitable for so long," Charm spoke patiently. "and if the path of brief avoidance is one you want to take, then I will not stop you, but-" She tightened her grasp on Jay's hand. "but... I am telling you this so you have a choice as to whether you accept this upcoming parting of ways now to get what must be done over with, or prolong it and wait for later, when it will be much harder and much more sour." 

Wayne furrowed his brow. "Upcoming?" He felt sick. "You're saying something's about to come up that's going to- to-" 

"To test your friendship?" Charm offered, earning a nod. "Yes, Wayne-- I'm afraid something is, and it's up to you to choose whether you allow them to go their own stray way now, or keep them around as allies for just a bit longer." 

Wayne didn't want to believe this. He didn't want to believe it at all. But somehow, he just knew Charm was the real deal here, and she was right, whether he liked it or not. Call it an instinctive hunch. "That's not fair." Wayne objected, gaze averting. 

"The future is a burdensome weight that is rarely fair to anyone," Charm replied sympathetically. "I'm sorry to have put this weight on your shoulders, I was attempting to ease your pain in the long run, yet it's become clear I've only caused you more pain currently..." She frowned, Wayne rubbing his upper arm. "You don't have to unveil your future if you do not want to-- I can send you back to the real world, and allow you to ponder what I've already given you, rather than forcing you to see more." Perhaps this had been a bad idea... it backfired Charm's intentions- 

"No," Wayne almost instantly spoke up, looking up at the town veiled in smoke. "I want to see what you're talking about." 

Charm paused, but nodded, hesitantly stepping out of the way and gesturing towards the town, smoke clearing from a door leading into it. "Then go forward and be confident to know I will not allow these creatures of the future to harm you in the present or past, but I must warn you that once you venture forth into the pathway leading into this home of near visions, there is no going back until you've reached the end." 

Wayne swallowed thickly; no pressure... 

~*~*~*~ 

To be fair, Thomas had just stabbed the bus driver's arm-- it's not like he went for the throat. Plus, his plan had worked-- he'd gotten the 'school' bus to wreck like Peabody told him to. Then again, maybe it worked a little TOO well considering it had toppled over. Oh well, Thomas had braced himself well enough at the impact, and Jerome seemed to be fine, so that was a plus. Thomas wasn't exactly sure whether he wanted to stick by Jerome's side, but Peabody had suggested he should until he at least got a hang on the outside world. 

Were there some injured patients? Sadly, yes, but they all seemed alive enough, and a mere injury that would take a few months to heal at most was a helluva lot better than years of experimental torture. 

Were there also some injured guards? Well, yeah. Were some of those injuries from the wreck? Of course. Were most of those injuries from vengeful patients attacking the very people that had treated them like animals? They most certainly were. Did Thomas give a shit about the guards being given a taste of their own medicine? No, not really. Did Thomas feel bad about stabbing the bus driver in the arm? It depended-- was the bus driver a jackass, too? 

Was Thomas pissed off that both the bus doors were jammed shut? You bet he was. Was it a bit unsettling that none of the emergency exits worked either? Yeah, a bit, but that was Gotham funding for you. 

Did Thomas attempt to pry the front door open with his scalpel? Admittedly, yes. Did it work. No. Did Thomas resort to making his way to the back door to see if he could open that? Yes. 

Did Jerome suddenly just stop in his tracks and force Thomas to a halt? 

Yes. 

"What are you doing?!" Thomas found himself questioning in disbelief, because they didn't have time for this, and to be fair you'd probably lose your cool too if someone was preventing you from freedom after twelve years of being locked up. 

"Why did you do that?" Jerome questioned, and for an instant Thomas wasn't sure what he was referring to. "Why did you stab that poor bus driver?" 

Oh. Right. Jerome was still convinced Arkham was somehow a good thing. Thomas had been convinced of that once, too. 

"He's fine," Thomas assured impatiently, attempting to tug Jerome forward by his hand. "it's not like I went for the jugular-- a few stitches and he'll be fine." 

Jerome stayed firmly in place. "I didn't ask if he was going to be okay, I asked why you-" 

"Because I'm not going back to Arkham!" Thomas snapped, tightening his hold on Jerome's hand. "It's not as perfect as it seems to you, Jerome," Thomas was desperate. Antsy. Running out of time before the GCPD showed up to lock them back up, or Hugo sent someone from Arkham after them. "Now come on and help me get this thing open!" 

"Wayne-" Jerome objected, returning the grasp yet pulling Wayne towards him. 

No. Thomas wasn't doing this. He wasn't going to let ANYONE keep him out here in the open. 

So, Thomas gave a frustrated sigh and just planted on on Jerome, earning a rather wide eyed expression that would have almost been comical if the situation wasn't so terrifying. 

The kiss was brief, Thomas pulling back quickly, looking the taken aback Jerome right in the eye and saying, "Trust me, and just help me get this door open now, so I can explain what's going on when we're somewhere safe." 

Jerome faltered, blinking at that, swallowing dryly and eying Wayne over before eventually saying, "I want to trust you, Wayne-" 

"Then trust me." Thomas pleaded, playing the part of his brother rather well if you asked him. 

"You're not well," Jerome countered, Thomas feeling his gut sink at that. "you're off your meds or something-- you need help. WE need help." 

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Thomas scoffed, losing his cool once again. "I'm not insane, and neither are you!" Okay, maybe Jerome was a little looney, but that didn't matter right now. "Arkham wasn't helping you, it wasn't helping me, and it wasn't helping anyone else! It was trapping us-" 

"Do you hear yourself?" Jerome interjected, Thomas setting his jaw and gritting his teeth. "You're not making any sense-- your paranoia is spiraling out of control-" 

"I don't have paranoia!" Thomas groaned. "Hugo fed you that bullshit so he could turn you against me!" Jerome was giving him a look. "Okay, fine, I know how that sounds, but-" 

"But nothing," Jerome interjected. "we need to wait here so you don't put yourself in danger-- you're unstable, and that puts you at risk." 

Oh for the love of... 

Thomas snatched his hand away. "You want to stay here? Fine! Stay here," Thomas turned, approaching the back door of the bus. "but I'm leaving, whether you're coming or not." 

Oh. Oh ouch. That was... that was... not like Wayne at all. Jerome REALLY hadn't expected to hear the younger say that-- not after all they'd been through. 

Something about it made something in Jerome break just a little as Thomas got to work on the back door other patients beat their hands against. 

~*~*~*~ 

When Wayne entered the town veiled in smoke, he found said smoke cleared about a yard in front of him with each step forward, walking until he got to a place where a large area of smoke cleared with a WOOSH, causing Wayne to jump, Charm and Jay Luna following from behind quite a ways back. 

The cleared area consisted of a jewelry store in which several cats lounged around. Somehow, Wayne had expected this experience to be more frightening, and not... cute? 

It seemed that right as he considered that, a very large panther abruptly broke through the jewelry shop's glass with a loud shatter, roaring at him throughout its lunge, baring its fangs. 

Oh dear. Wayne took it back-- this was plenty scary enough. He'd prefer to go back to viewing this as something cutesy. 

Despite his fear, Wayne had kept ahold of himself somewhat by assuming the panther wouldn't be able to touch him since Charm said nothing could hurt him here. 

Apparently, Wayne was wrong when he found himself being tackled to the ground by it, eyes widening as it pinned him with his back against the ground, and oh shit oh shit oh shit- 

The panther paused, looking Wayne over skeptically, and it was a bit embarrassing really to have a massive feline seemingly question why this was the puniest prey it had ever gotten. Or, perhaps the panther just wanted to... play? Maybe it hadn't meant to attack him? Did it expect him to fight back some? 

"Um..." Wayne spoke up uneasily to the observing Charm and Jay as the panther leaned over to either sniff him or bite a chunk out of him, not getting the chance to find out which as the panther suddenly got wrenched off of him. 

Now, Wayne would have been relieved if he hadn't seen what had pulled the panther off of him: a gigantic ass bat. As in, a bat that was about... oh... as big as the full grown panther. Maybe a little bigger. 

Wayne HATED bats. He'd fallen into a pit filled with them when he was eight or so, and his childhood friend Rachel Dawes had ran to get help, but it has seemed like it had taken forever for her to get back with a concerned Thomas that got him out and a fretting Martha that assured Wayne he was going to be okay. It had been awful-- Wayne had fractured his ankle and had to get rabies shots that had incredibly long needles and he had to keep going back to get them for a while. The bats had absolutely swarmed the poor boy. 

An entire group of bats coming at you was one thing. A bat that was about the size of a human- if not bigger- was an entirely different thing. Both were terrifying, but this was a bit more unsettling. 

It didn't exactly help to witness the bat securing the growling panther in its grasp before ascending and carrying the feline away into the smoke. 

"What the hell happens in the future that gives us bats like THAT?" Wayne scoffed shakily, trembling somewhat as he stood. When Charm didn't answer and just stared at him expectantly, he gave a sigh and muttered "Right...", before continuing forward, recalling Charm really didn't seem to be much of a talker, much less Jay. 

Wayne only had to take a few steps forward before coming upon the next area that cleared as smoke faded in a breeze, finding it was a cornfield, and that was weird... there wasn't a lot of agricultural land in Gotham; the city was about as much a farmer's kind of place as New York City was. 

What was even more peculiar was the scarecrow at the edge of the field. 

"Whys this thing all the way over here?" Wayne inquired, brow furrowing. "Shouldn't it be in the middle of the field?" His arms crossed. "Having just one scarecrow all the way over here isn't going to keep the crows away from everywhere else..." 

Charm stared at him for a moment. "You're taking all of this a bit literally." 

Wayne gave a shrug, because he'd never exactly been the type to enjoy analyzing symbolizations when it came to school. Then again, he'd never been the type to enjoy school in general in all hones- 

The scarecrow abruptly jerked forward, Wayne going wide eyed and scrambling back, nearly falling on his ass as he felt his stomach nearly leap to his throat at the sight of the scarecrow made of straw continuing to jolt its limbs every which way, as though it was snapping them to life, cracking and twitching violently against the wood it was attached to before ripping its left arm away from said wood, and then its right, its legs following suit, briefly dangling for a mere instant before abruptly wrenching forward, ripping the rest of itself off the wooden stand caked in left behind straw and cloth. 

Well... Wayne certainly had a new fear now. He'd never be able to look at a scarecrow quite the same way. 

It didn't exactly put Wayne at ease when the scarecrow's stitched mouth tore open as a chilling scream left its once sewn lips, some kind of white gas whooshing out of his throat, a rather terrified Wayne wanting to yell at himself for freezing up, feeling like his feet were firmly glued to the ground, and his legs were too stiff to budge. 

Before the gas could come into contact with Wayne, however, that oversized bat showed up again, swooping out from the cornfield and in front of Wayne, blocking the boy from the gas. 

Wayne's instance of shock left his system, and he wasted no time in hurriedly backing up, letting the bat and scarecrow have at it- 

Wait a second... Wayne didn't recall the bat having what almost resembled gloved hands at the ends of its wings... 

Before Wayne could get a good luck at the peculiar site that was hard to focus on with how quickly they fought, the bat wrapped its wings around the scarecrow, and flew forward into the cornfield. 

"So Gotham becomes infested with panthers, giant bats, and living scarecrows in the future." Wayne commented sarcastically. "Got it." 

"Have you ever heard of a metaphor before?" Charm asked in a tone that was a bit too serious. 

"Yes, I've heard of a metaphor before," Wayne defensively answered upon hearing the condescending tone. "but I'm really not sure what any of this stuff you're showing me is supposed to symbolize." 

"In due time, you will gain sense of this." 

"Do you always sound this vague?" Wayne sighed. 

"Do you always dismiss patience as a virtue and demand an answer you don't wish to bother contemplation upon?" Charm countered, earning a grumble. "The longer you linger, the longer this unpleasant experience will take-" 

"I get it," Wayne interjected, continuing down the path at that. "let's just get this over with..." 

A few yards down the path and Wayne came upon the next clearing, which was the outside of some kind of building with muffled music coming from the walls and blurry lights in the windows. There was also a picture of something resembling a glacier over the door. 

It seemed to be some kind of... club? 

Regardless, the club looked normal enough. What didn't look normal, however, was the wind up penguins with toy umbrellas littering the outside of the club, just sitting there as still as can be, not making a peep. 

"Oswald!" Wayne suddenly exclaimed, Charm looking at him. "This place is supposed to represent Oswald or something, right?" After all, Oswald's famous nickname was Penguin. 

"It is not my place to reveal the meaning of your future which is destined to be fully unveiled at a set series of times." Charm answered, vague as always. "What I am showing you is only meant to allow you a chance at having a glimpse at your chosen path, rather than a full view of where that path leads." 

Wayne remained convinced despite not receiving a simple yes or no, too busy being intrigued as to what was inside the club to reply to Charm's answer with a sarcastic quip, instead finding himself walking towards the door and reaching out. 

When the pins on the wind up penguins backs began to turn themselves on their own, Wayne halted, eying over the toys that began to shake to life, realizing he probably shouldn't have walked forward so eagerly with very little caution as the gizmos gave off several DINGS while hopping up, causing Wayne to warily start backing up as the penguins twirled their umbrellas around in stiff mechanical motions. 

The toy penguins began to waddle towards the retreating Wayne, and that was already creepy enough, so it didn't help as one of them got about a foot away from him when its big blue eyes went red and a beeping sound that quickly got faster and higher rang out. 

Wayne's gut sunk, mouth going dry, pulse racing, chest pounding, blood going cold, and eyes widening as he gulped. 

It was a bomb. 

Wayne sprinted away from the wind up penguin, narrowly dodging the tiny explosion, more toys waddling and exploding towards him, and it seemed with each explosion they progressively got faster. 

It wasn't long until the wind up penguins began lunging at Wayne, and for a few seconds a terrified Wayne managed to dodge them, but then one went right for his throat and he stumbled back, falling onto his ass and putting his arms in front of his face as a shield. 

When Wayne heard an explosion but felt nothing hit him, he waited a few seconds before hesitantly lowering his arms just enough to see that damn bat the intimidating size of a human standing there between him and the waddling toys. 

This time, Wayne found the bat didn't just have human-like hands-- it had human-like legs. 

The bat abruptly swooped forward, using its wings to gather up all the small penguins in one swift sweep, quickening and loudening beeping sounds going off while the penguins eyes flashed red. 

"Wait!" Wayne objected, because he still HATED bats, but it was pretty clear this... thing was attempting to help him for whatever reason, and he didn't want the peculiar helper to be blown to smithereens. 

The bat didn't listen, continuing its way towards the window which it crashed through, disappearing into the club as several loud booms went off and fire bursted out the window. 

Wayne barely hesitated before he started to run towards the club door. 

"Your glimpse into the future of this enemy is done," Charm spoke up while holding up her hand, the shattered glass from the window doing a reversed fall and floating upwards, settling back into place as Wayne attempted and failed to get through the locked door. "it's time you move onto the next glimpse." 

"I have to see if that-" Wayne looked around for something to break the window with instead. "-thing or whatever is okay." He stubbornly insisted, referring to the bat. 

"You will see the shape that so called 'thing' is in when you experience the next area." Charm persisted while Wayne gave a frustrated sigh at how he couldn't find anything to break the window with. 

"You control this place, right?" Wayne questioned while looking at the window broodingly. "There's no reason you can't just give me a few minutes to look around." At that, he brought back his hand, making it into a fist and ramming it towards the glass. 

Before Wayne's fist could make contact with the glass, however, Charm snapped her fingers, and Wayne let out a surprised noise as he found himself suddenly being wrenched backwards and then yanked upwards, as though the sheer force of gravity was forcing him around. 

"I do not control this place nor your future," Charm stated as Wayne dangled in the air. "I merely help you see it better." At that, she flicked her hand forward and Wayne went flying a few meters away from the house, letting out an uncertain noise as he began to descend, hands and legs kicking in the air uselessly as though he was treading water and could somehow bring himself to a stop by doing so in the air. 

Charm inclined her chin before Wayne could collide with the ground, bringing him to a midair halt a few feet above said ground, before lowering her chin and resulting him dropping with a grunt. 

Wayne gave a glare at her as he stood and brushed himself off while grumbling, "Why does all of this have to be so quick?" He didn't see why they couldn't take their time. 

"Because the time in this world is not very separate from the time in your world," Charm answered while calmly walking towards Wayne. "and you need to get back there soon in order to take the escape intended for you." 

Before Wayne could question Charm on what the hell she meant (like he wanted to question a lot), the smoke around a courthouse disintegrated, revealing a statue of lady liberty standing proudly in front of the buildings, her scale filled with shining coins on the right scale, and burnt coins on the left scale. 

"Oh great-- a courthouse. That's even more fun than a club." Wayne commented bitterly, giving a look to the silent Charm who just stared at him, patiently waiting for Wayne to do as he was supposed to, causing him to murmur under his breath, "Fine...", and reluctantly stomp forward towards the courthouse, because not only was he still sour about being forced away from investigating that club, but now he was being forced to encounter some more scary shit he'd really rather not have to keep facing again and again. 

Wayne half expected the statue to come to life and attack him before he got the chance to go by it. 

It didn't. 

Wayne let out a quiet breath of relief, as he walked by the statue, relaxing somewhat yet remaining on his guard, eying the courthouse over uneasily, wondering what was awaiting him inside. 

It was when Wayne had gone a few meters by the statue that it just had to come to life after all. 

Wayne noticed the sound of concrete brushing together as the statue turned to face him, her shadow stretching all around him, the boy freezing and VERY reluctantly turning to look up at- 

"Oh what the hell..." Wayne exhaled as the statue shifted from foot to foot. 

The statue with a blindfold over her eyes jerked her attention towards the area she'd heard Wayne's voice come from, and oh for the love of... 

The statue took a handful of coins, chucking them at Wayne, causing him to shield his face, and while the coins flinging against his skin didn't hurt too badly, it wasn't exactly pleasant. 

When Wayne heard the coins finish dropping, he uncertainly lowered his arms from his eyes, sights landing on the concrete foot coming towards him, nearly tripping over the coins that slid under his shoes as he sprinted away, managing to get out of reach as the foot stomped on the ground, causing the earth underneath him to shake. 

Apparently, attempting to keep one's balance when encountering an earthquake caused by a gigantic statue that wanted to bury you alive in coins was a task which not exactly easy, and that was something Wayne found out when he couldn't keep his footing on the concrete ground rumbling underneath him, only managing to get a few yards forward before almost twisting his ankle, trying to put his hands out to keep him upright and failing as he swayed before falling back on his ass. 

Wayne started to get up, but then he noticed a gigantic stone foot gliding over the ground and coming straight towards him, causing the boy to go wide eyed and duck, laying flat on his stomach and squeezing his eyes shut as the statue's foot nearly touched him, mere centimeters above him as it swooped over him, Wayne realizing Lady Liberty was searching from him, and at least she wasn't using her hands- 

The statue suddenly fell to her knees and began running her fingertips every which way against the ground, narrowly missing Wayne by a few feet, and Wayne just had to go and jinx himself, didn't he? 

Wayne glanced over at the blind folded statue searching for him, the boy breathing in deeply but quietly to calm himself, swallowing thickly and wetting his dry lips, carefully standing up while turning to face her, keeping his eyes on the statue while leaning over to take off his shoes, keeping the pair securely in one hand as he cautiously started to back up, feet gently walking against the asphalt- 

The faint sound of change shifting together under Wayne's feet was heard, his eyes widening as the statue jerked her attention towards the sound of him stepping on the coins she'd thrown at him. 

Wayne did the first thing that came to mind and chucked his shoes as far off to the side as he could, Lady Liberty's stone ear twitching at the sound, yet her blindfolded face continued to face Wayne. 

Apparently, she wasn't so easily fooled, but hey... it had been a good idea or whatever. 

Wayne went with his second idea which involved running the way which was opposite of the living statue. 

Lady Liberty lunged towards Wayne as the sound of his feet hitting pavement filled the silent air, and Wayne was aware of the shadow that was suddenly all around him, but he didn't dare look up considering it was common sense you never look back in horror movies unless you want to trip, and this was pretty damn horrifying, so he assumed the same applied here- 

Shit. Okay, yeah, Wayne looked over his shoulder. He knew he probably shouldn't have, but it was instinct, and- and oh dear DC she was about to land on him shit shit shit- 

The statue was abruptly yanked to the side mere seconds before she hit Wayne, causing the boy to nearly slid to a halt, eyes landing on a familiar... bat... thing, or whatever one would call it. 

This time, the peculiar bat had more than human-like hands and legs-- it had a human-like torso and not a... cute fuzzy bat torso, or whatever. The bat was damn well ripped, in fact. Damn thing probably had abs under the peculiar suit of armor it was wearing. 

The bat... human? Bat bat? Bat thing? Bat guy? Bat hybrid? Sure-- Wayne would go with Bat Hybrid. In any case, the Bat Hybrid was holding a grapple hook in its unsettling clawed human hand, said hook lodged in the statue's shoulder, Wayne noting half of the statue's face was spiderwebbed in cracks from the impact of falling against the asphalt. 

When Lady Liberty started to sit up and Wayne began to warily back up accordingly, the Bat Hybrid abruptly yanked down on the grappling hook in his hand, Wayne's eyes widening as the ground beneath the Bat Hybrid and blindfolded statue crumbled with ease at that. 

Wayne scrambled back quickly as the statue attempted and failed to grab Wayne to bring him down with her and the Bat Hybrid as the two... creatures- or whatever they were- fell through the pit in the ground. 

Okay, so the Bat Hybrid was strong as hell apparently. That made it even more terrifying... 

Wayne cautiously took small, gentle, careful steps towards the edge of the hole, glancing down into the pit which seemed to have no end, feeling his body lock up ever so slightly from being near the drop off and stiffly backing away from the hole, glancing over at the calm Charm. 

"You don't get excited very easily, huh?" Wayne commented intrigued. 

Charm didn't look amused in the least, beginning to walk away from the courthouse and down the path to their next destination. "Have you managed to piece together what any of these visions mean?" 

"There's bat furies in the future?" Wayne answered with a shrug, following after her. 

Charm rolled her eyes. "Isn't that Jerome friend of yours supposed to be the one who gives a fool's jokes?" Wayne felt a bit insulted at that. "He's clearly rubbed off on you..." 

Wayne started to grumble something under his breath, before realizing just what exactly Charm had said, causing him to blink and look at her while questioning with an arched brow, "You know Jerome?" 

Charm's answer was, "I know of each of the individuals you hold dear, although they do not yet know me in the time I now reside in, nor will we become acquainted as you and I have until the future." 

Wayne always felt like he spoke a bit too properly sometimes for a kiddo in this day and age, but this lady definitely took the cake for peculiar speech... then again, everything about this entire experience was peculiar. Honestly Wayne was still somewhat in shock about the whole thing... he couldn't help but wonder if he'd gone and knocked himself out when falling from the vents, resulting in this nightmare. 

However, Wayne was way too aware of himself and his surroundings for this to be a dream, plus everything he interacted with felt as real as could be to the touch, and he didn't have trouble recalling how he'd gotten here as one generally does when attempting to contemplate such in dreams, not to mention how his mind wasn't skipping from one quick and fuzzy event to another out of nowhere as it typically would do when he was asleep. 

Regardless, the fact this wasn't a nightmare didn't exactly make Wayne feel any better about that seemingly meaning that magic or whatever the hell this was was real, that in itself also being rather difficult to believe. 

But this was Gotham, and weird shit was always happening in Gotham-- such as bringing people back to life, for one. 

Wayne snapped out of his brooding when realizing he was starting to feel a bit chilly, rubbing his shivering arms while letting out a shaky exhale and seeing his breath in the crisp air, swallowing dryly and directing his attention towards the ground when hearing his shoes crunch against what seemed to be snow. 

As snow began to gently fall from the sky, Wayne looked back up, brushing a few white specks away from his eyelashes as his sights fell on an ice crystal that was a bit bigger than him, smoke rolling away from it until Wayne had a clear view of such. 

The crystal was bright white with a gentle blue hue shimmering around it, isolated in the middle of a frozen pond, Wayne eying the beautiful sight over uncertainly, not exactly keen on walking on frozen ice after the whole Christmas incident with poor Ivy getting stuck on a thin spot and coming close to falling into the icy depths. 

However, Wayne was more than aware that the only path he saw was the one that ended up on the ice one way or another, so he looked over his shoulder at Charm pleadingly, and when she returned his uneasy stare with an expressionless gaze and an expectant nod, he sighed and reluctantly walked timidly forward on the ice he could only hope was thicker than it was thin. 

About halfway to the crystal, Wayne found his hopes diminishing when finding the ice was about as thin as sheets, having to halt as white cracks began to spiderweb beneath his feet. 

Wayne was aware Charm had warned him that if he chose to encounter a brief path showing vague visions of his future, there was no turning back until he had finished walking his path, and okay yeah Wayne had technically agreed to that, but now he was really, REALLY regretting this bullshit. 

Another thing Wayne was aware of was Charm informing him she couldn't interfere here, yet also assuring Wayne he couldn't be harmed here, but that didn't stop Wayne from desperately looking over his shoulder at Charm once again, his legs buckling beneath him ever so slightly. 

Charm just stared right back at him. 

Wayne sighed and directed his attention back towards the ice crystal, debating on his limited choices given the circumstances, considering just lunging at the crystal, but honestly not having any idea on what exactly he was supposed to do with said crystal. 

Until Wayne could come up with a plan, he guessed the safest bet would be to just stand as still as possible. 

That changed when ice crystals suddenly began to burst through the ice all around Wayne, their shining edges rather sharp looking, the rocks being about as twice as tall as him. 

"Charm?!" Wayne called out uncertainly whence realizing the lines of ice crystals bursting out of the water were making a beeline towards him. 

Charm simply watched in silence, and Wayne began wondering just how much he should have trusted this chick he had literally just met less than half an hour ago... 

To be fair, as she'd promised, the Bat Hybrid once again showed up before Wayne could be made into a smoothie. 

This time, the bat's face from the bridge of its nose down was human, yet up from that it was still bat-like. 

Other than the wings and upper face, the Bat Hybrid was almost completely human. 

The Bat Hybrid's wings sliced through the ice crystals as it swooped back and forth across the pond, Wayne initially not budging an inch before realizing the cracks that had been forming beneath his feet were now cracking underneath wherever the Bat Hybrid flew and hovered above, as though... whatever the hell was controlling all of this was following the Bat Hybrid. 

Wayne took that as his cue to sprint back towards the shore, a few mere yards away when feeling the cracks begin to follow him once more, ice shifting under his feet, nearly falling as parts of the pond began to give way, yet managing to stay upright while stumbling his way towards the solid ground covered in snow, coming close to slipping when finally reaching land, panting as his adrenaline rushed from both the cold and... whatever it was that just happened. 

"Didn't... you say... this wouldn't take... long?" Wayne accused out of breath to Charm as the Bat Hybrid dove into the icy water behind him. 

"It's not," Charm confirmed with a shrug. "your visions here are quick, and you only have a mere few left to encounter." 

"Define few?" Wayne breathed out in stressed exhaustion. 

"You'll see." Was Charm's answer, Wayne letting out a long sigh as she walked by him to continue down the path, Wayne reluctantly straightening up and following. 

"Can you just tell me if I have more or less than five of these things to go through or something?" Wayne inquired pleadingly. 

"You wished to partake in this journey of tomorrows, and so I expect you to practice the virtue of patience since I've chosen to guide you through this journey." Charm informed while continuing to stare forward, Wayne sarcastically repeating what she said under his breath while over exaggerating an imitation of her. "Unless you'd rather Jay and I leave you to attempt walking this journey in solitude?" Charm added without even glancing at Wayne, well aware of his childish reaction. 

Wayne quickly put on a straight face and cleared his voice while assuring, "No no, I'm good!" As much as Wayne disliked Charm's cryptic answers, he didn't exactly want to have to risk trying to find his path out of whatever this place was alone. 

Charm gave a nod and halted, Wayne doing the same as the smoke cleared around yet another area, revealing several walls displaying art with yellow and green question marks facing every which way all over said art. 

"Does this represent you or something?" Wayne guessed uncertainly, more or less grasping at straws in attempts to figure out what any of this could mean. 

Charm raised a brow. "Pardon?" 

"I'm always questioning what you mean, so..." Wayne gave a shrug. 

Charm almost looked amused at that, nearly seeming as though she was glad Wayne was at least trying to put together what his visions could mean as she replied, "No, this is not the story of my future you're glimpsing into." 

Well, it looked like Wayne was back to square one of not knowing what this shit meant, like he wasn't sure of what most of the crap he was coming upon here was supposed to be. 

Wayne knew the routine by now, approaching the walls lined with art pieces covered in question marks, bracing himself for whatever jump scare was bound to appear, wondering if investigating this crap would somehow get him to put two and two together and figure out what it meant, but doubting it. 

Sure enough, sheets of sturdy glass abruptly extended from the ground, trapping Wayne in with the walls and paintings, Wayne stopping in his tracks and looking around warily. 

The vents beneath Wayne's feet began to rumble, causing Wayne to shuffle around uneasily. 

Suddenly, some kind of misty substance sprayed up through the vent only a few feet away from him, Wayne's eyes widening as more chemicals sprayed through the vent after that one, and then the vent after that one, and then- oh dear... whatever that stuff was was coming right for him. 

Wayne turned the other way and began sprinting, weaving through the walls lined with art which Wayne realized were set up to be some kind of maze. 

As Wayne ran away from the gas spraying towards him quicker and quicker with each second, one of the paintings a few mere feet in front of Wayne flew open like a window, revealing a vent in the cement wall that had been hidden behind the frame. 

Wayne ducked as he continued running while mist sprayed out through the vent in the wall, barely managing to react in time, straightening back up afterwards to continue going as fast as he could. 

A wall was coming up, Wayne having to turn to avoid it, and- 

Wayne's eyes widened as he had to slid to a halt to avoid the painting connected to a wall in front of him, his gut sinking at meeting the dead end. 

When Wayne spun around to see if he could backtrack, he saw the spurts of mist coming right for him, Wayne backing up as close as he could to the wall behind him, back pressing against it, sinking to his knees while squeezing his eyes shut and covering his mouth and nose with his hands, wondering what this chemical would do to- 

Wayne's eyes snapped open as he felt a whoosh of air above him, looking up towards the Bat Hybrid that used its wings to flap the sprays of mist the other way, relief filling Wayne when it gave a particularly strong gust of wind with its wings which shattered an area in the glass surrounding the sides of the maze. 

This time, the Bat Hybrid's entire face was human, except for its bat-like eyes which were all iris with no white, and its ears which were still bat ears, and aw that was kinda' cute! 

Wayne couldn't get a good glimpse at the Bat Hybrid's face, however, because it was wearing some kind of mask... 

When the Bat Hybrid cleared off enough of the mist and continued swooshing more and more of it further and further away, Wayne wasted no time in running out the hole in the glass it had made. 

Wayne was about to properly thank the Bat Hybrid that had saved him quite a few times now, but before he got a chance to the vigilante flew upwards before diving down towards the vents, crashing through them and towards the source of the chemical spurts. 

"What is that thing?" Wayne found himself asking out loud, staring at the gap in the vents intrigued. 

"All I will say is that he's a 'who' which is a 'who' you are more familiar with than any other." Charm informed while walking off, Wayne following a bit more enthusiastically than he had before. 

Wayne pondered on that, blinking in realization and excitedly saying in such a sure voice, "Well that has to mean he's Jerome then!" Wayne gave a laugh of relief. "Jerome's going to be okay then?" 

Charm hadn't given off a lot of telltale expressions, because she was good at containing herself. 

However, she did falter at those words accompanied by the smile Wayne gave. 

Wayne looked up at Charm, and found his relief had been brief, expression falling at the almost apologetic stare Charm was giving him. 

Charm realized she was furrowing her brow and cleared her throat, putting a serious expression back on. "I will not confirm nor deny your assumptions, for I've said all I can about the matter." 

Wayne's shoulders slumped, almost certain that meant he'd had to have been REALLY wrong about everything with Jerome being okay... 

Or maybe Wayne had just been wrong about Jerome being that vigilante... thing. 

Yeah. Maybe that was it. Maybe Jerome would be all right after all... 

Wayne didn't get much of a chance to fret over Charm's peculiarly worried reaction, finding himself instead directing his attention towards the smoke clearing away from an area which seemed to be a lush garden with a peculiar fog surrounding it which was tinted a gentle pink, a sweet honey-like aroma filling the air. 

One thing in the garden that caught Wayne's attention was a rose bush smack in the center of it, surrounded by foot high stones, a faded white fountain made of porcelain and taking the shape of a women posed behind it, vines covering the decor. 

"This seems pleasant..." Wayne commented, Charm looking at him when hearing his not so pleasant tone. "which means it's probably about to turn out to be one of the scariest 'visions', or whatever you call them." He sighed, aware Charm wasn't about to confirm or deny his assumptions anymore than she already had and reluctantly walking forward cautiously, going along a path of stepping stones leading to the rose bush. 

This garden sprinkled in fresh morning dew would have seemed normal if not for the lack of bees, butterflies, birds, rabbits, and crickets-- no sign of life in sight. There was also no wind to make the plants sway, and noticeably no flaws in the plants, such as weeds or brown spots. 

When Wayne reached the rose bush, he glanced at the fountain, eying over the porcelain woman with faded features and wondering if this statue planned on coming to life like that Lady Liberty one had. 

Regrettably, there was only one way to find out. 

Wayne assumed he was supposed to pick one of the roses or something, that being the only thing that came to mind as he reached out to pluck the red flower. 

The instant Wayne's fingertips brushed the petals, roots cracked out from the bush, Wayne's eyes widening and a noise leaving his throat as he felt the roots hook around his wrist, his gut sinking as a Venus flytrap unfolded from the leaves. 

Wayne wasted no time attempting to pry away from the roots slithering up his arm, finding it was harder and harder to keep his feet planted firmly as the Venus flytrap got higher and higher up, attempting and failing to tear the roots away with his free hand, stumbling before pushing his shoes firmly back against the ground as the roots reached his shoulder, the flytrap's mouth opening wide. 

This was a vegetarian's worst nightmare, wasn't it? 

At the very least, Wayne had figured out this probably symbolized Ivy one way or another, so at least he'd gotten a feel for whatever this could be representing... 

Wayne wasn't exactly too ecstatic about realizing that considering he was about to very possibly be eaten by a plant, which occupied his mind a bit more. 

It didn't help that the hungry flytrap got impatient, Wayne gulping as vines with thorns began to emerge from the plant's... throat or... stem or... whatever one would call it. The mouth thingy? 

Regardless, it wasn't at all a reassuring thing to see the thorny vines readying themselves to strike at him. 

The vines began to draw back like snakes, about to rush forward and probably poison him or do some other bullshit attack- 

A weapon in the shape of a bat went flying through the vines and roots, slicing the roots off of his arm and the vines in half before they could reach him, the flytrap letting out a wailing noise, and Wayne was fairly certain plants didn't have vocal cords, but he could care less about biology for the time being, taking his chance to shake the roots off his arm and run. 

Roots from shrubs all around Wayne began to emerge, quickly slithering out towards him like snakes giving chase to a mouse, Wayne managing to just run over them initially, before having his ankle get snagged by one of them, falling face first on the ground with a grunt and thud. 

Wayne groaned while sitting up into a kneeling position, attempting to stand up by tugging his leg away from the roots wrapping securely around it, eyes widening as the roots yanked harshly, causing him to fall back onto his stomach with a yelp. 

The roots began to burrow down into the loose dirt, Wayne desperately trying to scurry away as they pulled his leg with them, foot sinking into the soft soil. 

The more Wayne kicked, the more the roots pulled, and the faster his leg sank into the ground, the boy panicking as the soil reached up to his knee. 

Another bat shaped weapon whizzed by Wayne's trapped leg, slicing through the roots trapping him, causing the teen to quickly yank his leg out of the loose dirt and continue running out of the garden. 

When Wayne realized the greenery was no longer trying to kill him as he approached the clearing where Charm stood at, he looked over his shoulder, gaze landing on a familiar Bat Hybrid that now lacked bat ears, the only inhuman things it had being its wings and bat-like eyes. 

The Bat Hybrid was occupying the roots and vines swiping at him, Wayne getting out of the garden and into the clearing right as a looming venus flytrap erupted from underneath the Bat Hybrid, Wayne skidding to a halt as the plant swallowed the heroic creature before sinking back into the ground. 

"He's fine." Charm stated dismissively as a wide eyed Wayne started to walk back towards the garden that had just swallowed up the Bat Hybrid, Charm giving a wave of the wrist and causing the garden to become covered in smoky fog before Wayne could re-enter it. 

Wayne halted, giving Charm an irked stare. "Are you always this casual and sure about stuff like this?" 

"Generally." Charm answered without missing a beat before turning to walk along the cleared path while informing, "We're almost done here." 

Wayne gave a sigh of relief, following after her. "Does this not freak out Luna at all?" 

Charm glanced down at the girl staring up at her while holding her hand, before looking forward again and saying, "Luna is aware I would not easily allow any harm to come to her." 

"Right..." Wayne muttered. "Brave kid..." 

"A child shouldn't have to be brave." Charm said in a suddenly cold tone. 

Wayne raised a brow, taken aback at the icy reply, uncertain as to whether he'd said something wrong. "I- um..? I mean... no-- they shouldn't have to be- um... brave... I wasn't trying to- I was just-" 

Charm gave a sigh, tightening her grip on Luna's hand. "I was not scolding you-- my bitterness is towards a different mortal." 

Wayne was... pretty sure that meant she wasn't upset at him? 

Either way, Wayne chose to comment no more on the subject, he, Charm, and Luna walking on in silence, the two girls staying a few feet ahead of him. 

After what felt like a few awkward minutes, Charm and Luna finally came to a halt, Wayne doing the same. 

The trio had stopped in front of a particularly thick patch of fog which was substantially darker than the rest of the smoky fog. 

Charm raised her hand, and the fog cleared, revealing the biggest clearing yet which looked as though it was a fun house. 

"I cannot venture with you down this path," Charm informed, turning to face Wayne. "this is the exit from this glimpse of your future into the world of your current days-- Luna and I will meet you back where we met." 

Wayne stared at Charm in disbelief. "Why can't you go in there with me?" Wayne hadn't agreed to do this creepy-ass shit alone. 

"Each path I've shown you here are the paths which meet with those of your friends," Charm paused. "or at least of those which you call friends for the time being." She raised her chin. "These are paths of betrayal, and this path is the most significant betrayal you'll face," Charm straightened up. "I cannot accompany you on the most personal glimpse of your future which I so choose to show, and so I cannot accompany you on this path." 

"So far literally everything you've said sounds like bullshit-" Wayne argued stubbornly, and perhaps a bit childishly. 

"You not understanding what I say nor what I mean does not make it any less true." Charm interjected. "If you wish to leave this glimpse into your future and return back to where you were before you agreed to enter this area, then you will take the only exit you have through the path I cannot accompany you upon." 

"Can't you just snap your fingers or something and teleport me back?!" Wayne pleaded. 

"It does not work like that." Charm denied. 

"Why not?!" 

"Questioning why something does not work one way will not make it work another way." 

Wayne gave a frustrated exhale. "But-" 

"The rules still apply here," Charm assured. "even without me, no harm will come to you-- not when you have the Bat watching you." 

"Well what if I go the wrong way?" Wayne questioned, because he had been so sure about this initially, but now this entire thing was just freaking him out. 

"I have set up your path in a way that only allows you to go forward or backwards," Charm informed. "as long as you do not turn around and come back towards where we stand as of now, you will go the way you're meant to." 

Wayne glared at Charm with more of a pleading stare than a glare, but when she just stared right back at him, he gave a sigh. "Fine." 

At that, Charm's face softened, her hand resting on his upper arm. "I cannot tell you much about what you will face here, but I can tell you that this is a path which has merged with one path of one traitorous ally, and one path of another." 

"Thanks." Wayne said... for whatever that meant. "So you and Luna will meet me back at Arkham then?" Charm stepped aside and gave a nod at that. "That means that all I have to do to get back there is go through here?" 

"Yes." Charm confirmed. 

Wayne swallowed dryly and gave a nod before chewing on his lower lip, staring up at the entrance to the fun house which was a doorway resembling a clown's face, the threshold being its grinning mouth wide open. 

Wayne walked forward as confidently as he could, Charm and Luna not following the boy that found himself going along an unlit hallway, having to squint his eyes to see where he was goin- 

The door slammed shut behind Wayne, causing Wayne to jump and glanced over his shoulder as said door made a locking sound, his gut sinking at how he couldn't see a single thing now. 

Great... 

Wayne let out a quiet shaky breath and hesitantly continued making his way forward, being careful about where he stepped just in case there were any traps or holes or some other kind of bullshit on the ground, hands reaching out around him to see if there was a railing anywhere, fingers grasping at air, causing him to settle for reaching one hand out in front of him in order to make sure he didn't run face first into anything. 

Wayne's mind began to play tricks on him, as minds generally do in the dark. What if he stepped in a hole and fell into a room where he'd be trapped forever? Or stepped on a trap that snapped his foot in half and would result in him not being able to make it out? Or stepped on an explosive device that would blow up before the Bat Hybrid that was supposedly watching out for him could save him? 

What happened if Wayne got killed here? Would he wake up in the real world? Would he die in the real world? Would he be asleep forever in the real world? 

Then again, what if he wasn't just subconsciously here? What if he was physically here? He'd assumed this was like a lucid dream in which his body was still in that Arkham Asylum room, but what if Charm had teleported his entire body here? Wayne didn't know how this magic shit worked! 

Wait-- what if Wayne was still in the Arkham Asylum room and this magic smoke... fog stuff was just making it seem like he was somewhere else? Was that plausible? 

What if Charm was wrong about how no harm could come to Wayne here? Oh no... what if Charm wasn't actually on his side here? What if this was all some kind of elaborate scheme of her's? 

What if Wayne's outstretched hand touched something in the darkness he was navigating through? What if his hand touched something fire hot, or so icy it froze to it? What if someone or something grabbed his hand? What if something clamped down on his hand? 

What if Wayne was on a high platform and he made a misstep or didn't stay in a straight line? He couldn't see the ground! What if he was coming upon an edge he couldn't see?! 

What if- 

Bright lights abruptly snapped on as the sound of a switch coming down echoed throughout the room, Wayne's stomach nearly leaping into his throat, his gut almost doing a flip, and his very core coming close to sinking. 

Wayne halted where he stood with wide eyes, having to stop himself from letting out a noise of surprise, his hand still stretched out as he just froze up. 

Thankfully, Wayne was on a flat ground and not a high platform, the teen finding himself in the middle of a room full of what seemed to be empty frames of broken mirrors of all shapes and sizes. 

The exit from that room was directly in front of Wayne, and in the threshold stood a clown with green hair messily combed to the side, emerald eyes with irises which were much too small, cuts running up his cheeks, and white, red, and black war paint masking any distinguishing traits on his face. He was wearing a purple and green suit, classy black shoes, and fancy white gloves. 

The clown gave a toothy wide grin that was somehow a bit too friendly-- even for a friend. He bowed dramatically while greeting in a cheery voice, "Darling! You haven't aged a bit!" Wayne lowered his hand, uncertainly eying over the clown that laughed at his own joke as though it was the funniest comment in the world to ever be spoken. "What's your secret? Hm? Some kind of rich-boy lotion? Ooh, maybe some expensive facial surgery? The blood of your enemies?" Wayne just stared at him. "Ah, secret family recipe you've sworn to never tell?" He chuckled, hands going behind his back as he raised his chin and straightened up. "What's wrong? Don't consider me part of your little family anymore?" 

Wayne narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?" 

The clown gave a dramatic sigh. "For Gotham's greatest detective, you sure do have trouble piecing two and two together to make one, don't ya'?" 

Wayne took a few seconds to soak in the clown's words before quirking a brow. "I become a detective?" 

The clown stared at Wayne for a while before letting out a hoot of laughter, Wayne not seeing what was so funny as the other doubled over him his crackling, and Wayne certainly didn't see how anything he'd just said could be THAT hilarious. 

"That's a bit of an understatement." The clown informed while straightening back up and letting out a few more chuckles, giving an amused sigh at the look Wayne was giving him. "Sometimes I just don't see how you and him are the same person..." 

First Charm didn't make any sense, and now this guy wasn't making any sense. Nothing here made any damn sense. "Me and who?" Wayne questioned with a frown. 

"Oh..." The clown gave a shrug, hands shoving into his pockets. "you've met him..." He answered vaguely. "In fact, you're actually rather close to him, even though you don't know it yet... a lot closer than you've ever been to anyone, in any case." He hummed with a smirk. 

Wayne parted his lips to say something, before closing them, only to reopen them and furrow his brow while questioning, "What?" 

The clown gave a short but loud laugh. "My oh my, you really are in deep here, aren't you, darling?" There was that nickname again... "You haven't even began to hate us yet, have you?" He crooned in mock sympathy. 

"Hate who?" Wayne inquired, trying to piece together what all was going on. 

"Us!" The clown exclaimed, hands abruptly raising in the air and stretching outwards, gesturing to the world around him. "Everyone you've encountered here!" He continued, hands lowering as his grin widened. "Me, them, your now friends, your later enemies... us!" 

What in the world was this guy talking about..? 

"Who are you?" Wayne repeated, attempting to get a straight answer. 

The clown avoided giving a straight answer, of course. In fact, he avoided giving an answer altogether as he tsked, "That lady really did throw you in here a little too soon, didn't she? You're still so naive... why, I'd say you still probably trust all of us big bad guys to look out for you, don't you? I bet you can't even fathom us turning on you... it's almost sad! Sweet, but sad... Mostly funny, though!" 

"That lady?" Wayne interrogated, trying to figure out one thing at a time. "Charm?" 

The clown smirked smugly. "Is that what she told you her name was?" 

Wayne crossed his arms. "Is it something else?" 

"Perhaps." The clown answered vaguely. 

Wayne let out a long but quiet exhale. "Are you going to tell me who you are or not?" He wasn't going to let the clown get away with avoiding his questions by trying to change the subject towards another subject that just raised more questions. 

"I could tell you who I'm not," The clown offered. "or, I could even tell who who I might be." He offered with a wink, Wayne rolling his eyes. "For instance, I'm not Alfred, or Fox, or Gordon." 

"Obviously..." Wayne muttered. 

"But who could I be..." The clown mused while staring up towards the ceiling like he was contemplating as he tapped his finger against his lower lip. "I could be Jester, or I could be Rome..." Wayne's nose scrunched up in distaste. "Or I could be Jack Napier, or I could be Joe Carr, or I could be Sirius..." Wayne faintly recognized those names from the copycats they'd met at the club dedicated to Jerome a while back... "Then again, I could be Smiles, or I could be Mittens, or I could be Jokester..." More copycats. "Or-" The clown brought his gaze back down to Wayne's, locking the boy's eyes in a stare. "-I could even be Jerome, couldn't I?" Wayne felt sick upon being told the one thing he'd been dreading to hear, and started to say something, but was interrupted by the clown chiming, "Or I could even be one of his other little copycats, or I could be none of his copycats, or I could be Jonathan, or I could be... oh I don't know... you! Why, I could even be someone you haven't even met yet!" 

"Jerome?" Wayne questioned in disbelief rather than addressing anything else the other had said, staring at the clown with a furrowed brow. 

"I could be," The clown said with a casual grin and shrug. "or I could not be." He tilted his head while looking the wary Wayne over amusedly. "Either way, I'm not about to give you my real name, or the name you call me by in the future." 

"You can't be Jerome." Wayne spoke up quietly, it being less of a confident statement and more of a reassurance to himself. 

The clown smirked, right hand raising in the air, right thumb and middle finger pressing together. "Oh darling, there's MANY things I can be," He snapped his fingertips together, Wayne tensing as several snakes began to slither out from behind the mirrorless frames. "and your murder might just be one of them." He hummed, and at that the clown turned on his heel and walked through the threshold, door shutting behind him, leaving Wayne trapped with the snakes encircling him. 

Wayne backed up, cussing under his breath as the snakes behind him hissed warningly, causing him to cautiously take a few steps forward, not knowing what to do as the snakes continued closing in on him inch by inch. 

Considering the fact he had little to no idea on which snakes were and weren't poisonous, Wayne didn't exactly want to risk sprinting for the door. Besides, if he did by some lucky chance manage to avoid every single poisonous snake on his way there, he'd still probably get a few nasty bites every step he took, which certainly wasn't ideal. 

Then again, it was looking more and more like that's just what Wayne would have to do if he wanted to escape, the snakes less than a few feet away from him. 

Wayne wondered if snakes held on when they clamped down on something with their fangs... 

Regardless, Wayne got into a running stance as several snakes began to get ready to spring at him. 

Before Wayne could take off, however, one of the snakes did lunge, causing Wayne to force himself to not go falling back into the snakes gathering behind him as he flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, hands going into fists, readying himself for the bite aimed at his leg. 

The snake, however, did not get to his leg. 

Wayne opened his eyes when not feeling the fangs sink into his leg, brow furrowing as his gaze landed on a small bat that was wrestling with the snake attempting to wrap around it on the ground. 

What the..? 

The sound of fluttering filled the air, and bats came swooping in from the door behind Wayne, diving down towards the snakes and wrestling them upon the ground. 

Wayne couldn't help but to sink into himself somewhat as swarms of bats swept all around him. Did he get they were just trying to help? Yes. Did that make him any less terrified of them? No. Were they one of Wayne's primary fears? Perhaps. 

One particular set of bats whooshed by Wayne and towards the door the clown had gone out of, ramming into it all at once and causing it to fly open, Wayne glancing down at the bats clearing a pathway for him by clinging onto the snakes while flying them out of the way, clearing a path for him. 

Wayne's legs felt like jello as he ran towards the door, but he continued running until he was on the other side nonetheless. 

When Wayne looked over his shoulder to see if the bats planned on following- which would be both horrifying considering they were bats and he hated bats yet reassuring considering they were on his side- he saw a snake striking towards him, nonetheless the swarms of bats pulled the door shut before the snake could reach him. 

Okay... so Wayne was all alone again. He wasn't sure whether he should be relieved of no longer being surrounded by bats or, or dreading the fact he was no longer surrounded by little creepy mammals that were just trying to help. 

Regardless, Wayne looked around the room he was in to see whatever it was this funhouse (horror house) had planned for him next... 

This next section was in a spotless white room with a glass maze so crystal clean it was barely visible. There was no way around the maze other than through the single opening in front of Wayne. Above Wayne was a glass ceiling. A few feet to the right of the hesitant Wayne was a black dog door with a red diamond in the center of it, although there was no sign of any dog. Wayne considered trying to crawl through the dog door to see if he could bypass the maze that way, but decided against it when realizing it was a bit small, and really didn't feel like getting stuck. 

So, Wayne looked forward towards the maze it looked like he'd have to go through. On the other side of the maze was another open door, and standing in the threshold of that door was the ever so grinning clown. 

"You don't look very happy to see me." The clown commented with an excessive frown. 

"You tried to kill me." Wayne retorted unamused. 

"Technically, the snakes were the ones trying to kill you." The clown defended with a wide smile. 

"Well technically you sent them after me." Wayne said back a bit snappily. 

The clown gave a hoot of laughter, hands clasping together giddily as he straightened up in excitement. "There's the feisty Wayne I know!" He exclaimed, looking just about ready to jump up and down with joy. "You were so much more FUN when you were younger! Ready to give a subtle sarcastic quip, or a stubborn snappy comeback..." He sighed as though he was reminiscing, hands resting over his chest as he looked past Wayne as though he was recalling a fond memory of sorts. "Then you just had to turn into such a sour sprout that doesn't even know how to take a joke..." His hands lowered, smile suddenly vanishing and being replaced by an icy stare. "How about we fix that, darling?" He raised his pointer and middle fingers to his lips, making an 'A' shape while blowing through them, a loud whistle emitting throughout the room, Wayne taking a cautious stance as the clown lowered his hands with a smirk. "After all, if you just die here then you won't have to grow up into such a serious bore." 

Before Wayne could question the clown backing up through the threshold with a bow, the black dog door beside him with a red diamond in the center of it sprung open as a hyena emerged, the clown disappearing through the exit shutting closed on the other side of the maze. 

The hyena let out a high pitched laugh as it paced back and forth, blue eyes set on Wayne as though it was sizing him up, the canine holding a mallet in its mouth. Its fur coat was golden, although it faded into a white color when reaching its head, and darkened into a black color when reaching its legs. It also had a dirt red diamond marking on its chest, and a collar made of lacy white ruffles. 

Wayne glanced down at the mallet in the hyena's snarling mouth. "Do you want to play fetch?" He asked hopefully. 

That hope diminished when the hyena let the hammer drop from its jaw and let out another series of laughs while getting into a fighting stance. 

Wayne gave a stressed sigh and reluctantly ran towards the maze, the crackling hyena following. 

The glass maze was full of sharps twists and turns, Wayne finding himself occasionally running smack into the solid and sturdy glass that unfortunately wouldn't just damn well shatter and let him break through in a beeline towards the exit. 

The hyena kept right up behind the Wayne going so fast the flats of his shoes barely had time to touch the ground, the laughing animal slipping and sliding every which way while lunging after him, the creature skidding against the slick floor and thudding against the glass several times. 

Wayne found himself colliding with a sheet of glass, letting out a noise more surprised than pained as his body was forced to a sudden halt, nearly falling back at the impact, yet managing to regain himself and straighten up. 

When Wayne dared to glance over his shoulder, his gaze fell upon the hyena still charging at him, causing Wayne to give a frustrated sigh and try to turn right in attempts to continue running, smacking right into another sheet of glass, resulting in Wayne sprinting off left instead. 

The hyena tried and failed to slide to a halt, its body whacking into the glass as it gave a high pitched laugh and turned to continue chasing the boy that was nearly at the exit. 

Wayne had made it more than halfway through the maze, but was forced to come to a halt upon realizing he'd apparently made a wrong turn, finding himself at a dead end. 

Shit. 

Wayne turned around to see if he could manage to backtrack somewhere, but was met with the sight of the charging hyena less than a few yards away from him, causing Wayne to shuffle away, his back pressing against the wall of glass. 

There was no way of breaking through the glass. No way of climbing over the glass. No way to dig under the glass. 

No way to get around the approaching hyena. 

All there was for Wayne to do was shield his throat with his hands to make sure the hyena couldn't get to the most vulnerable part of his body. 

When the hyena tried to jump at Wayne, he reacted by kicking in right in its snout as it bared its fangs, causing the animal to stumble back somewhat while letting out whimpers accompanied by the kind of laughing noises hyenas make which really didn't kind much like laughs at all. 

Wayne took that as an opportunity to attempt to leap over the cowardly hyena, not expecting it to suddenly oh so bravely perk up and clamp its fangs around the cuff of his pants, Wayne's eyes widening as he fell against the floor with a thump. 

The hyena gave another series of laughs while shaking its head and bracing itself against the floor, keeping its jaw clamped around the end of Wayne's pants while violently tugging him back, acting like his leg was a tug of war toy. 

"Get off!" Wayne huffed, kicking the hyena right in the jaw, causing it to whimper and cower again as it released his article of clothing, yet laughing and chasing once more as Wayne began to run off again, causing him to sigh, "Go away!", while swerving all throughout the maze. 

Finally, Wayne located the end of the maze, the hyena nipping at his heels and nearly getting them, Wayne managing to get a burst of energy as he willed himself to sprint even faster out of the maze's exit and towards the door the clown had gone through. 

The only problem was, that door was locked. 

"You have to be kidding me..." Wayne panted in disbelief, turning to face the hyena less than a yard away from him, eyes widening as it wasted no time in lunging for his throat. 

Wayne quickly stepped aside, the hyena missing him and ramming right into the door, causing it to fall in a heap and whimper before heaving itself back up, letting out those awful hyena laughs while stumbling around, attempting to stalk towards Wayne again, yet having trouble doing so thanks to the twisted paw it was clearly having trouble walking on. 

Initially, Wayne considered kicking the hyena again to be sure it stayed down by knocking it out. 

But then, Wayne paused. 

Instead, Wayne found himself considering doing something else. 

"Easy..." Wayne tried to calm, speaking in a soothing voice and earning a cautious growl from the hyena. "It's okay..." He assured softly, hands raising to show he didn't have any weapons, the wary canine baring its fangs. "I'm not going to hurt you..." He crooned, lowering into a kneeling position so he didn't seem so intimidatingly tall, causing the animal's hair to stand on end warningly. "Good... hyena... thing..." He praised uncertainly, holding his hand out yet not approaching, allowing the hyena a chance to come to him. 

At first, the hyena snarled when Wayne extended his hand, although upon realizing he was going to stay where he stood, it calmed at least somewhat. It stopped baring its fangs, and ceased the low growls it had been emitting, and its fur standing on end lowered. Nonetheless, the canine was still tense, eying Wayne over skeptically. 

Although that didn't stop the hyena from ever so carefully and oh so cautiously approaching the patient Wayne with small and wary steps. 

Wayne didn't dare to breathe as the hyena halted in front of him, the animal curiously but unsurely raising its snout towards his hand, as though the creature intended to nuzzle it. 

And then, the next thing Wayne knew, the Bat Hybrid was suddenly breaking through the glass ceiling and landing between him and the hyena. 

The Bat Hybrid's wings had been replaced with a cape, and now the only inhuman thing about him was his completely brown bat-like irises with no eye whites. 

"Hey!" Wayne objected, because he had been getting somewhere with that, dangit! "What are you-" Wayne's eyes widened as the Bat Hybrid grabbed the hyena that attempted to scurry away by the scruff of its neck. "Wait!" Wayne objected, the Bat Hybrid raising the whimpering hyena up. "It's not trying to-" The Bat Hybrid didn't listen, tossing the hyena attempting to snap at him towards the locked door. "Stop!" Wayne pleaded as the door bursted open thanks to the hyena going through it, the Bat Hybrid not even looking at him as it followed. "Leave it alone!" Wayne shouted, running after the Bat Hybrid, yet skidding to a halt as a large cage landed over the Hybrid, trapping it inside, the door shutting behind Wayne. 

"Sorry, Bats," A familiar clown hummed, standing in the center of a room which actually looked quite normal-- other than the peculiar wooden floors pieced together in a strange way... "but I'm not done conversing with our little guest yet." At that, the clown clapped his hands together twice, and a trap door opened up underneath the Bat Hybrid, closing back up after the Hybrid fell through. 

Wayne went back on his guard, glancing the hyena that ran to the smirking clown's side before returning his gaze to the clown and challenging in a voice more annoyed than scared by now, "You want to have a conversation? Fine-- we'll have a conversation." Wayne mustered up all the bravery he had. "Let's start by you telling me what you want-- without beating around the bush." 

The clown gave a laugh that sounded more irked that pleased. "Still as ballsy as ever, aren't you?" He commented musingly, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth while giving a curt nod to gesture towards a black dog door with a red diamond in the center of it that was off to the side, causing the hyena trying to nuzzle against his dismissive hand to give a bark before obediently running off, disappearing through the door. "Are you really sure you should be yapping your trap like this around a guy like me, kiddo?" 

"I doubt you can do much to me considering all you've done is send your hyena and snake minions after me." Wayne said perhaps a bit too confidently, but he was getting real tired of this shit. "Now tell me what you want." 

The clown smirked in aggravation rather than amusement. "Well someone's eager to be the boss here..." He chuckled in irritation. "Tell me, Wayne-- what do you assume I want?" 

"I wouldn't be asking you this if I knew the answer to that." Wayne grumbled impatiently. 

"Well why assume I want anything?" The clown hummed intrigued. 

"Because out of everything Charm and Luna have shown me here, you're the only thing that's human." Wayne answered, arms crossing. 

The clown gave a toothy grin. "You want to know why I'm different from all those other big and bad things lurking outside my little funhouse?" 

"I'm assuming that's because you're wanting to be more straightforward to just tell me what's going on, rather than trying to make a bunch of crap seem like some kind of metaphor," Wayne corrected. "so let's just get on with it and have you spit out whatever it is you want to say." 

"Assumptions can be dangerous," The clown warned with a low chuckle. "but that doesn't mean they can't be right..." For a while the clown just looked the defensive Wayne up and down to size him up, tilting his head while eying him broodingly, eventually giving a smirk and straightening up, hands going behind his back. "All right... I'll tell you a little secret about what you want to know-" A pause, the clown grinning mischievously, raising his hand and using his pointer finger to wave Wayne over. "-but only if you come here." 

Wayne narrowed his eyes, glancing down at the concrete floor he was on, noting that within a few steps he'd be on the strangely built wooden floor that the Bat-Hybrid had fallen through, eyes raising to look at how the clown was on a slab of concrete smack in the middle of the room. 

"Why can't you just tell me from there?" Wayne interrogated skeptically. 

The clown gave a smug smile. "It wouldn't be a secret if I just yelled it out, now would it?" 

"We're alone," Wayne countered stubbornly. "no one would hear it." 

"You can never be so sure of things like that in a place like this." The clown hummed with a shrug. 

"Why can't you come here instead?" Wayne tried to bargain. 

"You're the one that wants the secret, aren't you?" The clown chimed. "The least you could do is come get it rather than making me do all the hard work..." 

Wayne glared at the cheeky clown, but gave a sigh, seeing no way around it, hesitantly approaching the peculiar wooden floor, warily taking one step forward, and then another, and then another... 

Nothing happened. Huh. Okay... not as bad as he'd expected then. 

Wayne relaxed a little while letting out a held in breath of relief, staying on his guard as he walked towards the clown still cautiously, yet also more confidently. 

About a quarter of the way there, the clown suddenly clapped his hands together once, and Wayne instinctively froze up, eyes going wide, wondering what- 

The ground began to move to and fro under Wayne's feet, causing him to nearly lose his balance. 

Oh great-- floor tricks. Wayne HATED these. He hadn't been to many funhouses, but every single one he'd visited had this bullshit contraption. The first time he'd gone over one, he had been walking along much too quickly, not even realizing pieces of the floor moved under his shifting weight until he'd already been halfway down to falling on his ass. The worst part had been attempting and failing to get up about a dozen times. Every time he encountered floor tricks after that, he'd let anyone behind him go first so he could embarrassingly make his way across at an extremely careful pace. 

At least Wayne had always had railings before... with this shit, he just had to hold out his arms somewhat in attempts to balance himself. 

Wayne managed to get a pretty good hang of maneuvering around the floor tricks despite multiple areas of the wood sliding every which way under his feet. In fact, Wayne managed to get halfway across. 

That's when the clown clapped his hands again, causing blades, cherry bombs, and flames to spurt out of the gaps in the mechanical floor all around Wayne at random. 

Crap... now Wayne had to make sure he didn't run into any of this bullshit... just one more thing to worry about. Then again, he hadn't exactly expected the clown to just let this part of the little funhouse tour be easy. 

Regardless, Wayne continued forth, doing so still cautiously, but also a bit more quickly, wanting to get to the slab of concrete the clown proudly stood on in the center of the room before one of the dangerous things bolting up from various areas in the floor got to him. 

With only a quarter of a way left to go, Wayne had so far been doing good. A flame had nearly caught his pant leg on fire, but he had managed to quickly avoid the flame. 

When Wayne noticed the clown raising his hands to clap again, he determinedly rushed forward, nearly tripping several times over the floor tricks he stumbled over, almost getting hit in the calf with the explosion of a cherry bomb, yet managing to lunge at the concrete when it was within reach. 

Wayne landed into a kneeling position on the concrete, giving a grunt at the impact, yet otherwise unharmed. 

The clown smirked, giving a series of rhythmic claps and causing the floor tricks and emerging weapons to still, Wayne trying to catch his breath while warily looking up at the amused clown staring down at him. 

"What's the secret?" Wayne impatiently asked out of breath, earning a smirk and offered hand, causing the boy to uncertainly stare at the gloved palm, yet hesitantly take it. 

The clown helped Wayne to his feet. "The secret..." He began musingly while brushing some dust off of Wayne's shirt with one hand and smoothing out some wrinkles with another, earning an annoyed look. "...is that I'm not someone you lose..." He licked his thumb, Wayne forcing himself to not shy away in distaste as the clown used said thumb to flatten a strand of one of Wayne's stray hairs. "... in fact, none of us that you've encountered here are people that you lose..." The clown patted down the creases in Wayne's shirt, Wayne frowning in discomfort. "... because the reality is, you're someone WE lose," The clown suddenly gave a very, VERY sour smirk, Wayne becoming wary. "which is something you can't blame anyone for but yourself considering you decided to stay hidden for so long before coming back after we'd stopped looking for you to lean on, and started to look for something else that would let us go on without you in the picture." 

Wayne stared up at the clown. "What are you talking about?" 

The clown gave a bitter cold chuckle. "Oh believe me, darling," He gripped Wayne's chin, raising it so the boy was forced to keep his gaze on his face, wanting to distract the teen from seeing how the clown's hand slipped into the pocket of his purple suit. "you'll know soon enough." The clown's fingers wrapped around the handle of a knife he began to pull out. 

"What do you-" Wayne started to ask, glaring up at the face of the grinning clown, not realizing a blade was being angled towards his stomach. 

"That's enough." A grittily deep voice warned in a growl, Wayne's eyes widening as the clown suddenly maneuvered Wayne around so he was facing none other than the Bat Hybrid, the clown using his right hand to angle the knife against Wayne's throat warningly, his left arm wrapping around Wayne's torso to hold him in place. 

This felt all too familiar. 

"Oh come on, Bats!" The clown laughed. "We were just getting to the good part!" He pressed his lips against Wayne's ear. "What do you say, darling? Wanna' see if having the Bats involved in this little shenanigan helps our ratings get a boost? Go on, give a smile!" 

This sounded all too familiar. 

"We both know how this always plays out." The Bat Hybrid stated, Wayne noting the Bat and Human Hybrid just looked... human now. It's bat-like eyes were replaced with- with... 

... 

... with bluish gray irises... 

Oh. Oh no. This couldn't- no. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't what it seemed like. There was- there was another explanation for all of... this... 

"You know, darling, Bats has a point there... things between me and him always do turn out the same way," The clown mused. "me, just trying to get him to loosen up a little and break a few rules... him, being a sore sport and insisting no fun's allowed... us, getting into a fight that makes ME look like the bad guy..." That relationship even sounded familiar. "How about you and I mix things up a bit this time, darling?" 

"What-" Wayne started to question, blinking as the clown lowered the knife unexpectedly enough, yet only doing so to reach into his pocket for a firearm instead. 

What Wayne hadn't expected even more was the way the clown shoved the firearm into his hand. 

"What do you say, darling?" The clown urged, one hand gripping Wayne's left shoulder to help angle him, the other holding Wayne's right hand around the handle of the firearm to help the younger aim at the Bat Hybrid. "You can fix ALL of this," The clown tempted. "you don't have to lose me, or all the other little friends you've made," The clown bargained. "you can become just like us! You can keep us all tied together and stop each of us from going our own ways! We can stay a family!" The clown offered. "You can choose to stay by our sides-- you can choose to let us keep looking after you like we want to." The clown persisted. "You can break out of that prison of a shell called justice like I know you want to, and you can have fun with us-- you can STAY with us." A pause. "All you have to do, is pull, and get rid of this pesky conscience that's doing no more than holding you back." 

Wayne's anxious finger didn't budge against the trigger at all as he objected, "I- I don't-" 

"You don't what, darling?" The clown interjected. "You saw how this THING treated us-- how it treated your FAMILY," The clown shamed. "do you REALLY want to allow that to happen? Do you really want to let yourself to go down a path where you just allow this stuff to happen to us?" The clown guilted. "Would you rather allow us to be treated like this by HIM, rather than just allowing yourself to do what we know you want to do by staying with us?" The clown paused. "Or do we really mean that little to you after all?" 

"Stop-" Wayne pleaded, because the clown was putting words into his mouth, and the grip on his shoulder was tightening, and oh how complicated this was. 

"This is your choice," The clown manipulated. "you get to choose what matters more to you-- a city that's only taken from you, or a family that was willing to take you under their wing as their own to teach you how to survive." 

Before Wayne could reply, the Bat Hybrid- or... now Bat Human... Bat Thing... The Bat Whatever said, "Teaching to kill isn't the same as teaching to survive." 

"Well sometimes it can be!" The clown laughed, although it didn't sound joyful at all-- just angry. 

"This was never about you caring about survival," The Bat Guy stated. "it's about you just caring about not having rules that hold you back from the chaos you feel like causing just because it amuses you." 

"I cared about you!" The clown laughed coldly. "It's clear we've both gotten over that though," He nudged Wayne, urging him to fire while muttering, "but we don't have to." 

The Bat Thing had had enough. 

Wayne's eyes widened as a drone in the shape of a bat swept out of the shadows as the Bat Person pressed something on his bladed glove, the electronic mechanism quickly but vigilantly knocking the firearm out of Wayne's hand, causing the weapon to fall on its side, the clown shoving Wayne aside while lunging at the firearm, yet missing as the drone bumped it away from him. 

The Bat Guy sprinted towards the clown as Wayne scurried out of the way, the vigilante grabbing the clown by the collar of his suit before he could finish standing, wrenching the defeated villain up menacingly. 

Wayne gulped as the Bat Thing glanced at him, the hero giving a nod towards the exit that the drone was pushing open, causing Wayne to quickly nod and make his way towards what seemed to be the last exit. 

Only it wasn't. 

Wayne halted as the door closed behind him, not at all expecting to see the sight he was met with. 

"Jerome?" Wayne questioned in disbelief. 

At least, it looked like Jerome. An older Jerome, in any case. Not much different from the Jerome Wayne knew-- the circles under this one's eyes were darker, and his completion was a bit paler yet only a bit, and he had a few strands of hair here and there that were somewhat lighter reds than the rest, and he had barely visible winkles at the side of his eyes that you'd have to squint to see. 

The things that stood out about this Jerome wasn't how he was older though-- it was how the corners of his lips had scars crawling upwards... like the clown's. 

Except Jerome didn't have red warpaint on them. His face lacked makeup. 

Jerome wasn't smiling like the clown had been, however. 

"Wayne-" Jerome started to greet while stepping forward and reaching his hand out, halting as Wayne scrambled back, frowning at the wary stare Wayne was giving him, Jerome stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I-" 

"Why are you here?" Wayne questioned uncertainly, because he hadn't seen anyone else he'd known here-- not Selina, or Jonathan, or Penguin, or any of the others. 

Jerome hesitated. "It's... complicated." 

Wayne gave a frustrated scoff, because everything here had been complicated. So instead Wayne chose to ask an easier question-- a simple yes or no one. "Are you that clown guy in there?" 

Jerome paused again. "It's-" 

"I swear if you say it's complicated again..." Wayne warned, Jerome going quiet, it being clear he wasn't going to give a straightforward answer. "What do you want?" Wayne asked, hands going into fists, jaw clenching, gaze averting. 

Jerome wasn't smiling or laughing in the least, but he didn't look angry-- just... sad. "I want to explain to you what's going on," He quietly answered, Wayne swallowing thickly, refusing to look at Jerome as the other held out his hand again. "if you'll let me..." 

Wayne felt sick. Wayne felt awful. Wayne felt betrayed. Wayne felt uncertain. Wayne felt upset. 

Wayne felt like he'd hit rock bottom, because this place made it clear there was a very real chance that all of his friends that had made him feel like he'd had a family again would eventually leave, and his dearest friend Jerome could very well turn out to be that awful clown. 

Wayne just wanted to make sense of all this. 

So, Wayne did let Jerome explain, and Jerome told Wayne something that finally made sense, but I'm afraid this is not the part of the story where I tell you what it is that Jerome said to Wayne. 

However this is the part where I tell you it was after Jerome was done explaining something very important to Wayne that the Bat Person showed up, and Wayne found himself standing in the middle of the two while having to make a choice. 

This is also not the part of the story where I tell you what that choice was, and what Wayne chose-- not yet. 

This is the part where I tell you that after making that choice, Wayne found himself passing out, only to wake back up in Luna's room within Arkham Asylum. 

"Charm says you should probably go back to the room Fox and 'Jim' are in if you want to escape from Arkham." The little girl stated, Wayne starting to part his lips to say something, Luna interjecting, "She says you can risk staying here and asking questions instead if you don't mind possibly ending up stuck in Arkham forever while your friends escape." 

... Fair enough. 

After a few tries, Wayne managed to clamber his way back into the air vent, fixing to crawl off but hesitating, staring at Luna for a few lengthy seconds before finally saying, "Come with me." Luna blinked, staring up at him taken aback. "I already have several wanted kids staying at my place-- you're more than welcome to come with us." 

Briefly, Luna seemed to consider it. 

But then, she furrowed her brow and averted her gaze, arms wrapping around herself. "Charm says she can see things would end badly-- staying here is best for us for now." 

"What?" Wayne questioned in disbelief. "There's no way staying in a place like this could be better than-" 

"Charm says you should go," Luna informed shakily. "now." 

Wayne hesitated at first, but eventually he reluctantly did. 

By the time Wayne got back to 'Gordon' and Fox to lie about the vents leading to a dead end so they'd all be forced to wait for the rescue Charm promised would come, the lockdown alarms had began blaring throughout Arkham. 

"What now?" Fox said with a quiet sigh. 

"Sounds like warfare." Clayface commented, because Hugo had mentioned Jim had been in a war. 

Before Fox could reply, the door opened, and standing on the other side was Selina. 

Charm had certainly known what she was talking about... 

"What's going on?" Wayne questioned uneasily. 

"Simple psychology," Selina said, feeling sick, but putting on a casual facade. "been waiting for the right moment." She'd left Fries and Bridgit to just... fight each other-- she'd just allowed two people that were once like family to her try to kill one another. "You coming or what?" But they weren't the people she used to know anymore-- there was nothing she could do... right..? 

Clayface hesitated, because this hadn't been part of Hugo's plan, but if he refused to escape, that would make him look suspicious. 

So, Clayface reluctantly followed. 

On their way out, they heard announcements stating something was going to detonate in minutes, and saw Hugo get caught up in the middle of Freeze's and Firefly's fight, causing him to become iced and smoldered over. 

Selina, Wayne, and Fox could care less. 

Wayne, however, noted 'Gordon' seemed to care a whole lot oddly enough as the so called detective rushed over to check on the doctor... 

They continued escaping regardless, unaware of whether or not Hugo still had a pulse. 

Eventually, they got outside, and Wayne instantly began looking around for Jerome, convinced the other was alive despite how 'Jim' had insisted the reunion between the two boys had all been a dream... 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne, Selina, Fox, and 'Jim' were free. 

For a while, so were Thomas Jr. and Jerome. 

But only for a while. 

Thomas and Jerome had ended up going their separate ways after a bystander on the outside helped open the bus' door that was locked from the inside. Jerome had let out a breath of relief and stretched his legs a bit, but stayed next to the bus for the most part, still convinced the best thing to do was waiting for someone from Arkham to come help them, because that's what Arkham had been doing so far-- helping him. 

Thomas knew better, though. Thomas knew Arkham was doing nothing of the kind when it came to 'helping' him or Jerome. Thomas had TRIED to get Jerome to see that, but Jerome just hadn't listened, and so Thomas was convinced he'd done all he could. 

Thomas thanked the bystander to let them know no harm would come their way, because the patients weren't about to harm someone that had saved them. Thomas hadn't been given much of a chance to interact with the patients thanks to Hugo keeping Thomas generally hidden away to make sure no questions were raised about having a Bruce Wayne lookalike, but Thomas felt safe around the patients that typically wouldn't cause any trouble unless provoked through some kind of set up a guard tested out of amusement. 

It was the guards and doctors Thomas was afraid of when it came to Arkham-- not the patients. 

As soon as Thomas made sure all of the patients had ran off, he had started to run off, too, although he hesitated when noticing Jerome was patiently staying right next to the wreckage. 

"Jerome, please," Thomas sighed, because Jerome would be a pretty good form of protection out here on the streets with how loyal he was to 'Wayne'... and because while Thomas was still wary of Jerome like he'd been wary of all his other jobs Hugo had given him, Jerome at least seemed... possibly decent. "if you trust me, then listen to me when I say waiting for someone to bring you back to Arkham is the last thing you want to do," Thomas persisted, earning a furrowed brow from the unsure Jerome. "I know it seems good right now-- believe me, I do... it seemed like a nice place to me, too, for a while," Thomas stepped forward, earning a frown. "but it's not. The second they feel like they don't need you anymore, they'll show their true colors, and by then it'll be too late." Jerome faltered as Thomas held out his hand. "You know you can trust me-- come with me." 

Jerome glanced down at Wayne's hand, eying it unsurely, chewing on the inside of his cheek, considering the offer. 

Eventually, Jerome sighed. "Wayne, you're not making any sense here-- you need to get back to Arkham so Hugo can stabilize you... we both do." 

Thomas' hand dropped back to his side, a long exhale leaving his lips. "I'm sorry, but if you're going to stay here, then I can't stay with you." 

And with that, Thomas left what he was convinced was a lost cause, because Thomas had already risked too much trying to stick around and convince Jerome into accompanying him. 

Thomas didn't even know Jerome-- he wasn't about to risk everything for him. 

Did Thomas feel kinda' bad about leaving Jerome stranded there all alone regardless? Sure-- but Thomas only cared about one person, and that was Peabody. If Peabody wasn't in trouble, then Thomas planned on not getting involved. 

So, Thomas left. 

Thomas left Jerome by the wreckage, in which Jerome began to realize he was the only one there, and everyone else had fled. 

Thomas left Jerome contemplating over those nagging words he'd spoken about Arkham not being what it seemed. 

Thomas left Jerome suddenly feeling very, very vulnerable and very, very abandoned and very,very isolated. 

Thomas left Jerome wondering just how much truth might have been in the younger's words. 

Thomas left Jerome wondering if the boy was actually delusional like Hugo had claimed, or perhaps something else entirely... 

... 

... Thomas left, and eventually, Jerome found himself unsurely giving a sigh and following. 

Or at least, Jerome had attempted to follow. He had gone the way he'd seen the smaller one walk off towards, although Jerome found no sight of the younger one, and after wandering around looking for him for about an hour, Jerome accepted the fact he'd gone and lost 'Wayne'. 

And so, for a while, Thomas and Jerome got separated from one another. 

A determined Thomas with dozens of questions had gone down a path of finding out just who the Wayne that Hugo had had him impersonate was in hopes that would give him answers, while a regretful Jerome went down a path of wandering around aimlessly while mentally beating himself up over seemingly losing the raven haired boy that was the one good thing he recalled about his past. 

It didn't take Thomas long to figure out who this Wayne guy was with how famous the billionaire of Gotham seemed to be. It also didn't take him long to figure out Wayne's location thanks to such. Additionally, it didn't take Thomas very long to figure out why he'd been able to impersonate Wayne without having to disguise himself as Wayne, and why Thomas could use his own last name. 

Originally, Thomas had believed he just looked similar to a guy that had the same first name as his last name. Upon finding Wayne, however, Thomas felt like a complete and utter fool for not putting the pieces together. 

This was him. This was who Martha and Thomas had wanted Thomas Jr. to meet. This was the part of his family they'd been talking about. 

This was his family member. His brother. His twin. 

Although there was a problem here. 

You see, Alfred hadn't began working for Martha and Thomas until Wayne was five. Thomas Jr. had been hospitalized in Arkham at age two. Martha and Thomas always preferred to keep their family matters under wraps, so they never discussed how they had a sick son being treated due to how they didn't want to deal with an insensitive press, and also didn't want to tell Wayne he had a twin, only for Wayne to end up losing him. If Junior didn't make it, Thomas and Martha planned to eventually tell Wayne about him when he was older and not as easily hurt by such saddening things. If Junior did make it, they'd bring him home and allow him and Wayne to meet once again. If it was still uncertain as to whether or not Junior was going to make it when he and Wayne turned sixteen, Martha and Thomas planned to allow them to meet regardless. Martha and Thomas hadn't told Alfred what was going on, because as it turned out, Thomas hid many things from the butler. For example, Thomas hid the fact the treatments being done on Junior were experimental and not yet approved, but with the condition Junior was in, there wasn't anything that could make him worst than he already was. Thomas was uncertain of how Alfred would take such news regardless, so Thomas and Martha kept the secret of Junior just between them along with Peabody and Hugo. 

So, Alfred was convinced there was no way that Wayne could have a twin all things considered. As far as Alfred was concerned, Thomas Jr. was one of Hugo's little experiments. That meant Thomas could be a liability. That meant Alfred wanted Thomas out of there just in case for Wayne's safety, because to Alfred Wayne always came first. 

Wayne wasn't sure what the make of Thomas, however. He'd questioned Alfred about the possibility of having a long lost twin, and Alfred insisted that wasn't possible. Regardless, Wayne was convinced Thomas was more than a clone. Wayne couldn't help but to feel concerned about the poor guy-- it seemed like he'd had it rough and just needed help... 

Thomas doubted it would be a good idea to reveal he was Wayne's twin and not just some clone, because then that would probably set Alfred against him, and the last thing Thomas wanted to risk was Wayne having to choose a side considering he'd probably choose Alfred's and not believe Thomas if he had to make a choice given how close the billionaire and butler were. 

So, Thomas claimed to not know who or what he was for the time being. 

Much to Alfred's dismay, Wayne offered to allow Thomas to stay at his place along with all his other little friends Alfred disapproved of. 

At first, Thomas had been excited, because now he had a home. Now he had a family again. Now he was safe. 

Now, he even had friends! Well, kind of... Alfred didn't trust him, and while Ivy, Harley, and Jen were nice and all, Thomas had trouble connecting with them... then again, he had trouble connecting with people in general thanks to isolation, and it really didn't help he got so dang nervous around girls he'd met for the first time. Except for Selina... he really liked Selina a lot-- she had been kind to him, and while she'd been intimidating, she'd also been pretty chill... although she didn't seem to click with him as much as he clicked with her, which made things kind of one sided, which was pretty awkward. 

One person Thomas did find himself connecting with was Jonathan-- even though it was just a little, it was still something. Jonathan was clearly intrigued about Thomas, so he'd ask Thomas lots of questions, but he did so in a calm way that didn't make it seem like Jonathan was grilling him to find out whether or not Thomas intended to harm Wayne or something-- it was like Jonathan just wanted to know more about him. It felt nice to not have to pretend to be someone... it felt nice to be able to answer questions about himself and be honest. A little weird considering it felt like it was one of the first times Thomas got to have a genuine personality of his own as actually consider the questions being asked rather than treating them as a script, but more nice than anything. 

"What's your favorite animal?" Was one of Jonathan's first questions, trying to figure out the basics of this interesting addition to the family. 

"Birds," Thomas answered, and he felt excited to have someone actually care about his answers, but he kept a casual facade on despite how small smiles would escape from his expression every once in a while. "specifically talons." 

Jonathan smiled pleasantly surprised. "Birds are fascinating creatures... they're admittedly my favorite species as well," Thomas perked up at that, not at all used to speaking to anyone with common interests. "although I prefer crows." 

How exciting this experience was... Thomas felt wonderful-- he felt free. 

At least, the experience was exciting for a while... 

... 

... and then Thomas casually asked if Alfred was the only adult in the household, and it was meant to be a rhetorical question that allowed him to find out where his- 

"Yes." Wayne answered, and so far Thomas' brother had been so warm to him, but that... that had sounded so cold. 

It was an unexpected answer. 

"It's just your butler here?" Thomas asked taken aback. "What about your-" 

"They were killed in an alleyway." Wayne interjected, gaze averting, and he was willing to talk to Thomas, but this was one thing he absolutely didn't want to talk about. He wasn't upset at Thomas-- it wasn't like the other could have known that if he'd been kept in captivity. Wayne just didn't want to discuss it anymore than he had to. 

Thomas felt his briefly perfect world absolutely fall apart around him at the words. 

After that, everything began to down spiral. 

Thomas had persisted in his questioning despite Wayne's clear discomfort, and when hearing Wayne explain what happened, Thomas came to the conclusion that Wayne had been responsible for the incident, because Wayne had been the one to convince them to go to see a film at the movies instead of the theater show, and if they had never gone to the movies they would have never gone down that alleyway. 

If Wayne hadn't convinced them to do that, Thomas Jr. wouldn't have gone through all the torture Hugo put him through, because it was that night that Martha and Thomas were supposed to come for Junior. They'd told him they'd come for him after the show was over. They'd been on their way. If they'd just kept to the plan, they would all be living in Switzerland as a family. 

Suddenly, Thomas Jr. wasn't so excited about having a brother anymore. In fact, Thomas blamed Wayne almost as much as Wayne blamed himself. 

Thomas had planned to kill Wayne. He had stood over Wayne's bed with a pair of scissors, his knuckles white from how hard he gripped them. Thomas' rage was building inside of him. All that rage pertaining to Thomas and Martha suddenly ceasing their visits, and not being rescued from Arkham like promised, and being used and punished by Hugo for mistakes that were not Thomas Jr.'s own, and the jobs Hugo had Thomas Jr. do, and being trapped in a place of torture and isolation, and every other bit of rage that he'd been bottling up inside of him for years so he'd survive was ready to be unleashed. 

All that rage was being directed towards Wayne. 

However, Thomas had never killed anyone before. And- and... and Thomas had never been welcomed into a home like Wayne had welcomed him before. Thomas had never been offered safety, and warmth, and hot meals, and warm running water, and a bed to rest, and freedom like this before. 

Thomas had never had someone refuse to kick him out like Wayne refused to do despite Alfred requesting it-- even though Wayne had known Alfred since he was a child and Thomas oh so recently. Thomas had been called a 'thing' before, but never had someone like Wayne defend him and call him a 'person' before, and treat him like he wasn't less than a human. Thomas had never been cared for so persistently like that before. 

Yes, Peabody had cared for Thomas, but she was always so guarded. She was always sure to not get too close and risk Hugo killing her. Thomas and Martha had also cared for Thomas Jr. before, but not without keeping him at a distance so they didn't get too close if he didn't make it after all. 

Thomas Jr. had never had someone act like a brother towards him. 

Thomas Jr. couldn't do it. Thomas couldn't kill Wayne. Thomas couldn't murder his brother. 

That didn't mean Thomas forgave Wayne-- it didn't mean that at all. Thomas was still convinced Wayne was at fault for what had happened in the alleyway. 

So, Thomas tried to punish Wayne for what he was convinced was Wayne's fault by doing something else... 

... 

... it's needless to say Wayne didn't act so brotherly around Thomas when he found out Thomas was walking around impersonating him while trying to kiss the girl that Thomas was well aware Wayne had a thing for, because that bullshit was a little iffy to Wayne, and he really wasn't sure what to make of how Thomas was suddenly talking to him like a jackass despite how Wayne had been pretty nice to him. 

A part of Thomas was aware he'd been trying to get Wayne pissed off at him so he'd have an excuse to act like Wayne was the jackass in the given situation that poor Selina REALLY hadn't wanted to be pulled into. Thomas tried to ignore that so he didn't feel bad for being a dick to his older brother as he stormed away from the wary Selina and cautious Wayne. 

In fact, Thomas had been so distracted by his anger that he didn't notice the car pulling up beside him until he was suddenly being ushered into it. 

The next thing Thomas knew, he was back at Arkham Asylum. 

Apparently Thomas had managed to hide out longer than Jerome had considering a relieved Jerome was there to greet him. 

When Thomas asked Jerome about how he'd gotten along, Jerome explained he'd initially been recognized by police quite a few times before coming upon these peculiar people that revealed they were 'fans' of his and allowed him to stay at their place. When Thomas asked what exactly they were fans of, Jerome admitted to not being sure thanks to his recollections still being foggy, although he was pretty sure he'd been a magician or comedian or something. Thomas didn't bother telling Jerome that was an understatement according to the information Hugo had given him. 

In any case, one day Jerome had agreed to go to a club his fans wanted him to check out, but he'd gotten spotted and apprehended by Arkham guards or some shit before he could get there. 

So, there they were-- Thomas and Jerome. Back to square one. Trapped in Arkham once more. Freedom taken away once again. In Hugo's hands just like before. 

Hugo was supposed to be locked up thanks to Gordon finding the criminal out, but this was Gotham, which meant rich men like Hugo bribed there way out of confinement for brief amounts of time, and each time Hugo wanted a brief amount of time outside his chamber, he would always come to Arkham to see how things were going with Jerome, and do these torturous tests on Thomas for trying to escape. 

Thomas had originally been more determined than ever to get back out of Arkham. Determined to see if he could make up for the impulsive shit he'd done to Wayne and Selina to see if they'd let him back in. Determined to go back to he only family he had left despite how angry he'd been at Wayne. 

Then, Thomas found out Peabody had been killed, and suddenly Thomas just stopped caring despite how her murderer Fish Mooney had been captured again as well. 

Thomas stopped caring about the tests Hugo ran on him. He stopped caring about whether or not Jerome was going to turn out to be a creep just like all his other jobs. Stopped caring about wanting to escape. 

Thomas stopped caring about wanting to go back to Wayne. To Alfred. To all the other kiddos he'd met. 

Thomas stopped caring about going back to the possible chance of a family, because Peabody had been the closest thing he'd had to a family for so long, and he didn't want to have to feel like this ever again. 

Upon hearing Peabody was gone, Thomas felt utmost horror, regret, disbelief, and sick all at once, and worst than he'd ever felt before. Then, all at once, Thomas just felt nothing at all, his emotions vanishing almost as quickly as they'd come about. 

Then, Thomas just stopped caring. 

It became apparent to Hugo that Thomas had stopped caring when Thomas stopped trying to do a good job with manipulating Jerome and just took on the doctor's experiments as a torturous punishment. 

"I want to apologize for behaving so erratically," Thomas apologized, like Hugo told him to. "I was off my medication and acting out irrationally thanks to that," Thomas lied, like Hugo told him to. "I was convinced we had to make a break for it, and treated you harshly when you objected." Thomas said, like Hugo told him to. "It's not an excuse-- merely an explanation. I should have listened to you." 

Thomas pretended to be Wayne, like Hugo told him to. 

Although Thomas just said what Hugo had told him to-- not acted like Hugo told him to. Thomas had spoken the script, but not acted the act. Thomas wasn't pretending to be genuine. 

Jerome quirked a brow, but gave a smile. "You don't have to apologize for anything, Wayne," He assured with a chuckle as he ruffled the younger's hair up. "I know you were just kinda' frantic-- I didn't take anything you said too hard." 

Thomas was barely bothering to do his job, just distantly staring straight ahead as Jerome leaned forward to press a kiss against his cheek. "I'm sorry." He said again in an expressionless voice, face stone cold, not reacting to the affectionate gesture in the least. 

"Stop apologizing." Jerome scolded with a smirk, although his smirk fell when he pulled back and saw Wayne looked rather serious. Then again, Wayne was always serious, but this was... a bit more serious than usual. "You all right?" 

"Yes." Thomas fibbed quietly, not looking Jerome in the eye. 

Jerome frowned. "You sure?" 

"I said yes." Thomas stated without missing a beat, sounding more irritated than reassuring. 

Jerome wondered if he'd done something wrong... "Are you not good with us... doing that?" 

Thomas blinked, looking up at Jerome uncertainly. "Doing what?" 

Jerome cleared his throat, rubbing the side of his neck. "Kissing." 

Kissing? What the hell was Jerome- Oh. The cheek kiss... It seemed odd such a small thing could even be called a kiss-- Thomas had always had to act like he was okay with a lot more than that with the other jobs he'd been given; it seemed weird Jerome bothered making a big deal out of it. 

"We're dating." Was Thomas' vague answer and lie, choosing to not directly answering the question. 

Jerome arched a brow. "I'm aware." 

Thomas felt like this should be the most obvious thing in the world, eying Jerome over skeptically. "Why wouldn't I be good with it then?" 

Jerome gave a shrug. "You don't have to act like you're good with something just because we're a thing." Jerome had felt like it should be common sense that Wayne could speak up if he was uncomfortable about something, but that really didn't seem to be the case. 

Thomas faltered at that. "What?" That wasn't common sense to him at all-- he'd never gotten a say in any of this bullshit Hugo put him through. He just acted like he was okay with everything that went on, because he was never asked whether he was or not. Initially, he'd tried to speak up about being uncomfortable, but was always met with dismissive reassurances. 

So no-- what Jerome was saying to Thomas wasn't a common thing whatsoever, and wasn't making very much sense to the younger. 

Jerome sighed, this being a bit of an awkward talk to give with how it almost felt sappy and obvious, but he figured it was still something that should be said. "I'm just saying that if I do something that's going over the line, you can tell me to back off or whatever." 

Thomas just stared at Jerome for a while, because that was something he'd never been told for anything-- much less for a little kiss on the cheek. Perhaps that's why it surprised Thomas so much-- because Jerome was saying even the little things were things Thomas could speak up about if he wanted to. 

For Thomas, this was practically unheard of when it came to the creep jobs Hugo assigned him. 

"Okay..." Thomas hesitantly muttered, as though he was preparing himself for Jerome to reveal this was some kind of trick. 

Jerome gave a grin, relieved that was out of the way, and he considered leaning forward and pressing another reassuring kiss against Wayne's cheek, but decided to let Wayne initiate any touchy feely interactions first-- it seemed like the smaller one was getting kinda' squeamish around physical affection lately for some reason... 

So, instead Jerome asked with a wide smile, "So what do ya' wanna' do today?" 

Thomas' shock, uncertainty, and skepticism from hearing Jerome's simple words of assurance diminished back into nothing, once again going numb not only on the outside, yet the inside as well. 

What Jerome said didn't matter to Thomas. It didn't matter that had been the first damn time he'd been offered a say in this horrific bullshit job of having to pretend to be something he wasn't for someone else. It didn't matter Jerome could possibly be someone Thomas wouldn't have to dread as a client. 

Nothing mattered to Thomas, because Thomas had lost all that had mattered, and he doubted anything else could matter again. 

Initially, Thomas had lost Hugo, because while Hugo was still around, it wasn't the Hugo that Thomas had known so long ago that had actually cared for him just as much as the Wayne's had... until the Wayne's threatened to go against him, and Hugo began taking his anger towards the betrayal out on Thomas. Thomas had lost the only family he'd known he'd had to a murderer in an alleyway so long ago without even realizing it. Thomas had lost the family he hadn't known he had thanks to Thomas going off and trying to get back at his long lost twin by attempting to get in between him and that cat girl his brother oh so obviously liked so much, and now Thomas doubted there was any chance the only family he had left would take him back with how the the initially welcoming Wayne had suddenly began acting oh so cautious upon seeing Thomas was impersonating him-- not that Thomas blamed the perfectly reasonable reaction considering the butler had been advising the billionaire to be wary, which Thomas doubted he could compete with when Wayne had been by the side of that butler for so much longer than he'd been by Thomas' side. 

Now, Thomas had lost Peabody, too. Thomas had lost the one person that stuck with him throughout the years. Thomas had lost the only thing he'd considered his family for so long. 

Peabody had ended up abandoning Thomas-- just like everyone else. It wasn't her fault, and he didn't blame her, but it still hurt to lose the one thing keeping him grounded that he had been hanging onto so desperately. 

Thomas was out of things to lose. Thomas was out of reasons to care. Thomas was out of purposes to go on. 

Thomas had no reason to hold on anymore. No reason to want to be free. No reason to want to escape. 

Because even if Thomas did manage to escape again, he no longer had anything worth escaping to. If Thomas got out of Arkham, he'd just be alone. 

So Thomas no longer cared about how Hugo would order cruel experiments on him as punishment for not bothering to fake genuineness around Jerome. The experiments still sucked, but Thomas reacted a lot less, because he found he was no longer just numb on the outside for the most part-- he felt numb on the inside, too. 

The only thing Thomas had to look forward to was how frustrated Hugo would become upon realizing his control over Thomas was dwindling, and it was that mere vengeful satisfaction that caused Thomas to continue bothering to pretend around Jerome despite it being just barely. 

Thomas planned on foiling Hugo's plans by revealing what was really going on to Jerome. Eventually, in any case. He wasn't sure whether he planned to do it soon and quick to make the blow come as a shock to the Doctor, or take his time before revealing the truth to make the blow all the more significant. 

Either way, Thomas doubted Hugo would see Thomas' betrayal coming, because he'd always been so damn obedient when this shit had actually mattered before. In any case, Thomas wasn't about to allow Hugo to get away with what he'd been putting Thomas through over so many years of betrayal, and Thomas planned to give Hugo a taste of his own medicine. 

After all, there was nothing Hugo hated more than something not going as expected, and oh how spontaneous Thomas would be. 

Now, a betrayal wasn't quite what Hugo saw coming, but he did see something coming, at the very least, and he made that clear when oh so calmly stating, "You seem to be barely trying anymore." 

Thomas tried to act naïve as Hugo did his weekly therapy session, which was just a coverup name for his weekly session of Hugo checking up on how Thomas' job was going. "Trying what?" 

Hugo wasn't amused. "Your acting," He informed despite knowing Thomas was fully aware of what he was referring to. "the quality of your impersonation skills have decreased significantly." 

"Has it?" Thomas dared to oh so innocently ask. 

Hugo wasn't exactly used to the sarcastic behavior-- Thomas was generally timid around him, and sure to say whatever the doctor wanted to hear. 

"Have you stopped putting your all into your jobs, Thomas?" Hugo inquired, and it was a rhetorical question. "Because that is something we cannot have." 

"No," Thomas lied. "I'm giving it my all." 

Hugo did not take kindly to lies. "Is there a reason your 'all' is suddenly very little?" 

"You're the doctor," Thomas replied without missing a beat. "you tell me." 

Hugo raised his chin while straightening up, eying Thomas over while inhaling deeply before letting out a long exhale, taking off his glasses before rubbing his eyes as he said, "You're having another treatment session today." Treatment session. A fancy word for torture. "Until you start shaping up and behaving properly, the sessions will continue." 

"You already told me that." Thomas informed, this being at least the dozenth session he'd had since he'd gotten back-- not that Thomas cared anymore. 

"Then I suggest you start actually listening to what I told you." Hugo warned, giving Thomas a look, noting Thomas didn't look as anxious about another treatment session as he usually did. In fact, Thomas had stopped looking anxious about such a while back. 

So, Hugo gestured for Thomas to leave, and Thomas did. 

When Thomas got back from his treatment session, he felt even more numb. Lately he'd been feeling number as time went by, and sometimes little things that happened would make him even more numb, but the therapy sessions made him feel more significantly numb than ever. 

Thomas wanted to be left alone. He wanted to be in his own room. Wanted to just be by himself. To be away from everyone and everything. 

However, Jerome had wanted Thomas to share a room with him, which Hugo had of course offered to further their bonding and further the doctor's hold on Jerome through Thomas. So, Thomas was stuck sharing a room with Jerome. 

Thomas wondered if Jerome would keep to his word and allow Thomas to leave if Thomas said he wanted to. If Jerome would listen to Thomas if Thomas told him he wasn't good with having to sleep by Jerome. If Jerome would actually give a shit like he claimed. 

Thomas doubted it, but if Jerome did then Thomas' brother was a pretty lucky person to have someone care so damn much about him-- to care about the person Thomas was only pretending to be. 

"You okay?" Jerome yawned, and Thomas was used to his 'jobs' staying up waiting for him, but not for the reason Jerome did. Jerome just wanted to be awake when Thomas got back from his so called therapy sessions to make sure the younger felt okay. Thomas' other jobs had stayed up late waiting in bed for Thomas for very different and very unpleasant other reasons. 

The first thing Jerome had asked Thomas was how the 'therapy session' went, and Thomas lied and said it went fine rather than informing Jerome it had turned into a torture session. Thomas had waited for Jerome to be a self entitled jackass expecting the exhausted Thomas to give him something Thomas really didn't want to just because Jerome had stayed up late for him like that was some kind of grand honor. When Jerome had smiled tiredly and moved aside so Thomas could get on the king sized bed Hugo had given them, Thomas laid down and waited for Jerome to turn out to be like every other 'job' Thomas had had. 

When Jerome said goodnight to Thomas and pressed a kiss against the back of Thomas' neck before wrapping his arm around the younger and falling asleep, Thomas anxiously waited for Jerome's supposed gentleman behavior to lead up to something else. It wasn't until morning came around that Thomas finally relaxed and drifted off. 

A few more nights went by in which Thomas expected Jerome would drop the gentleman act, however eventually Thomas began to expect that less and less. 

"How was therapy?" Jerome yawned, and sometimes Thomas almost felt bad about Jerome going and staying up for him-- almost. Perhaps Thomas would have cared if he had any care left in him. 

"It was fine." Thomas said, per usual. 

Jerome gave a tired smile and scooted back while raising the blanket, as always. "Good." 

Thomas laid down with his back towards Jerome while the older one wrapped an arm around his waist, as the routine went. "Goodnight." 

"Night." Jerome chuckled while pressing a brief kiss to the back of Wayne's neck before nuzzling the younger as his eyes slid shut while he pulled Wayne closer, and this was how things between them always went. 

Thomas closed his eyes like he was supposed to... 

... 

... then, Thomas found himself doing something he wasn't supposed to, because it didn't go by their little routine script. Ordinarily, that's all the exhausted pair would say to one another before leaving it at that and going to sleep. 

This time, however, Thomas found himself adding, "You don't have to stay up for me." 

Jerome blinked his eyes open, brow quirking, Wayne keeping his back towards him. "I want to." Jerome assured with a slight smile. 

Thomas just stared forward at the wall. "Why?" 

"Huh?" Jerome questioned. 

Thomas wasn't buying this nice guy act. "Why do you want to stay up for me?" 

Jerome's smile fell, being replaced by a frown. "Because I want to make sure you're alright." 

Thomas didn't stop himself from persisting, "Why do you care whether I'm all right or not?" 

Jerome was becoming concerned. "Because I care about you-" 

"Why?" Thomas interjected, wanting to know what the hell it was his brother had done that had gotten Jerome so seemingly wrapped around his finger, not even realizing his brother and Jerome had never been an actual thing. "Why do you care about me?" Thomas interrogated. "What in the world have I been giving you to make you care?" In Thomas' experience, care always came at a price, and was never genuine or free-- there was always an ulterior motive involved one way or another. 

"You don't have to give me anything to make me give a shit about you." Jerome answered quietly, not knowing where this all was coming from. 

Thomas' scoff was already leaving his lips before he could stop it. "Well what made you 'give a shit' about me then?" 

What had Wayne gone and done to make Jerome care about him so damn much? His brother had gotten all of his friends to care a significant amount about him, and Jerome seemed to be willing to risk anything for Wayne. Thomas had never had anyone give as much of a shit about him as his brother had, and Thomas wanted to know what it was about Wayne that made people like him so damn much. 

Jerome's brow furrowed. "I-" He sighed. "I'm not... sure. I still don't recall everything about you, or us, or-" 

"Goodnight." Thomas sighed. 

Jerome arched a brow. "Huh?" 

"I'm tired. Goodnight." Thomas informed irked, but he felt more stressed than annoyed. 

Jerome eyed Wayne over unsurely, the younger keeping his back to him, Jerome quietly muttering, "Night..." 

Thomas assumed it was the wealth that got Wayne so many loyal friends. 

In all honesty, Thomas had begun to envy a lot of things about his twin that he'd initially been ecstatic about. 

Thomas envied how Wayne had been normal. Envied how Wayne got to hike and camp, and how Wayne got to go to Switzerland for vacations, and how Wayne got to go see movies and plays, doing so all while Thomas was confined behind Arkham's walls. Thomas envied how Wayne had a mansion to grow up in instead of an asylum. How Wayne got to go to a school with real teachers rather than be taught through instructional textbooks. 

Thomas envied Wayne's friends. Envied how Wayne had the chance to make friends his own age while Thomas was stuck with isolation. How Wayne had a choice in who he befriended as Thomas was given 'jobs' to only pretend to befriend. Envied how much Wayne's friends genuinely cared about him in a way Thomas had never sincerely been cared about. 

Thomas envied Wayne's family. Envied how Wayne had constantly been around Martha and Thomas the first while Thomas Jr. had only gotten visits. Envied how Wayne got to be raised by someone like Alfred that never left or turned on him. How Wayne got to visit his cousins he was so close to, like that tall red haired girl hugging a tiny Wayne that Thomas had seen in a photo, which his brother referred to as Kate Kane. 

Thomas envied Jerome. Envied how Wayne had someone like Jerome that cared so damn much about him, because Thomas had NEVER had anyone give a shit about him as much as Jerome gave a shit about Wayne. Thomas envied how Jerome CARED about Wayne's comfort. He envied how Jerome wouldn't give a damn about him if he wasn't pretending to be his brother. 

So, Thomas was jealous of his twin. However, at the same time... 

... 

... at the same time Thomas didn't hate Wayne, because despite how much he envied his brother for being given so much when he was given so little, Wayne had also been one of the first people to offer Thomas something after he'd been so used to having so much taken away for so long. 

Wayne had offered Thomas a home. A real home, with a real family, and a place among his friends. Wayne had offered Thomas a chance to be normal, and Thomas hadn't taken it. Instead, Thomas had blamed Wayne for that event in the alleyway, rather than blaming the man who pulled the trigger twice. Thomas had blamed the wrong person, because the real criminal was dead, and Thomas had just wanted to take his anger out on someone. Thomas had tried to get back at his twin thanks to that, and had done so in a pretty shitty way. 

Thomas had ruined his chance at possibly having something to care about again and to possibly just be normal for once, and he regretted it. Lately, the only thing he'd been feeling other than numb was regret. 

Jerome was aware something was wrong with Wayne-- he just wasn't sure what. 

Thomas' act had already began to dwindle, and as time went by, he began to pretend to be his brother around Jerome less and less, because Thomas' lack of care kept decreasing less and less as he began to not care about much else other than simply breathing. 

The first day, Thomas told Jerome he just wanted to be left alone when Jerome tried to get him up, so Jerome unsurely left and spent the day in the patient lounge.

When Thomas had stopped getting out of bed, Hugo considered attempting to give another experimenting session to shape the boy up. 

However, Hugo chose to hold off on that when he noticed how Jerome reacted the second day. 

"The nurse let me borrow some movies to watch," Jerome offered as Thomas just stayed on his side of the bed and stared at the wall. "how about you pick one out?" 

"I don't care what we watch," Thomas replied blandly. "you pick one out." 

"Well what's your favorite genre?" Jerome asked in a cheery voice. 

"I don't have one." Thomas sighed. 

"Aw come on, everyone has a favorite genre!" Jerome's laughter faded as Thomas stayed quiet, causing Jerome to clear his throat. "All right... how about you pick a number one through seven?" 

Thomas furrowed his brow in annoyance, eyes sliding shut. "What?" 

"Just pick a number! One through seven!" Jerome encouraged, earning a lengthy deep inhale followed by a heavy and long exhale from the younger. 

"Five." Thomas answered, figuring that was his best bet at getting Jerome to stop bothering him. 

Jerome flipped through the seven movies before landing on number five. "Tragedy genre it is!" 

Thomas kept himself from giving a groan as Jerome put the VCR tape in. 

Thomas kept his back turned to Jerome the entire movie, not bothering to watch as much as a single scene from the film. 

"I'm gonna' go grab some food," Jerome spoke up as the credits rolled. "you want anything?" 

Thomas considered acting like he was asleep before deciding to answer, "No." 

Jerome paused, eying the younger over. "You sure?" Jerome hesitated. "I mean... you haven't eaten anything for two days now-" 

"I'm not hungry." Thomas interjected. 

Jerome was becoming more and more concerned. "Do you not feel good or somethi'n?" Was Wayne sick? 

"I feel fine." Thomas lied. 

"Can I at least get you a water?" Jerome urged. "You need to stay hydrated-" 

"Go eat, Jerome." Thomas sighed, just wanting the other to leave. 

Jerome went quiet at that, yet did as requested. 

As Hugo observed their interactions, he decided he would wait to see just what all Jerome did for Thomas. He wanted to see how much Jerome would go out of his way for the boy. Hugo wanted to take Jerome's concern, and learn how to use it against him. 

When Jerome got back from the cafeteria, he had a plate of food and a cup of water with him. "I got you a serving," Jerome informed in as nice a voice as he could muster. "just in case you decide you're hungry after all." Jerome earned silence. "I'll just lay it over here on the chair..." No reply whatsoever. "Do you wanna' do anything?" Wayne stayed quiet. "Play board games, talk, watch another movie..." Jerome trailed off. "Or do you need anything?" Wayne continued to not acknowledge Jerome. "Well- uh..." Jerome cleared his throat. "If you need anything, just tell me, yeah?" Wayne kept ignoring Jerome. "I'll stay in here just in case you-" 

"You really don't have to do that." Thomas finally spoke up. 

Jerome gave a relieved smile upon just hearing the younger speak to him. "I don't mind!" He assured with a chuckle while sitting on the mattress, smile falling as Wayne scooted farther towards his side of the bed. "I- uh... I'll just be sitting right here..." Jerome muttered as he respected Wayne's body language and stayed on his side of the bed. "... if you need anything, or whatever..." 

The rest of the day went by, in which Thomas remained in an uncomfortable position staring at the wall while Jerome read a book by some apparently famous comedian he'd never heard of. 

When nighttime came, Jerome set down his book, threw away the meal Thomas hadn't eaten, turned off the light, and got back in bed. 

Jerome glanced at Wayne's outline. "Night..." 

Thomas let his eyes slide shut. "Goodnight." 

Jerome considered wrapping an arm around Wayne, but ended up staying on his side of the bed. 

The next day, Thomas did the same thing. He turned over on his side so his back was to Jerome, and he just stared at the wall. Thomas didn't watch the movie Jerome put in, or eat the food Jerome brought, or do any of the activities Jerome offered. When nighttime came, Thomas said goodnight to Jerome, closed his eyes, and didn't scoot closer to Jerome at all. 

Jerome eyed Wayne over worriedly. "Have I done something to piss you off?" He spoke up quietly, finding it hard to sleep. 

"No." Thomas answered, and it was the truth. He wasn't pissed off-- he was just numb... uncaring. It wasn't Jerome that had made him this way-- it was Hugo. Hugo had made sure there was very little Thomas could care about, and when that very little was taken away, Thomas was left with nothing. Hugo had been trying to make Thomas empty, and it had worked. 

"Have you lost interest or something then?" Jerome questioned unsurely. 

Thomas' eyes opened. "What?" 

Jerome let out a stressed breath. "Do you just not wanna' be a thing anymore?" 

Thomas had never been asked that by any of his previous jobs. 

"What would you do if I said I wanted to break up?" Thomas found himself asking airily. 

Jerome felt his gut sink. "Well... I mean... I'd be bummed out, of course," He admitted with a shrug. "and I'd kinda' like to know why..." Jerome chewed the inside of his cheek. "but I wouldn't make you stay in a thing you don't want in anymore-- the last thing I wanna' do is go off and make you feel stuck or... whatever..." 

"I see..." Was Thomas' reply, the younger considering Jerome's words. 

Jerome was pretty sure he saw where this was going. "Would you at least wanna' stay friends?" 

Thomas blinked. "... What?" 

Jerome swallowed dryly. "Would you at least wanna'-" 

"No, I heard you," Thomas interrupted. "but why would you want to stay friends if we blew things off?" Thomas' previous jobs had always only given a shit about one thing when it came to him-- and it wasn't friendship. 

Jerome gave a quiet laugh of disbelief-- shouldn't this be common sense or something? He felt like it should be apparent. "Because you were my friend before you were my partner, and I wouldn't blame you for losing interest, but I guess I just figured that wouldn't mean also not wanting to even be friends anymore or whatever." 

Thomas certainly wasn't used to a 'job' valuing him as anything other than essentially a piece of meat to be consumed and spit out as pleased. 

"Ah.", was the reply Thomas gave, too busy pondering on Jerome's words to say much else. 

Jerome hadn't exactly been all that comfy spilling all of that, and what did he receive in return? A measly syllable. 

"Look," Jerome exhaled, hand running through his hair. "you're obviously not comfortable sleeping in here anymore, so it's fine if you wanna' go to your own room or whatever-" 

"Why would I want to go to my own room?" Thomas said before realizing what he'd just said, noticing he strangely enough hadn't immediately taken Jerome up on the offer of isolation. 

"Maybe I want you to go, all right?" Jerome scoffed. "Maybe I don't want to sleep next to the guy I literally just broke up with-" 

"Who said we broke up?" Thomas inquired calmly, finally looking over his shoulder at Jerome, earning a taken aback stare before returning his gaze to the wall. "I never said I wanted to break up-- I just asked you what you would do if I hypothetically did." 

Jerome stared at Wayne for a while. "Oh." What in the world was this entire conversation supposed to signify? Was Wayne trying to subtly tell him something here? 

"Goodnight." Thomas yawned. 

Jerome continued staring at Wayne. "Night..." 

The next morning, Thomas waking up to the scent of bacon and eggs, groggily opening his eyes to stare up at the Jerome standing between him and the wall he'd been staring at the last few days. 

"You need to eat." Jerome sternly insisted, earning a groan as Wayne pulled his pillow over his face. "You haven't eaten in days." Jerome scolded, Wayne glaring at him as he pried the pillow away. "At least take a bite." Jerome sighed while Wayne instead yanked the covers over his head stubbornly. "Come on-- all you have to do is pick something up, put it in your mouth, chew, and swallow... it really shouldn't be that hard for you to do." Jerome persisted, Wayne glowering at him while he ripped the blanket off of him. "Wayne, I swear to..." Jerome began to warn as Wayne turned his back to him. 

"I'm not hungry." Thomas said as his stomach growled. 

"You're shit at lying." Jerome snickered, Wayne grumbling something under his breath. "Come on-- the quicker you eat something, the quicker I stop pestering you to eat something." 

Thomas looked over his shoulder, giving Jerome an irked stare, parting his lips to say something and feeling his eyes widen as Jerome shoved a strip of bacon into his mouth, resulting in Thomas rather stubbornly spitting it out. 

The bacon hit Jerome's shirt, resulting in Jerome giving a disgusted noise of disbelief as he scrunched his nose in distaste. "Wayne!" 

"Maybe you shouldn't try to force feed me!" Thomas instantly defended while sitting up. 

"I wasn't trying to force feed you!" Jerome scoffed, shoving the plate into Wayne's hands. "I was just seeing if you would at least try to eat something!" He huffed while cleaning his shirt the best he could with a napkin. 

"Why do you care if I eat anything?" Thomas snapped back skeptically, shoving the plate back into Jerome's hands. 

"Because I give a shit about not losing you, and if you don't eat anything for long enough, then I probably will lose you, jackass!" Jerome laughed in annoyance. 

"Well I'm sorry that me wasting away is such an inconvenience to you!" Thomas dramatically countered, and he'd never spoken to a 'job' like this-- he was always too afraid to risk talking back. 

"Of course you not giving a shit about yourself is an inconvenience to me!" Jerome exclaimed. "How am I supposed to feel knowing that if something happens to me and I can't get to you, then something might happen to you if you don't know how to look out for yourself?!" 

Thomas' brow furrowed. "Why would you care in the least about the possibility of anything happening to me when you're not around anymore?" That didn't make sense to Thomas. People never cared about him-- they just cared about how he made them feel. 

"Because regardless of whether we stick together or go our own ways in the future, I want you to at least know basic survival skills so you can make it through on your own if you have to!" Jerome nearly shouted, wearily smile strained and forced. 

"Why?" Thomas questioned again, because it just didn't make any sense to him. 

"What do you mean 'why'?!" Jerome chuckled in frustration. 

"Why would you be bothered about anything that happened to me if I wasn't by your side anymore?" Thomas elaborated as though his question should have been obvious. 

Jerome felt like the answer should be obvious. "Because I'm not about to give any less of a shit about you regardless of where we are or how much or little we stick together!" Hadn't Jerome made this obvious? "We could be in the same room, or on different sides of the world!" Hadn't Jerome gone over this? "We could be partners, or just friends, or barely acquaintances in the future!" Hadn't Jerome made this clear through his actions? "Either way, it wouldn't change the fact that I give a shit about you and what you are to me now and what we've been through!" Did Wayne just not believe him or something? "I don't care if you have trouble being as adventurous as you usually are... we don't have to go on adventures together all the time-- you don't have to damn well entertain me all the time!" Had Jerome done something to make Wayne doubtful of this entire thing? "You don't have to feel up and ready to do something every time I want to do something! I don't care about you just because I find things entertaining when I'm with you or whatever, all right?" Jerome gave a sigh, raised voice lowering. "I just- I just want you to at least take care of yourself for you-- not me... all right? I just- I just want to see you giving a damn about yourself, too, so I know that regardless of what we end up doing, you can at least take care of yourself if you have to." 

Thomas faltered at every word, staring at Jerome taken aback. "Oh." Was all Thomas said, because he wasn't quite sure what else to say. 

Jerome gave a weak laugh at the small reply. "I just- I guess what I'm trying to say is that..." He let out a weary breath. "I really do give a shit about you, and because I give a shit I want you to be able to look out for yourself without having to become dependent on me. I don't- I don't mind you leaning on me, but I don't want you to have to rely on me or... whatever." Jerome wondered if any part of all he'd said even mattered to Wayne. 

For a while, Thomas just stared at Jerome. Jerome averted his gaze and lowered the plate in his hands as Thomas soaked in the other's words. It felt like minutes went by despite it only being seconds, and the air was heavy with anticipation and uncertainty. 

Eventually, Thomas chose to say nothing for the time being. Thomas did, however, quietly reach out to take the plate, earning a surprised yet relieved state as Thomas began eating while refusing to look up at Jerome. 

Thomas didn't eat much-- just a few small bites. It was, however, better than nothing. 

When Thomas finished eating and laid back on his side with his back to the Jerome now sitting on his side on the bed, the older one hesitantly asked, "Do you want to watch a movie?" 

Thomas stared at the wall. "Sure." This time, Thomas didn't say he didn't care, or object. It wasn't quite a 'yes', and was still a relatively neutral answer, but it was progress. 

Jerome smiled. "Pick a number one through seven-- you've already picked numbers five and one, though." 

"Four." Thomas answered. 

"Feel-good movie it is!" Jerome hummed when looking over the fourth movie before putting it in. 

Throughout most of the movie, Thomas just listened, keeping his gaze on the wall per usual. Although there were parts in which Thomas would perk up and occasionally watch a scene for a few seconds before laying back down. He hardly bothered watching any of the clips, but at least he'd began showing interest in something-- even if it was just barely. 

When nighttime came around, Jerome tested something else, and wrapped his arm around Wayne. 

"Night." Jerome murmured while pressing a kiss against the back of Wayne's neck. 

Thomas' body locked up when feeling Jerome gently drape an arm around him and briefly kiss him. "Goodnight..." 

Jerome felt how Thomas tensed. "Do you not want me to touch you?" Upon earning no reply, Jerome knowingly retreated, moving back to his side of the bed, and not pushing the matter. "Night." 

Thomas wasn't at all used to his 'jobs' actually listening to his body language rather than ignoring it. 

Thomas felt himself relax for the first time in a long time. "Goodnight..." 

The next day, Thomas ate almost a quarter of his meal, rather than just a few tiny bites. He even went as far as to tell Jerome it was his turn to pick a movie. Of course, Jerome chose comedy. Thomas ended up actually sitting up to watch the movie rather than staying on his side, but he didn't react to the movie-- he didn't smile, or roll his eyes, or scrunch his nose, or furrow his brow, or yawn... he just watched it. When they went to bed, they stayed on their sides of the bed, but Thomas faced Jerome rather than keeping his back to him. 

The day after that, Thomas ate half his meal. He also chose an adventure genre rather than randomly picking a movie, and as it played Jerome caught the way that the younger would occasionally allow the corners of his lips to just barely quirk upwards into a vague smile, and if Jerome had blinked when the other subtly smiled, he would have missed it. When the two went to bed, Thomas let his hand lay in the middle of the mattress, arm somewhat outstretched. Jerome did the same, the tips of their fingertips close to touching, but not quite doing so. 

The following day, Thomas ate an entire meal, and he and Jerome chose an interesting looking mystery movie together that they both commented on as it played. Instead of going straight to bed, they played chess, which Thomas won several times at, and then cards, which Jerome won multiple times at. When they finally went to bed, Thomas curled up less than half a foot away from Jerome, and Jerome was careful to not touch him. 

When morning came around, Thomas got up at a decent time, and throughout that day he ate a good amount of three square meals instead of just one. Instead of watching a movie, he accompanied Jerome to the patient lounge, the asylum garden, and the institution's recreation room of activities. When nighttime came, they went to their room, laid down, and just talked. 

In fact, Jerome even got Wayne to laugh a few times, and smile even more, Jerome grinning all the while. 

Then, Thomas found himself staring up at Jerome while they laid flat on their backs against the mattress, Thomas' hand touching Jerome's wrist, Jerome smirking amusedly at him as their gazes locked, Thomas' laughter fading, but an intrigued smile remaining on his lips. 

"Jerome?" Thomas said softly, fingertips running against Jerome's wrist, as though he had to confirm to himself this moment was indeed real-- that Jerome was real. 

"Hm?" Jerome hummed with a smile. 

"You've very possibly done something for me none of these doctors could." Thomas dared to say despite the fact Hugo was almost certainly listening in on them. 

Jerome quirked a brow. "Oh?" 

Thomas nodded, and he was smiling-- Thomas wasn't sure when the last time had been that he smiled so genuinely. "You actually helped me feel better." 

Jerome faltered, nonetheless cracking a smile. "Yeah?" 

Thomas was doing what Hugo wanted him to-- he was getting Jerome to fall for him hard by acting like he was falling for Jerome. Except it wasn't acting for Thomas anymore... Thomas had been unprofessional and taken the risky chance of getting attached to a 'job' for the first time. 

Hugo had noticed Thomas was getting a bit too close for comfort, and decided it was time to reel Thomas back in. 

"The affection Jerome is giving you is not meant for you," Hugo stated during a session with Thomas. "it's directed towards your twin, who he is mistaking you as," Hugo examined a vile of some kind of liquid while swirling it around. "if he was aware you are only Wayne's brother rather than Wayne himself, then he would not even bother to do as much as glance your way." Hugo picked up a syringe, piercing the vile to extract some of the substance. 

Thomas averted his gaze and clenched his jaw, wanting to just get up and sprint away before Hugo could say another word, but the chair Thomas was restrained to kept him in place. 

"Your so-called 'relationship' with Jerome is built on a foundation of lies, therefore it's not a real one in the least," Hugo continued while tapping against the cylinder of the syringe before squirting some of the liquid out of the needle. "if he were to discover this, your relationship would crumble to reveal exactly what it truly is-- nothing." 

"You don't know that that's would happen," Thomas denied in a shaky voice through clenched teeth, eyes watering. "it's not all lies." After all, Thomas had been becoming so genuine around Jerome-- began showing Jerome who he really was and not acting, or closing Jerome off. 

"So if Jerome found out you've been manipulating him, and found out you aren't the real Wayne, and found out you're only the brother of the person he cares about more than anything, and found out you were only pretending to be that person... he wouldn't leave you in attempts to gets back to the real Wayne?" Hugo mused while angling the needle against Thomas' neck. "He wouldn't break things off if he was aware of your real age, or aware he and Wayne had been no more than friends, or aware he'd misinterpreted his recollections?" 

"It's not Wayne that Jerome's been hanging around with lately," Thomas spoke up in a wavering voice. "it's me," He swallowed dryly. "the things we've done together have been real-- unlike the false interpretations you've been lying about to manipulate his past." 

"Each moment you've shared with Jerome is no more real than the relationship you've been claiming you two have," Hugo countered, thumb pressing down on the syringe, needle piercing Thomas' skin, the liquid entering his veins. "what you're doing to Jerome is no different than what I am doing." The syringe emptied. "You would have not experienced the interactions you had with Jerome if you weren't pretending to be the person he actually cared for," Hugo pulled the needle out. "and so those interactions are meaningless." 

Thomas felt sick to his stomach, his gut sinking, and his very core heavily weighing down. "They're not meaningless-" 

"Perhaps this charade of lies means something to you," Hugo interjected calmly, setting the syringe down. "however if Jerome were to uncover these lies, any fabricated meaning you've convinced yourselves of would vanish." Hugo glanced at the clock on the wall. "If something with so called meaning requires a lie to keep it meaningful, then it is meaningless when it comes down to it." 

Thomas parted his lips to argue, but a searing ache began to spread from the place on his neck where Hugo had injected him and spiked all throughout him. 

Hugo didn't falter while Thomas let out choked sounds as it felt like fire spilled all throughout him, the doctor instead calmly saying, "You should always be aware I can give you everything, just as I can take it all back." Hugo could make Thomas care too much as leverage, or numb him out. 

It was a warning. 

When Thomas returned to Jerome's room, all he felt was regret for getting close to a 'job.' 

But then, Jerome smiled at him, and asked how 'therapy' had gone, and Thomas suddenly just felt very unsure as he hesitantly admitted, "Awful." 

Thomas was supposed to act like Hugo had done a great job, but he was tired of acting. 

Jerome's smile fell. "Are you all right?" 

Thomas didn't lie. "No." 

Jerome wasn't smiling. "Do you wanna' talk about it?" 

Thomas told the truth again. "Yes, but I'm not supposed to." 

Thomas furrowed his brow at that. "Do you wanna' lay down?" He offered while eying Wayne over, earning a nod of confirmation as the younger approached the bed. "We could watch a movie if you want to-" 

"Not tonight." Thomas objected softly, tiredly laying next to Jerome. 

Jerome stared at Wayne for a while. "All right." 

For a while, the two went quiet, Jerome looking the younger over, Thomas averting his gaze. 

Then, Thomas looked at Jerome, and hesitantly scooted against him, face pressing into Jerome's torso, resulting in Jerome tensing up before carefully draping an arm around the smaller one. 

A vulnerable Thomas uncertainly stared up at Jerome and earned a kiss, but only a kiss, and no more than that. 

Thomas relaxed, and held right back onto Jerome, and Thomas didn't feel numb, or regretful, or reluctant. Thomas didn't feel afraid. 

Thomas felt safe. Cared about. Loved. 

Thomas felt at home. He didn't feel at home because he was in Arkham-- he at home because he was around Jerome. 

Thomas felt something he'd never felt around the other 'jobs' Hugo gave him. Thomas had gotten attached. Thomas had taken a risk. 

Thomas didn't feel as numb anymore-- he cared about something again. 

The next night had started off as usual. It was Thomas' turn to choose their movie, and he'd chosen a cliché romance movie, which Jerome tolerated, because Thomas tolerated Jerome's cheesy comedy movies. 

The film had been interesting enough. It was about a girl who had been in a shitty relationship with a cop that a thief got her out of. She'd met the thief at a hospital where she was being treated for a broken nose, and the thief was the only one who privately told her he was aware she hadn't gotten it from falling. The thief offered her a place to stay and hide away from her husband. At first, she denied the offer despite taking the slip of paper with his address. After getting her jaw dislodged, she put the address into her GPS. The girl was cautious of the thief at first, but eventually she began to trust him. Obviously, they began to fall in love. 

Then, a rather intimate scene came on. You know, bed creaking, sheet grasping, noise making. All that kinda' touchy feely stuff. More than kissing, essentially. You get the picture. 

Thomas didn't get why the had to put this stuff in movies. It made it awkward as shit to watch with someone else. 

"It's unrealistic to do that in the shower," Thomas commented, attempting to make jokes about the uncomfortable situation to ease it. "you'd both be slipping around and falling on your asses." 

Jerome let out a snicker, his arm draped loosely around Thomas' hips, their backs against a pile of fluffed silk pillows the nurse had given them a while back. "Just sitting in the tub would probably work better." Jerome agreed with a chuckle. 

"No it wouldn't-- a tub can barely fit a fully grown person when they stretch out. Two people would mean water either splashing everywhere and ruining the tile flooring that'll cost a fortune to renovate, or the water will barely reach above the person's hips on the bottom. The one on the top would be shivering from the cold. The bathing room would be a horrible place to engage in stuff like..." Thomas gestured towards the television. "... that." 

Jerome gave another laugh, pressing his lips against Wayne's jawline to place a kiss. "You sure seen to know a lot about this stuff..." He commented with a smirk. 

Thomas tensed up at that. "It's common sense." He shrugged off in a mutter. 

Jerome gave a hum. "Common sense, huh?" He dipped down to press his lips against Wayne's ear to tease, "There wouldn't happen to be a matter of experience, too, would there?" Wayne didn't answer for a long while at that, the silence between them becoming uncomfortable as only the sound of the television was heard, Jerome finally swallowing dryly and unsurely chuckling, "Uh... joking, of course.", after more than ten seconds dragged by. "I was just-" 

"If you mean experience with you, then yes." Thomas lied, because that's what he was supposed to be doing in any case. Lying. Manipulating. Acting. He was supposed to play along with anything Jerome suggested-- Hugo made it clear long ago that Thomas was meant to agree with those he was given the job of deceiving, regardless of what they said, and whether Thomas wanted to agree. It made it easier to subtly control them when they believed you had the same mindset and wishes. 

Jerome quirked a brow, smirk returning. "Yeah?" 

Thomas couldn't meet Jerome's gaze, quietly answering, "Yes." He got that Jerome was doing a little more than flirting with him. He got what stuff like this resulted in. He got what Jerome was teasing and hinting at. 

Thomas got that he'd been right from the beginning, and Jerome really was like all the others he'd had to get close to, it seemed. How disappointing. 

None of them had cared about whether or not Thomas was interested in doing this kind of stuff. Why would Jerome? Thomas shouldn't have expected him to be different. Just because Jerome had waited a little longer to initiate this didn't mean he was any different, because he was still initiating it. Of course, that would mean he wouldn't bother asking Thomas if this was okay to initiate. 

None of them ever did. 

Jerome gave a hum, Wayne just staring at the television as Jerome began to kiss along the side of his neck. "I wasn't sure if we..." He trailed off. 

"We have." Thomas lied, and lied, and lied. 

"Just making sure." Jerome mused, kissing along Wayne's jawline. 

Thomas felt like he was shutting down. "Do you want to?" He'd began shutting down during this stuff not too long after he'd first began to do this little job he had no say in. 

For an answer, Jerome just smirked and gave a hum of confirmation, kissing towards Wayne's lips. 

Thomas let Jerome gently grip his chin and tilt it towards him so Jerome could kiss him, Thomas keeping his eyes open and half lidded as their lips met, staring almost blankly at Jerome's closed eyes. 

This was Thomas' coping mechanism so he could shut out anything that happened which he didn't want to. When this kind of situation arose like it always did, Thomas would essentially go numb on the inside, too. The dread in anticipating this act would leave, the hatred he felt towards the person initiating this act would leave, and every other emotion would leave. 

The only difference was that this time, Thomas felt something else leave. A fondness towards Jerome. Thomas had never felt fond of the guys he had to manipulate before, but it didn't matter, because now that fondness was gone. 

Jerome was proving he was like everyone else Thomas had had to interact with in these jobs he had no choice in taking, and so Thomas saw no reason to feel a fondness towards him. Thomas had been fond of Jerome because there had been a chance Jerome wasn't like that, yet Jerome was proving him wrong. Thomas had tried to not get his hopes up, but he couldn't keep them completely down, so it did hurt to realize Jerome was no different from the other awful jobs. Nonetheless, Thomas had been expecting it despite trying to not ponder on it. Deep down in the pit of his gut, Thomas realized Jerome wasn't different, and he should have just admitted that to himself, rather than attempt to ignore or deny it. Pretending Jerome was a good man had been a brief relief, but in the long run, that hope Thomas had gained was going to do more damage than good. 

So, Thomas didn't feel anything towards Jerome. Not hate, not fondness, not anything... 

... 

... except for betrayal. Disappointment. 

Ashamed at himself for believing Jerome could be different. 

Despite attempting to shut down completely, these new feelings were harder to shut down compared to what he was used to. Thomas had never cared about his jobs before. 

Thomas didn't hate Jerome, though. Not even as he let the older one maneuver them so the younger one was under him. Thomas didn't feel fond about Jerome, either. Not even as Jerome kissed his collarbone, throat, neck, and jawline. Thomas didn't dread what was about to occur with Jerome. Not even as Jerome went to unbutton his jeans. 

Thomas only forced down his disappointment in how Jerome wasn't different as Jerome reached for his zipper. Thomas only swallowed his own shame for believing Jerome could be different as Jerome pressed their lips together. Thomas only dismissed how betrayed he felt as Jerome pulled back to- 

"This is all right?" Jerome asked just to be sure, Jerome's fingertips halted on the button of his own jeans, Thomas blinking at the question. 

Thomas just stared up at Jerome for a few lengthy seconds, uncertain as to whether he'd heard that right. "... What?" He eventually muttered back, trying to figure out what Jerome had actually said, because he had to have misheard. 

Jerome cleared his throat, correcting, "I mean- uh- you're good, yeah?" Wayne didn't reply, Jerome giving an embarrassed laugh. "Like, you're... this is okay or whatever, isn't it?" Jerome swallowed thickly, giving an anxious smile. "You're good with it, right?" 

Thomas felt something in him begin to break. Whatever had allowed him to shut down had snapped and was barely hanging on. Whatever had been numbing him was close to shutting down and not working anymore. Whatever kept his emotions nice and contained was unfolding. 

"I'm fine..." Thomas lied, voice hoarse, not realizing how glossy his eyes had already become at the question, and even if he had he couldn't have dried them. 

All Thomas had wanted for a while now was to be asked that. Asked if he was okay with this. To not have his opinion on such a matter be assumed, or dismissed. For someone to value his damn comfort over their wants. 

Jerome blinked, his reassuring smile shifting into a worried frown. "Hey, we don't have to-" 

Thomas felt whatever had began to break absolutely fall apart, no longer holding on in the least. 

"I'm sorry," Thomas choked out, curling up somewhat the best he could in the crowded position, feeling rather embarrassed considering he didn't exactly like anyone seeing him show any emotion, much less negative ones-- like crying. "I just-" He couldn't talk, an uncontrolled sob leaving his lips. 

Jerome instantly pulled back when Wayne shied away, giving the other his space, looking the younger over concerned as Wayne shakily sat up and scooted towards the pillows, Jerome averting his gaze and moving towards the foot of the bed, not quite knowing what to do as he rubbed the side of his neck and cleared his throat before saying, "I could go outside for a little while if-" 

"No, don't-" Thomas pleaded, trying to contain himself, another sob racking throughout him before forcing its way out of his throat. "Don't-" Don't go. 

"Okay," Jerome spoke up, letting Wayne take a break from attempting to talk through the sobs, aware of what Wayne was attempting to say. "I'll stay here." He assured, Jerome trying to figure out what he'd gone and done wrong, not realizing he'd done anything but. 

Thomas felt silly. For almost four years all he'd been doing was slightly smiling, quietly chuckling, furrowing his brow somewhat, and getting a little glossy eyed every once in a while, not showing emotion other than that. Thomas liked it that way. He liked not grinning widely, laughing loudly, seething, and crying. 

Showing too many emotions made Thomas feel vulnerable, which was something Thomas didn't want to be. Not even to those he trusted-- not when Hugo had been someone he trusted. So, Thomas had shut down somewhat so he could feel safe. 

Now, however, Jerome had clicked something inside of him back on, and Thomas was absolutely sobbing, and despite feeling silly for being so expressive, Thomas still felt safe. 

Thomas had only felt safe exclusively around Peabody for a while now, but it was a different kind of safe with Jerome. It wasn't a guarded trust he felt towards Jerome-- it was an utter and complete trust. 

So, Thomas stopped trying to hold in the cries spilling from his throat and tears splashing along his cheeks, allowing himself to just sob while hugging a pillow tightly, Jerome respectfully keeping his gaze averted so Thomas didn't feel too embarrassed. 

With each cry, Thomas began to feel better and better-- like all of the emotions he'd been bottling up for almost four years were being let out, and only the things he felt around Jerome were being let in-- and they were all good things. Bittersweet things that ached, but in a good way. 

Thomas cried like that for about five minutes before finally settling to where he could at least shakily get out, "I'm sorry.", the cries much softer and decreasing in number, tears continuing to roll along his cheeks repeatedly. 

Jerome quirked a brow, looking at Wayne, the younger keeping his gaze averted, realizing Wayne was apologizing about making things a bit awkward, and Jerome quickly assuring, "Hey, come on-- don't be, yeah? It's all right-" Wayne gave a weak nod at that, attempting to rub away his plentiful tears, just causing more to fall, a frustrated whimper leaving his lips, Jerome looking the other over worriedly at that before hesitantly reaching out his arms, clearing his throat. 

Thomas blinked away some tears, more brimming in his eyes as he did so, taking a few seconds to realize Jerome was offering a hug and swallowing thickly before letting out another sob and more or less lunging at the other, burying his face against Jerome's neck and wrapping his arms around the older one. 

Jerome gave a grunt at the tackle hug, his bandaged area throbbing at that, forcing a smile in attempts to ease the ache while earning another apology, Thomas starting to pull back to say he didn't mean to hurt the other- 

"It's all right," Jerome chuckled assuringly, somewhat out of breath at the lunge, pulling the other back into the hug, not wanting him to feel like he had to back off, but also keeping his arms loose enough around the younger so the crying boy could push away if wanted. "it's okay, I've got you..." Jerome added, letting the other relax into the hug while soothing, "Easy, Wayne..." 

Thomas suddenly felt the bittersweet emotions engulfing him sour. 

That's right-- it wasn't Thomas Jerome cared about enough to stop. It wasn't Thomas Jerome was worried about. It wasn't Thomas Jerome recalled looking after. 

It wasn't Thomas Jerome believed he was speaking with. 

It was Wayne. 

Wayne was only who Thomas was pretending to be-- it's not who he really was. Thomas was faking Jerome out, and so that meant Jerome's fondness towards him was artificial. 

But Thomas' fondness towards Jerome was real. Oh, how it was real. 

If Thomas didn't look like Wayne, or act like Wayne, or claim to be Wayne, then Jerome wouldn't be comforting him like this. Jerome probably wouldn't have interacted with him at all if Thomas was only Thomas, and not Jerome's closest friend. Jerome probably would have found Thomas- an unoriginal copy who lacked all kinds of feelings- boring all around. 

Thomas wasn't cared about after all. Not really. 

Nonetheless, Thomas could pretend he was. Because that's what Thomas was supposed to do in any case, wasn't it? Pretend. That's what Thomas had been doing. 

Did Thomas really care about Jerome? Was it possible to genuinely care about someone with such real emotions when you only pretended around them? Would Thomas and Jerome have ever cared about each other if Thomas hadn't been given this job, and they'd just met somewhere else in some other way? It was unlikely. 

Instead of apologizing for causing things to be rather awkward by bawling out of nowhere, or accidentally hugging too tightly when Jerome was still recovering, Thomas began apologizing for tricking Jerome. 

Jerome didn't realize it, however, because all Thomas kept saying was, 'I'm sorry.', between each sob, and he didn't realize Thomas was sorry for more than one thing. 

So, Jerome kept reassuring Wayne he had nothing to apologize for, because Jerome didn't realize this was Thomas-- not Wayne. 

Jerome didn't realize Thomas was sorry for lying, rather than sorry for not wanting to go that far. 

This continued until they were both laying back against the mattress and quietly watching the movie again, Jerome's arm securely around Thomas, Thomas' cheek against his torso. 

Thomas had calmed, only letting out sniffles and shaky breaths, gently gripping Jerome's shirt, puffy pink eyelids heavy, eyes glossy and rimmed red, Jerome's hand rubbing against his back calmingly. 

Jerome was waiting for Wayne to regain himself before he asked why Wayne had reacted so strongly, and when he found Wayne had calmed, he quietly did just that. 

"Did I-" Jerome cleared his throat, not quite sure how to word what he wanted to ask. "Did I do something wrong?" 

Thomas instantly shook his head at that, quickly assuring in a choked up voice, "No.", because Jerome had done anything but. "Can we just lay down and keep watching the movie?" Thomas was tearing up again, and wanted a distraction-- he wanted Jerome to not observe and fret over him. 

Thomas didn't want to be a bother, because Thomas felt silly like this. He felt silly about how he'd prided himself on being so mature, and yet here he was crying childishly. He felt silly about how he'd prided himself on being so independent, and yet here he was using Jerome as support. He felt silly about how he prided himself on being so detached in this forced line of work, and yet here he was getting close to a job. 

Thomas had prided himself on keeping out of other people's ways, because that was the best way to stay safe, and yet here Thomas was bothering Jerome. Bothering the one client he found himself giving a shit about. 

"Yeah," Jerome muttered, and the last thing Wayne to him was a bother. "Yeah-- we can lay down." But this wasn't Wayne. 

So, Jerome and Thomas laid back down, and Jerome kept one arm wrapped around Thomas as they continued watching the movie, and neither spoke until the end, in which Thomas found himself staring at the screen with watery eyes as he realized something he really, really didn't want to as the credits rolled. 

In the end, the thief had fallen in love with another girl. It was a girl he'd been childhood friends with. A girl he'd always loved in one way, but loved in a much different way when just happening to meet her again all those years later. The other girl that he'd saved from the abusive cop had been the second girl, when it came down to it. The second girl was aware the thief had fallen for the first girl, even when he acted like he didn't, because he had to act that way since the abused girl needed him more, right? 

So, the second girl went back to the bad cop, and made the thief believe she was a lost cause, even when the thief tried to get her to come back, and despite wanting to return more than anything, she continued the act, until the thief eventually went back to his childhood friend. 

Until the criminal returned to the first one, and the abused found themselves back in the clutches of their captor, and once again alone. 

The scene ended with the abused girl sitting on her bed facing the camera emotionlessly with watery eyes as the cop left for work. 

"Are you all right?" Jerome quietly asked, and geez that movie had been a real bummer, and poor Wayne looked absolutely horrified- 

"I'm not him." Thomas spoke quietly, earning a quirked brow. 

"Huh?" Jerome asked with a blink. 

"I'm sorry..." Thomas' voice was hoarse, and tears were running down his cheeks as he finally returned the emerald gaze. "... but I'm not B." Jerome's expression fell. "I'm not Wayne." Thomas continued in a tone filled with apologies, his grayish blue eyes even more full of such. "My name's Thomas." Jerome gave him a questioning stare, Thomas finally admitting, "I'm his brother." Then, Jerome quickly jerked away, and it made Thomas absolutely break, but nonetheless he continued in an urgent voice, "You need to get out of here.", because when it came down to it, even if Jerome didn't care about who Thomas really was, Thomas found himself caring about the sliver of warmth he'd gained after years of isolation and cruelty. "Now." Disbelief took over Jerome's features. "Go." Jerome kept backing up, head shaking in denial as he started to say something and- "Now!" Thomas pleaded, voice hoarse as he raised his tone upon the warning, water spilling from his eyes. 

Thomas didn't want Jerome to end up trapped here like him. 

The worst thing was that while Jerome didn't see it coming, there was something in him that didn't doubt the confession in the least, because everything made a rush of sense at once, and so Jerome found himself bolting out the door as quickly as he could without question, all while realizing Thomas' eyes were more blue than gray. 

Thomas found himself sitting alone on the bed, and despite how he'd expected as much, his eyes watered even more. 

Hugo gave a sigh and pressed a button signaling a lockdown as Jerome sprinted towards the elevator, watching how Jerome cussed and attempted to ram his way through the locked exit doors after pressing the elevator button several times to no avail, and oh how it upset Hugo that Thomas hadn't realized such rebellion would only result in more discipline. 

"Put Thomas on the list for the next express to the Court," Hugo directed all too calmly. "and have an operation room made ready for Jerome." 

None other than Peabody felt dread fill her. "The Owls will kill Thomas-- he's not ready." She objected as assertively as possible. "And do we really need to be risking putting Jerome back under again?" She stood tall despite wanting to shake. "He's barely recovered from being brought back once-- a second time could ruin him." Hugo didn't reply, Peabody compromising by adding, "Surely there's another way to go about this, Hugo. Surely we can just talk this over with Thomas, and surely we can convince Jerome we're trying to help him-" 

"Surely you recall who your boss is." Hugo interjected in his usual calm voice, Peabody going quiet. "Surely you realize what a mistake it is to speak to me as though you hold more authority." Peabody swallowed thickly. "Surely you realize you must have accidentally raised your tone, and are incredibly regretful of such a disorderly-" 

"Hugo-" Peabody attempted to speak up. 

Hugo slammed his hand against the table, Peabody jumping and going wide eyed before squeezing her eyes shut and swallowing thickly. "Surely you will not start sounding like Thomas Jr.'s overly righteous parents that I remind you ended up six feet under ground after coming in here and attempting to speak over the decisions that I and I alone make for Arkham!" Peabody eyed Hugo over warily as he stormed towards her while adding in a lower voice through clenched teeth, "Surely you don't want to also find yourself in an alleyway?" 

Peabody wasn't sure what caused her to blurt what she said next. Courage? Adrenaline? Reminisce? Impulse? Ditziness? Not wanting history to repeat itself? 

Either way, she met Hugo's gaze as the words left her lips, and those words were, "Surely you recall Thomas Jr. is just as much our son as he was Thomas and Martha's?" 

Hugo faltered at that, rage briefly shifting into something almost akin to what was close to being along the lines of guilt, before quickly souring, coldly correcting "His name is 514A, and he is no son of mine when my blood doesn't very well run in his veins." 

Peabody didn't back down. "All of us raised him, Hugo-- together," She searched his gaze for anything other than hate, but there was only venom. "don't you recall caring about him at all?" 

"I recall having a great affection for Junior, just as I did for Martha and Thomas," Hugo confirmed without hesitation, and despite his words venom continued to be laced in his tone. "and need I remind you how that did not cause me to hesitate ordering them to be cut down the very second they threatened to ruin my facility?" By ruin, he meant threaten to enforce ethical treatment with no tolerance for immorality. "Allow me to make it clear I would not hesitate to do the same to you if I was forced to make such a decision." Hugo straightened up, demeanor calming. "Although I would prefer to not lose another friend, so take this as a warning, and do not make me question your loyalty by speaking out against my judgement again." At that, Hugo began to walk around Peabody. 

"Martha and Thomas spoke out against you," Peabody commented, Hugo halting in the threshold. "you already made them pay dearly-- why force their son to do the same? He'd only adored you until you began taking your frustrations out on him." 

Hugo looked over his shoulder, back to being all too eerily calm. "Because perhaps enough of an iron fist will cause Thomas Jr. to not fail where Martha and Thomas Wayne did." At that, Hugo left the room, and Peabody returned her gaze towards the monitor screen showing a struggling Jerome and defeated Thomas being secured by guards. 

Hugo wondered if he should have bothered saving Peabody... 

~*~*~*~ 

The bus Thomas was put on with several other inmates was disguised as a school bus, and he had no idea where they were going. 

Thomas had a sense of déjà vu as he sat on the bus' seat, because he'd gone through something like this not too long ago. The only differences were Jerome wasn't by his side this time, and he wasn't on his way to freedom. 

Even Fish was there again. 

He was on his way to The Court of Owls, unbeknownst to him. 

In all honesty, Thomas didn't really care where they were going-- he felt rather numb, and not just on the outside... 

A small part of Thomas hated Jerome for caring he wasn't Wayne, because why couldn't have Jerome just chosen to stick by Thomas' side after seeing Thomas was enough like Wayne to trick him? A bigger part of Thomas was guilt ridden since he understood that he'd lied to Jerome and manipulated him, so Jerome had every right to want nothing to do with a phony that had kept him from the person he was closest to. 

Thomas wasn't sure if he hated or loved his brother, because while Jerome would never have had anyone to leave Thomas for if Bruce never existed, Thomas was also aware Jerome would probably be a much less joyful and a much more sad and angry person if he'd never met Bruce in the first place. There was also the fact Hugo might have never been interested in Jerome and bothered saving him if he wasn't close to a Wayne, and even if Hugo had for some reason in that case, there was a chance Hugo would have never paired up Thomas and Jerome so Thomas could control Jerome by acting like his brother. 

If it wasn't for Thomas' brother, he might have never met Jerome. Thomas didn't know whether to hate or love that, because it had given him a brief sense of finally feeling something again, and a good emotion at that. It also caused Thomas to end up in less than savory aspects. 

When a familiar looking guy with red hair, emerald eyes, and a scar on his throat sat next to Thomas, Thomas perked up, looking up at the sixteen year old and blinking, taking a few seconds to realize this definitely wasn't Jerome, but he certainly looked a lot like him. 

"Fancy seeing you here, Wayne." Rome greeted with a crooked grin. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome was strapped down to a metal table, eyes watering as he stared up at the ceiling, his wrists and ankles raw from how he'd been struggling to get free of his restraints. When his skin started bleeding against the belts holding him down, the doctors sedated him, and now his limbs were too heavy to move, and he was struggling to stay awake as Hugo walked into the room. 

"Please," Jerome instantly choked out, vision blurring. "please," He repeated, speech somewhat slurred from the sedatives. "just let me go," He was afraid. This wasn't funny. It wasn't funny at all. "I need to see Wayne." Was the real Wayne okay? Had Hugo done something to him? Could Wayne be trapped here, too? "Please-" Jerome continued in a hoarse voice as Hugo readied the surgical utensils. 

"You do not NEED to see Wayne," Hugo interjected, examining Jerome's vitals "you WANT to see Wayne." 

"Where is he?" Jerome interrogated, soaked eyes rimmed with red. "What did you do to him?" 

"He's currently safe and snug at home believing that you're dead and going on with his luxurious lifestyle." Hugo answered blandly, not bothering to meet Jerome's gaze. 

Jerome set his jaw. "Then you'd better stay the hell away from-" 

"Oh I plan to keep my distance for now," Hugo assured, examining his tools to make sure they were all there. "you, however, will retrieve him for me." 

Jerome's expression fell. "What?" 

Hugo walked over towards the sink on the other side of the room. "Don't you recall, Jerome?" He turned on the faucet, dispensed soap into his hands, and began washing. "You and Wayne were as close as best friends can be," He turned off the water with his elbow. "you met here in Arkham, and that boy looked up to you the instant you smiled at him," Hugo dried his hands with a paper towel. "and you grew fond of him the second he laughed at the joke you greeted him with." Hugo tossed the crumpled up trash in the bin. "It's sad, really..." Hugo mused calmly, walking back over towards Jerome. "... how Wayne chose Theo over you despite that, and helped him come up with a plan to get rid of you at that charity ball." 

Jerome's eyes widened, realizing what Hugo was doing. "That wasn't what happened." He said as calmly as possible. 

"Theo had become Wayne's new fatherly figure since that night in the alleyway, because a butler can only be a butler after all," Hugo continued dismissively, putting on a doctor's face mask. "and you looked up to Theo just the same, but you burdened Theo, because you always stole his spotlight, and were too unpredictable-- unlike Wayne who could be a Maniax member so built on stealth that Gotham still isn't aware he was ever one." 

"Wayne was never-" Jerome started to object. 

"How cruel it was for Theo to ask Wayne to get rid of you, because after all... you were just a friend to Wayne, and Theo was a guardian." Hugo interrupted smoothly. 

"Shut. up." Jerome warned through clenched teeth, because that wasn't what happened at all- 

"How much did it hurt for Wayne to devise that plan for that charity ball? To work with Theo to make him look like a hero for killing you? To turn against you for Theo, when you would have turned against Theo and anyone else for Wayne?" Hugo persisted, picking up a pair of defibrillators. 

"That's not what happened!" Jerome insisted, and no no no-- Hugo couldn't do this- 

"Isn't it?" Hugo said while pushing the metal defibrillators against Jerome's torso. "Clear." 

Jerome's eyes widened, back curving upwards as electricity coursed throughout him. 

Hugo waited ten seconds after Jerome flatlined to bring him back. 

~*~*~*~ 

Fish had tried to take over again before Rome attacked Thomas. Rome said something about him being Wayne. Something about 'Wayne' and Jerome betraying him and some guy named Mayne. 

Naturally, Thomas fought back. He'd kicked Rome off when Rome wouldn't listen to reason as Thomas tried to explain he wasn't Wayne, and Rome just tried to strangle him. 

Thomas and Rome had wrestled on the bus floor. There were six guards on board-- four in the front, four in the back. Since Thomas and Rome were closer to the front, one of the front guards of course walked over to break their fight up while the other tied to stop Fish. Thomas kicked Rome off of him as the guard leaned over, which resulted in the guard stumbling back into the driver. 

Thomas' eyes widened as the school bus swerved violently, briefly sliding against the seats on his right as patients screamed, a guard yelling for everyone to stay down right before the bus rammed into something, Thomas whacking his cheek against the metal bolting the seats to the ground, grabbing at the leather of the seat while letting out a noise as the bus tumbled over whatever it had hit, nails scratching against the leather desperately only for it to leave his fingertips when the bus turned over again and he fell on his stomach with a grunt, feeling it tumble one more time and reaching for anything to cling onto, but just grasping at air as his back hit the top of the overturned bus. 

The school bus had stopped rolling, so Thomas groaned and shut his eyes. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome had been brought back after ten seconds of flatlining. Then fifteen. Then thirty. Then a minute. 

This time, he'd been brought back after a minute and fifteen seconds, the electricity jolting him awake. 

"Please stop-" Jerome sobbed, and oh how this was anything but funny. 

"Who are Wayne and Theo?" Hugo asked coldly, no emotion in his voice. 

"Wayne didn't do ANY of what you said he did." Jerome answered through clenched teeth, eyes glossy and rimmed with red, trying to hang onto the idea of Wayne as the other pieces of Jerome's past which he'd taken so long to put back together began to once again fall apart. Jerome couldn't recall Wayne's favorite things or things he hated at this point. 

"Wrong answer." Hugo sighed. "Clear." Once again, the doctor took his life, and then gave it back. A minute and forty-five seconds that time. "Who are-" 

"All right," Jerome sobbed, barely recalling Wayne's personality at this point. "Traitors-- they're both traitors." Jerome just wanted this to stop. 

Hugo straightened up at that, chin inclining. "It's a good answer," A pause. "but I need you to mean it." Jerome's cheeks were stained with tears, not a smile in sight. "Clear." 

Two minutes went by. 

Jerome woke up not recalling Wayne's smile or laugh, and the torture continued. 

~*~*~*~ 

This time, the copycat called Rome had caused the wreck-- not Thomas. 

When Thomas woke up, it was to the patients killing the guards. An altogether gruesome sight with shrill screams. Thomas felt like he was going to be sick, but at the same time didn't feel very bad for the guards that had been cruel to him and the other patients because of some kind of sick addiction to feeling superior to those they were supposed to protect. So, Thomas didn't bother when the guards begged for help. 

Thomas didn't bother moving at all until someone opened the door, that is. The patients were rather rude, at that-- none of them bothered to thank her! Thomas did, of course, because this person was the reason Thomas was finally free, and the poor thing looked unsettled at the sight of Hugo's monsters. 

So, Thomas reassuringly said, "Thank you.", and waited by her side until the rest were gone. 

Then, Thomas had to make a choice. He had to either go back to save Jerome and risk Hugo's wrath, or run away on his own and be alone again. 

It was a tough choice. Thomas didn't want to just leave the one job that turned out to be a good one behind, but he was also too traumatized by all Hugo had put him through to risk going back for any reason whatsoever. 

When it came down to it, Thomas was aware Jerome didn't care about him-- he cared about who he believed Thomas had been. He cared about Wayne. He cared about the person Thomas had admitted he wasn't. 

Thomas couldn't go back and bother with a Jerome he was certain would just hate him for the tricks he played. He couldn't go back and risk his life for a Jerome that wouldn't care about the real him. 

Thomas couldn't go back for the person Thomas gave a shit about in Arkham. 

So, Thomas ran away as Rome gave a crackle at how he and the monsters he walked among were free. 

~*~*~*~ 

Hugo had kept Jerome under for four minutes before bringing him back and once more asking, "Who are Wayne and Theo?" 

Jerome felt sick to his gut, panicking because he was instinctively aware he should know the answer to that question. "I don't-" Jerome was full of dread, and fear, and desperation. "I don't know." Jerome wasn't smiling. "I don't-" Jerome was choking up. "I don't know." He repeated, and how could he not know the answer to a question he was so certain he should? It was right on the tip of his tongue. 

"Traitors, Jerome," Hugo informed, pressing the defibrillators back against Jerome's chest. "traitors." Hugo lied. "Clear." 

Jerome's pupils shrunk as electricity coursed throughout him, eyes watering as the image of a blurry boy with black hair and bluish gray eyes stopped smiling at him, suddenly looking very, very sad. A man in a mask with a sword on his belt blurred into focus somewhat behind the boy from a mist, and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. 

Wayne. Theo. That's who Jerome was seeing. 

When realizing this, Jerome found himself wanting to absolutely scream at the top of his lungs for Theo to get away from Wayne, but Jerome felt too heavy, achy, and numb to even utter a mere sound. 

"Wayne and Theo are traitors, Jerome," Hugo continued as Jerome began to fade out. "they hurt you-- went against you together; left you behind." Hugo sounded so sure he almost convinced himself of what he was saying. "You know that." 

Briefly, everything around Jerome seemed to stop and silence other than a faint ringing and rushing noise in his ears, and then just as quickly as time seemed to halt, it snapped back into place, and had to speed up for an instance as though to catch up with itself. 

Jerome absolutely broke at the words, everything about himself barely hanging on falling apart, and Hugo kept him under for almost five minutes. 

~*~*~*~ 

Thomas was too ashamed to go to his brother for help after impersonating him. Too intimidated to go to Alfred, who was clearly more protective of his brother than him, and had wanted to throw Thomas out even before he acted like Wayne. Too fearful of rejection to go to Selina or Jerome after tricking them. Too hopeless to look for his few acquainted inmates like Bridgit, Silver, and Karen, or Fries and Bridgit, or Jay Luna and Charm, or even a nice girl by the name Alice Tetch, because he didn't know where to even start. Too distrusting of adults to go to the authorities about him being a runaway patient since they'd just view him as a reward, or to abide by the law to go to anyone in the GCPD that would just turn him in, or to try and make a home by taking the risk of going to any criminal underworld leaders to offer himself as a fresh recruit. Too cautious to go to Ivy, Harley, or Jen with how they'd been nice enough, but he hadn't really clicked with them right off the bat, and barely knew them, and in all honesty girls in general just made the poor boy too damn nervous. 

That left one other person. 

That left Jonathan Crane. 

Thomas was wary of Jonathan. Of course he was wary of Jonathan. Thomas was wary of everyone-- trust issues tend to do that. Being suddenly thrust into a world of torture by a doctor you trusted for ten years to look after you tends to do that. 

Nonetheless, Jonathan had at least been someone that Thomas felt like he'd clicked with at least somewhat when they'd talked, because Thomas had vaguely let his guard down so he could at least slightly enjoy talking with the interesting other. They hadn't clicked over much though... just a mutual liking for birds. That was it-- but it was all Thomas had compared to the others. It was his best bet. 

So, Thomas went to where Jonathan stayed while Wayne was kept under a close watch by the GCPD wanting to find out if his brother was housing any other criminals like he'd been with Jerome. 

Thomas went to the cornfield, and searched for the shack by the scarecrow. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Who are Wayne and Theo?" Hugo had lost track of how many times he'd asked that question. 

Jerome wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning either, no longer choking out sobs, his eyes glossy and rimmed with red, just kind of staring up at the ceiling as he realized Hugo had asked a question, taking a while to ponder on the words. 

A blurry but not distorted image of Wayne and Theo came to Jerome's mind, as though he was staring at them through a sheet of water. 

Jerome almost felt a fondness towards both of them, somewhat aware he'd been close to both of them. Wayne had been his best friend, Theo being the guy Jerome looked up to... 

At least, Jerome had ONCE been close to them. 

Something about Theo's hand on Wayne's shoulder enraged Jerome. Something about Wayne standing by Theo's side enraged him more. 

"Theo-" Jerome began, brow furrowing. "Theo did... something..." Hugo let out a sigh, wondering if they were ever going to get anywhere like this, revving up the defibrillators again, straightening up while raising his chin, and- "Wayne-" Jerome started, giving a frown. "Wayne did something, too, right?" 

Hugo felt a triumph begin to take place. "Yes, Jerome," He confirmed, pressing the defibrillators against Jerome's chest. "they left you, remember?" They were finally getting somewhere. 

The image of Theo and Wayne turned their backs to Jerome. 

"Yeah..." Jerome felt dazed. "Yeah... I do." 

The image faded. 

Hugo was winning. "Clear." 

At that, Jerome slipped away again, this time feeling an ache in his very core at Wayne's betrayal, trying to recall why Wayne had left him for Theo. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jonathan had opened the door with fear gas in his hand, expecting it to be robbers, or cops that had found him upon hearing the knock. 

What Jonathan hadn't expected was a rather familiar raven haired boy standing on his door step. 

Thomas parted his lips to greet the other. 

"Wayne?" Jonathan questioned taken aback, fear gas lowering, his cautious stance relaxing into a calm trusting one, looking the boy over in concern with a furrowed brow. 

Thomas shut his mouth upon hearing Jonathan call him by his brother's name. "I-" Thomas swallowed thickly, wondering if Jonathan would even care about how he was standing in the pouring rain if the other knew he wasn't his brother. "I need somewhere to stay..." Thomas requested softly, not correcting Jonathan's assumption towards him being his brother, because maybe if he pretended to be Wayne then Jonathan wouldn't send him away. 

Jonathan eyed Thomas over, Jonathan's eyes narrowing as their gazes locked, Thomas feeling his gut sink, and oh dear had Jonathan caught his bluff somehow? Thomas was supposed to be good at impersonations- 

"Okay," Jonathan permitted oh so trustingly, stepping aside and gesturing Thomas forward. "come inside and get yourself cleaned up-- I'll fix you a bit of warm soup and search for a spare pair of clothes for you." 

The tense Thomas relaxed-- Jonathan had taken the bait. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Who are Wayne and Theo?" Hugo calmly inquired while neatly setting the defibrillators to the side. 

Jerome grinned a not so nice grin, giving a laugh that lacked in joy as he abruptly sat up. "Is that some kinda' trick question, doc?" Jerome scoffed while swinging his legs over the medical table Hugo had unfastened him from. 

"Answer the question, Jerome." Hugo warned impatiently. 

"Well do you want the long answer or the short and sweet answer?" Jerome questioned with a cheeky smirk, earning a look that made him roll his eyes. "Fine. Theo's a backstabbing piece of shit, and Wayne's a slightly younger and smaller backstabbing piece of shit. That good enough for ya'?" 

Hugo gave a sigh at the choice of words, but didn't comment on them. "How so?" 

Jerome didn't get why Hugo was asking Jerome these questions, because Hugo was fully aware of what happened between him and those jackasses. "Wayne chose Theo over me like a bitch and made that old bastard look like a hero for trying to kill me off." Jerome answered with an irked laugh and an annoyed smirk, guessing these questions had to do with some kind of bullshit mind game or something, per usual. 

More foul language. "I suppose this will have to do..." Hugo muttered to himself. "In any case, you have a visitor here to see you, Jerome." 

Jerome's brow quirked. "Oh?" 

Hugo gave a nod and retrieved a small remote from his lab coat pocket, pressing a button and causing a buzzing noise to occur, the double doors opening. 

"Heya', buddy," A familiar man greeted, Jerome narrowing his eyes, because he knew this guy... "how have ya' been? I've missed ya'-- it's been too long!" Jester chuckled with a friendly grin. 

Jerome blinked at the words. Oh. Right-- this was one of Jerome's friends or something, wasn't he? 

Hugo had broken Jerome, and oh how Hugo would make Jerome break Wayne...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guess who Jay Luna and Charm are? ;) Feel free to comment who you believe they could be! 
> 
> I don't plan on confirming or denying any guesses other than saying "maybe", but I plan on revealing who they are later on in the story!
> 
> I'm also plan to give shoutouts to anyone who guesses right before the intended reveal!


	40. The Consequences of Truth

Alfred gave a sigh after entering the parlor upon not receiving an answer whence knocking, the butler's eyes landing on the raven haired boy that was leaned over in his office chair, cheek resting against his arm and bluish gray eyes shut, papers scattered beneath him on the desk he laid slumped against, the laptop screen in front of him gently lighting the dim room. 

The butler had lost count of how many times Wayne had fallen asleep like this lately, and he never stayed asleep for more than five hours... in fact, five hours was a rare and lucky amount of time for the boy to get. Generally, he only got about two. Typically, he'd began sleeping only every other day. 

Alfred knew better than to wake Wayne in attempts to usher the boy to his bedroom to take a break-- every time the guardian had done that before, Wayne refused to leave the workspace and just picked up wherever he'd left off at on his research. 

Lately Alfred had been settling for carefully laying a blanket on Wayne, not wanting to wake him and have the stubborn boy determinedly get back to such stressful work, instead allowing Wayne continue resting wherever he'd fallen asleep at so he'd at least get some rest. 

Alfred glanced at the computer as he laid the blanket on Wayne, eyes landing on the multiple tabs displayed on the screen: 'Arkham Secret Passages, Jerome Valeska Return News, Gotham Deaths Coverups, Hugo Strange Experiments.' 

It seemed the boy was still stuck on believing Jerome was somehow alive... Alfred just wanted the poor thing to accept his encounter with 'Jerome' had been no more than a cruel wishful dream-- after all, what else could it have been? 

Alfred's eyes lowered to the papers underneath Wayne, brow furrowing upon realizing they contained written theories on where Jerome could be and what Hugo was doing to him, as well as detailed reasons as to why Wayne was convinced it couldn't have been a dream when it came down to it. 

The butler gently ran his fingers through Wayne's hair while letting out a long and quiet breath, looking the boy over concerned as he stepped back, tensing as the wood creaked under his weight. 

Wayne's heavy eyelids fluttered open groggily, vision blurring into focus. "Jerome?" He muttered, throat dry. 

Alfred gave a heavy exhale as Wayne sat upright while rubbing his eyes. "Afraid not, Master B." 

Wayne yawned, having trouble keeping his eyes open and having to blink several long times, swaying in his seat somewhat and dizzily trying to stay upright, feeling nauseous from lack of rest, lips chapped and entire body stiff, achy, and heavy thanks to the awkward sleeping position he'd been using for a lengthy while. 

"Could I have some coffee and an energy bar, Alfred?" Wayne requested hoarsely, feeling parched as he tiredly got back to reading where he'd left off from. 

"I'll get you a water and some food, sir." Alfred offered as Wayne's stomach growled. "When's the last time you had a real meal?" 

"Never mind, Alfred." Wayne grumbled irritatedly, fingertips clacking against the keyboard keys more violently than usual. 

"This isn't healthy, Master B," Alfred scolded, Wayne's jaw clenching. "if you keep this kind of thing up, you're going to have health problems before you hit twenty." Wayne didn't reply, teeth gritting. "You need to take time to grieve right now, Master Wayne-- not distract yourself from something that happened which you just couldn't have stopped." Wayne set his jaw. "Jerome wouldn't want you going off and beating yourself up like this-" 

"Stop talking like he's gone, Alfred." Wayne snapped, glaring at the computer screen. 

Alfred scoffed before he could stop himself. "Bloody hell Wayne, how long are you going to go on insisting to yourself that little encounter you had with him was no more than a wishful dream?" 

Wayne swallowed dryly. "It wasn't a dream, Alfred." They'd already gone over this dozens of times before-- why couldn't Alfred just drop it? Wayne's mind was made. 

"I suppose you plan on continuing to tell yourself that until you land yourself in the looney bin?" Alfred persisted, trying to make Wayne understand how dangerous it was to revolve his life around a hopeful fairy tale Alfred was convinced hadn't happened. "Because that's exactly where you'll end up if you avoid facing the truth of the matter by distracting yourself with delusions." 

"I don't see why you find Jerome being alive so hard to believe considering everything else Hugo has done," Wayne calmly yet coldly spoke through clenched teeth. "you're acting like he hasn't brought people back before." 

"Well for one Jim made it rather clear you'd been asleep the entire time you claimed to have seen Jerome." Alfred countered while crossing his arms. 

"That was Clayface, not Jim," Wayne argued determinedly. "which makes it all the more likely he was covering something up." 

Alfred didn't back down. "It's been three weeks, Wayne-" 

"I'm aware," Wayne interjected heatedly, muscles tensing in annoyance. "for all we know years could go by and he could still be out there." 

"You plan on keeping this up for years, then?" Alfred questioned in attempts to get Wayne to realize just how ridiculous this entire thing was. 

"Wouldn't you refuse to stop searching for me?" Wayne countered in attempts to get Alfred to realize just how ridiculous this entire thing wasn't. "Even if everyone else was convinced I was a goner, wouldn't you keep looking if you were convinced there was even the smallest possibility I was still out there?" 

"Of course I would, but that's not the same thing!" Alfred's tone was raising. 

"Oh please, Alfred-- enlighten me on how it isn't the same thing." Wayne scoffed, tearing his attention away from the computer. 

"Well for one, if I was convinced you were still alive and about, it wouldn't be thanks to something like a bloody dream." 

"Oh my-" Wayne gave a frustrated cross between a groan and a sigh, wrenching out of his seat while shakily running his fingers through his hair, swallowing thickly. "It wasn't a dream!" He shouted, pacing around anxiously, eyes watering. "Do you even care he's gone?!" Alfred faltered, lips parting to reply before shutting, the guardian's brow furrowing. "Or are you just telling yourself he's gone in hopes I'll eventually just obediently believe it, too?" Wayne had been easily pissed off lately, and he'd recently began getting these absolutely awful shakes. 

"Now wait here just a minute-" Alfred objected at the accusation. 

"Oh, is that it?" Wayne scoffed bitterly while coming to a halt and glaring at Alfred, not even noticing the water dripping down his own cheeks. "You going of and trying to convince both of us that there's no reason to keep looking for him just makes you feel better about this entire thing, doesn't it?" Alfred started to say something, but Wayne interjected, "Even after he risked stopping Theo for me, you still can't stand him, can you?" Alfred went quiet at that. "I mean, it's not like you can just go off and say it, now can you? It's not like you can admit to still wanting Jerome out of here-- not after him doing a thing like that." 

"Wayne-" Alfred tried to speak up. 

"So what?" Wayne interrupted. "Instead you just act like he's gone for good so you don't have to feel guilty about wanting him gone even after he allowed himself to-" Wayne choked on his words, swallowing dryly as he blinked away the water gathering in his eyes, hands going into fists while his gut sank down with guilt more and more each second. "-to be the one who took Theo's attack that was aimed at me." 

"Jerome knew fully well what he was doing," Alfred spoke, but his tone was quieter and not nearly as harsh-- like he was trying to be assuring rather than scolding. "he wouldn't want you blaming yourself for something like this-" 

Wayne gave a frustrated exhale, hands running over his face tiredly, Alfred's words being anything but reassuring. "This isn't about me, Alfred-- it's about Jerome." 

"Well as I said, I doubt Jerome wouldn't want you going off and acting like what he did for you was anything but a choice." Alfred offered, but Wayne didn't want to be offered advice like that for something like this. "In fact, I'd say he'd want you to be smiling more than anything right now-- not getting upset about what he did for you and trying to find a way to somehow change it and defeating the purpose of his sacrifice by putting your own wellbeing at risk like this." 

"I'm not trying to change what happened, Alfred!" Wayne shouted, no longer bothering to lower his tone. "I'm aware I can't change the past-- that's not what this is about!" 

"Then what is it about?" Alfred nearly shouted right back, his tone also raising once again, and oh Wayne could just be so frustrating sometimes. "Trying to cope through chasing after a blissful dream while allowing yourself to slip from reality?!" Wayne blinked taken aback before glowering at the butler. "That's not healthy, Wayne-" 

"Why is it so hard for you to believe Hugo might have brought Jerome back just like he brought back Theo and Fish?!" Wayne snapped irritatedly. 

"Because even if he did manage to bring him back, you saw what a revived Theo was like!" Alfred finally admitted, Wayne going quiet and just staring at his guardian at that. "If by some chance Jerome is alive, I'm more than willing to bet he won't be in his right mind just like none of the others were in theirs!" Alfred wasn't trying to sound insensitive-- he was just trying to make sure Wayne stayed safe... even if that meant facing cold harsh facts. "The last thing the real Jerome would want is you going off and getting yourself killed by a confused maniac that's just not himself anymore!" 

So that's what this was about, then. Wayne gave a bitter scoff, all too calmly saying, "If Jerome isn't himself, I have the money to help him get back to himself." 

For the love of- "You can't save everyone, Wayne," Alfred sighed, taking a step forward and reaching out his hand to rest it on Wayne's shoulder. "not even with all the money in the world." 

Wayne jerked back, that being the last thing he wanted to hear. "That doesn't mean I shouldn't try." He wasn't yelling anymore, but his voice was shaky and cold. 

Alfred frowned as Wayne stormed around him to leave the study room, a worried exhale leaving the guardian's lips. "Oh dear..." 

Charm had shown Wayne how his future unraveled-- how he lost everyone. Wayne felt hopeless like this... it was like everything and everyone was slipping through his hands, and he couldn't do anything about it. It seemed like the harder he tried to hang on, the quicker things fell apart. It seemed as though his future really was set after all, and it was frustrating that he felt like he couldn't do anything about it. Nonetheless, Wayne was too damn stubborn to accept that. 

It didn't help that the entire thing with Charm was becoming harder and harder to remember each day-- like a dream getting fuzzier and fuzzier as time went by. Every time he tried to write about it, it seemed like his mind went blank, and he just couldn't recall a single thing. When he'd get frustrated and quit attempting to recall what to write, he always found he'd forgotten even more when leaving his writing station, so after the fourth time attempting to write about the events that Charm had shown him, Wayne chose to stop trying that altogether to be sure he didn't go off and make himself forget everything. 

Most of the glimpses into his future had been so vivid before, but over the course of three weeks they had all gotten blurred... other than that clown guy and bat thing-- Wayne still recalled them pretty vividly. 

Wayne made his way to one of the guest bedrooms, because he'd had trouble sleeping in his own room-- that's where Jerome's mattress was at. It really didn't help that all of Wayne's other friends had had to go into hiding thanks to Wayne getting randomized weekly visits from the GCPD that made sure he wasn't housing any other criminals like he'd been housing Jerome. 

For a while Harley had stayed with Wayne since she was the only one without a record, however there had been a day in which an officer recognized her as a missing person case. He hadn't cared about the nasty bruises that were still littering Harley's skin-- he just cared about getting a reward for bringing her in. 

It was weeks before Wayne saw her again, and when he did she had fresh bruise marks all over her, and she'd been sobbing out words that were hard to understand, but Wayne did catch the words, 'dad' and 'drunk.' 

Wayne had let Harley stay the night, and even offered to let her hideout. Harley had objected though, and while she wouldn't say why, Wayne was well aware Alfred was on thin ice and under an investigation pertaining to whether he'd really not known about the criminal Wayne had been housing. So, Harley didn't want to risk getting them in more trouble than they were already in and have to watch Wayne be taken away from Alfred if the guardian was deemed unfit. 

It made Wayne feel awful that Harley kept going back out on the streets before being caught and sent back to that horrible household because of her trying to look out for him. 

Wayne had tried to anonymously contact social services several times to report what was going on, but they still hadn't done anything about it. It was laughable that they cared more about whether a good man like Alfred was a fit guardian than whether Harley's own dad could be one. 

However, that's just how things in Gotham went-- every facility was corrupted... police, judges, lawyers, juries, social services, homeless shelters, accounting companies... they just cared about money rather than the people they were supposed to look out for. They cared about getting involved with the rich one way or another-- not the ones that weren't so well off that they were supposed to care about. 

Wayne had tried to get Gordon and Bullock involved since he knew those detectives actually gave a shit, and they'd at least been trying to help. However, considering they were some of the select few that actually cared about helping the people needing help in Gotham, they had quite a bit on their plates which they were trying to balance out. They were trying to help Harley, but the process was lengthy, and they couldn't find a way to speed it up, and were constantly being pulled into other dangerous situations. 

It didn't help that Harley was considered just one life compared to dozens of lives the detectives were having to save from criminals daily. That pissed Wayne off, but at the same time he understood their reasoning. 

Whenever Harley would sneak out to visit Wayne nowadays, it would be after midnight since that was usually about when her dad passed out from all the booze he'd been drinking; Jerome wasn't the only reason Wayne stayed up so late. 

Wayne had ended up giving his friends a key to the manor a while back so they'd have a way to get in if he and Alfred were ever asleep or away. 

Sometimes Wayne regretted having done that when Harley would burst into his room and nearly make him- 

"Hiya' Wayne!" Harley greeted enthusiastically while slamming the door open, causing the drifting Wayne to jump awake, causing her grin to fall into a sheepish smile. "Oh, oops... did I wake ya' up?" 

"No." Wayne lied with a yawn while sitting upright on the mattress, rubbing his eyes that were having trouble not falling shut. "Are you okay?" Wayne asked, because lately she'd only been coming around when things got particularly bad at home. 

"Yep!" Harley answered with an assuring grin while practically skipping over towards the mattress. "Never better!" She added as she hopped onto the bed, legs crossing. 

Wayne strained to keep his eyes open, blurred vision focusing on Harley's face, eyes landing on cheap makeup rather obviously smothered over a bruise around her eye, causing Wayne to let out a long breath while getting up, causing Harley's expression to fall, her gaze averting. 

Harley had been trying (and failing) to cover up her beatings lately. She knew Wayne was stressing out about Jerome, and didn't want to worry him. However, her attempting to hide her injuries just stressed Wayne out even more. 

"I really would prefer you just telling me the truth." Wayne calmly requested, but with the way that Harley's shoulders slumped it would have seemed like he'd coldly scolded her, which was the last thing he was trying to do. 

"I'm fine," Harley waved off with a not so convincing smile. "really-- it doesn't hurt at all." 

Wayne eyed Harley over concerned as he picked up the first aid kit he kept on the bedside table. "I doubt a black eye wouldn't hurt, Harley." 

Harley shrunk into herself, quietly insisting, "I've had worse." 

Wayne was aware of that-- aware of the time she'd come in with a fractured rib. "Just because you've had worse doesn't make something like this any better." He sighed, pulling out a gauze from the kit, sitting on the edge of the bed beside Harley and dabbing at the makeup gently, frowning as she winced. 

"It's not like it's a broken nose." Harley laughed weakly, gaze averting. 

Wayne gave her a look that was more concerned than stern as he threw the gauze in the trash can near his bedside before taking out a small container of numbing gel. "I assume getting a broken nose would make you shrug that off too by claiming it's not as bad as a broken arm." 

Harley hesitantly looked back at Wayne. "It's really nothi'n to worry about, Wayne," She forced a smile. "I've made it this long, haven't I?" 

"You shouldn't have to focus on just making it through every damn day," Wayne snapped in frustration. "what about the day you get more than a black eye, or fractured rib, or broken arm?" His voice was raising. "What are you going to do if he goes too far and gives you an injury I can't patch up?!" 

Harley had tensed at Wayne's raised tone, body locking up as he spoke, flinching at his last sentence while she looked down at her lap, fidgeting somewhat. "I'm-" She swallowed thickly, eyes watering. "I'm sorry, I wasn't-" She clenched onto her skirt tightly. "I wasn't tryi'n to-" Her voice wavered, lower lip quivering. 

Shit. 

"No, don't-" Wayne sighed. "Don't apologize," He said in a much quieter voice, carefully placing a hand on Harley's upper arm, causing her to flinch again, Wayne frowning and almost pulling his hand back, yet halting as she leaned into the touch. "I'm not upset at you," He continued reassuringly, Harley sniffling as he gently rubbed her arm comfortingly. "I'm just-" Harley warily looked up at him. "I'm just worried about you-- that's all." 

"But you don't have to worry about me." Harley insisted while rubbing the water out of her eyes with her palm, and the last thing she wanted to do was stress Wayne out even more than she already had. 

"Of course I do," Wayne persisted, patting Harley's arm before pulling back. "you mean a lot to me, Harley-- you know that." All of his friends did-- they'd given Wayne a family. "Although I'd at least worry a lot less if you'd just tell me when something rough like this is going on with you, instead of trying to keep it a secret for my sake." 

Harley gave a soft laugh, eyes still brimming with water. "I- um- I guess I kinda' suck at keepi'n secrets, huh?" 

Wayne offered a slight smile while giving a shrug. "Maybe a little." He turned his attention towards the numbing gel, opening up the container and pouring a bit onto his fingertip. 

Harley looked up while Wayne dabbed the medicine onto the bruise under her eye. "Ya' kinda' suck at keepi'n secrets, too." 

Wayne quirked a brow, rubbing the gel carefully against the bruise mark. "What do you mean?" 

Harley stared up at the ceiling. "I mean I can tell there's somethi'n botheri'n you, too." 

Wayne's expression fell, going quiet as he worked a bit more on Harley's eye before screwing the cap back onto the bottle, setting it neatly back into the first aid kit, eventually saying, "I've just been staying up late searching for clues on Jerome-- that's all." 

Harley brought her gaze back down to Wayne's. "Ya' sure that's all?" 

It was Wayne's turn to avert his gaze. "Yes." 

Harley eyed Wayne over. "Like I said, ya' not exactly a good liar either, Wayne." When Wayne didn't say anything back, Harley hesitantly added, "If ya' want me to be honest about things botheri'n me, then ya' have gotta' be honest about when things are botheri'n you." 

Wayne hadn't even talked with Alfred about this, so he tried to make it sound like he was just worried about Jerome and nothing else. "What if that entire thing where I got to see Jerome again really was a dream?" Wayne spoke up, and while this was something that was bothering him, it certainly wasn't the only thing, but that didn't stop him from trying to make it sound like it was. "What if he really is gone for good?" Wayne figured this should be convincing enough to get Harley to stop worrying about how there was definitely something else going on. "What if everything I'm doing to try to find him will all turn out to be for a disappointing nothing?" Wayne was trying to do what Harley had been trying to do-- he was trying to not concern her too much. "I feel like I'm losing him again, and I-" Wayne swallowed dryly. "I don't know if I can handle that again." Wayne hesitantly met Harley's gaze, worried she could see right through him, trying to be as convincing as possible. "Do you reckon he could be..." Wayne trailed off, and to be fair this was a very real concern he had-- just not the only one. 

Harley looked Wayne over with a furrowed brow, not the slightest trace of a smile on her face, seeming more concerned and sympathetic than anything, pondering on what to say as she stayed quiet for a long, long time. 

Eventually, she spoke up after a few lengthy seconds to softly reply, "Consideri'n Hugo went and brought all those other people back, I'd say he coulda' brought back Jerome, too," She paused, eying Wayne over while hesitantly adding, "I mean, Jerome was ya' best friend 'n all... it wouldn't surprise me if Hugo wanted to use him as some kinda' leverage on ya' or something." Wayne's averted gaze turned towards Harley, the boy staring at her thankful that she hadn't sugarcoated that very real possibility-- he wanted her to be honest and not coddle him right now. "So yeah, I'd say it's possible he's doi'n just fine," Harley bit her lower lip. "but I'd also say it's also possible ya' just had a dream 'n it was nothi'n more than that, which is somethi'n ya' should really be keeping in mind just in case he's not..." She trailed off before letting out a weary exhale. "I guess what I'm sayi'n is ya' shouldn't lose hope, but ya' also should be prepared for disappointment, ya' know?" 

That was all Wayne had wanted to hear-- all Wayne wanted Alfred to say rather than making it sound like there was absolutely no chance at all. 

"What if he is back," Wayne found himself quietly beginning to ask, looking down at his lap with a furrowed brow as he chewed on his lower lip. "but whatever Hugo did to him has..." Wayne gave a shaky breath. "... changed him or... whatever?" 

Harley nudged Wayne, earning a glance. "Then maybe ya' can help him get back to himself with all that rich boy cash ya' have." She teased with an assuring smile. 

"What if I can't?" Wayne muttered, and geez he felt vulnerable talking like this; he wasn't good at... this-- at expressing himself like this... or conveying emotions or... whatever. 

Harley's smile fell, being replaced by a serious yet apologetic stare. "Then ya' just be sure to keep telli'n yourself that the old Jerome wouldn't want ya' beating yourself up for somethi'n out of ya' control." 

That was... fair enough. It didn't make Wayne magically feel one hundred percent better, but it did help a little bit, which was something in the very least-- something that was rather significant when it had felt like nothing was helping for a while now. 

"Thanks, Harley." Wayne said with a slight smile that was mostly forced, but at least somewhat genuine. 

Harley nodded, but didn't smile back. Instead, she just stared at Wayne for a while before finally knowingly asking, "What else?" 

Dangit. 

"Huh?" Wayne questioned as innocently as he could. 

Harley crossed her arms, giving Wayne a look. "What else is botheri'n you?" 

"Nothing." Wayne lied despite how Harley could practically see right through him. 

"I might be a bad liar, but ya' a REALLY bad liar, Wayne." Harley persisted. 

Wayne scoffed. "I'm not lying about anything!" Harley just stared at him. "Seriously, nothing else is bothering me." That earned a look. "I don't know what you're-" Harley raised her chin, arms crossing, eying Wayne over. "I just- you're not- I'm really- you don't-" Wayne gave a sigh, finally just going with, "You wouldn't... get it." 

"Try me." Harley insisted stubbornly, earning a slight glare more stubborn than angry. "I agreed to tell ya' when somethi'n is botheri'n me, so ain't ya' supposed to do the same?" 

Wayne continued staring at Harley for a few seconds that felt like minutes, the girl staring right back at him, causing Wayne to eventually let out a heavy exhale. "You wouldn't believe me," Harley blinked taken aback, head tilting. "it sounds kind of... crazy..." 

"There are literally monsters roami'n around Gotham, Wayne-- I doubt anythi'n ya' say will sound much crazier than that." Harley countered with a shrug. 

Well... Wayne couldn't exactly argue with that. 

So, Wayne uncertainly averted his gaze, anxiously chewed on the inside of his cheek, and hesitantly began to explain what was going on. 

"Long story short... when I was in Arkham, I encountered these two girls called Jay Luna and Charm," Wayne admitted while rubbing his upper arm. "I guess they were some of Hugo's experiments or something... they did-" Wayne paused. "-they showed-" He corrected. "-something to me that I doubt anyone... normal or human or whatever would be able to show." Harley patiently stayed quiet, listening intently. "One second I was in Arkham, the next I was in some weird place surrounded by smoke or fog or... something." He swallowed dryly, giving a sigh. "Wherever it was they brought me, it showed me all these awful things that were-" Wayne frowned, getting caught up on his words. "-that were a metaphor or some shit for..." He trailed off. 

A concerned Harley eyed Wayne over, softly urging, "For..?" 

Wayne couldn't meet Harley's eyes-- he felt like a crazy ol' fool telling her this... she probably considered him one; this would sound preposterous to anyone. 

Nonetheless, Wayne just wanted to get this over with, so he continued, "They showed me a- a- I don't know," Wayne let out a frustrated exhale. "a vision or some shit-- they showed me a 'glimpse' into my future, or whatever it was they called it." 

Harley just stared at Wayne, not reacting in the least. "What exactly did ya' see?" 

Wayne hadn't even told Alfred about this-- Harley had been the first he'd said anything about the entire event to. "It was- it was subtle, but- but it was supposed to- well... it was supposed to represent-" Wayne was choking up on his words, resulting in him blurting out, "I saw myself going against... everyone." 

"Everyone?" Harley questioned unsurely. 

"Everyone I've befriended," Wayne elaborated. "or at least I'm pretty sure it was everyone... it was kind of hard to figure out what was supposed to symbolize what." 

Harley was trying to make sense of what Wayne was saying. "Wayne, I don't-" 

Wayne gave a strained huff while abruptly standing up, keeping his gaze averted as he took a few steps back, just wanting to get some space to himself, arms crossing vulnerably. "I'm- I'm pretty sure they were showing me something's going to happen between us-- something bad." Before Harley could ask him what he meant, Wayne continued, "You, Selina, Ivy, Jen, Jonathan... Jerome... I'm- I'm almost certain something bad's going to happen, and I'm going to- to lose all of you." 

Harley quirked a brow. "Like we're all gonna' get killed or somethi'n?" That certainly wasn't comforting to hear. 

"No," Wayne quickly corrected reassuringly. "bad as in-" He had gotten so good at controlling his emotions, but lately he felt like he was absolutely falling apart. "bad as in-" Wayne had began falling apart after believing he'd lost Jerome, and he was having trouble putting himself back together. "-as in-" It didn't help Wayne was no longer certain about Jerome's status, not to mention the lingering concern of losing his friends he barely saw anymore just worsened things. "-bad as in us going our separate ways, only to come back around hating and fighting each other." Wayne felt warm water spill out of his eyes and run down his cheeks, failing to keep it in. 

Wayne hated this. Hated feeling vulnerable. Hated risking letting his walls fall since that could lead to him being defenseless. Hated admitting anything that made him sound weak rather than keeping his mouth shut. Hated having trouble controlling his emotions. 

Wayne hated that he probably sounded absolutely nuts to the Harley that just stared at him as he waited for her to be a bad liar and act like she wasn't judging him for sounding batshit crazy even though he'd just claimed to have a vision of the future or some shit, and oh dear Wayne did sound totally bonkers didn't he- 

"Well I dunno' much about telli'n the future 'n all that," Harley finally spoke up while standing, Wayne blinking and finally looking at her. "but gosh dangit Wayne, I do know ya' the only family we have-- or the only good one, in any case," Harley walked forward, Wayne just staring at her. "heck, if it wasn't for you, a lot of us probably wouldn't have ever met," She stood right in front of Wayne, standing on the tips of her toes to meet him at eye level. "so you listen to me, Bruce Wayne, and you listen well," She gripped his upper arms, giving them a squeeze. "ain't none of us gonna' EVER even consider doi'n a darn thing to hurt ya', and we know ya' not gonna' do anything to hurt us either-- not after all we've been through together... and certainly not when you're one of the things that are keepi'n us all together the same way ya' the thing that brought us all together!" 

For a while, Wayne just stared at the rather determined Harley quite taken aback, and then after a while of just staring, he finally cared very little about the water streaming down his cheeks, and much more about pulling Harley into a tight hug. 

Of course, Harley hugged back just as tightly, and for a while, things finally felt okay. 

Eventually, Wayne of course pulled back, and his voice was hoarse, but that didn't mean he didn't feel at least a bit better. "I um- I should keep looking up stuff on Jerome..." 

Harley gave the fatigued Wayne a look while huffing, "Nuh-uh, you needa' get some rest! I'll do the researchi'n if you take a nap!" Wayne started to object and insist Harley should be the one to relax, resulting in her assuringly interjecting, "I'm stocked full of sugar 'n wide awake, Wayne-- I couldn't sleep even if I tried!" 

At that, Wayne hesitated, before eventually giving a nod and taking Harley up on the offer, giving her the laptop to do the research and finally getting some much needed rest. 

Although Wayne realized it certainly wasn't a very good rest when he found himself drifting off only to be in a familiar place surrounded by familiar smoky black fog tinted green with a woman standing in front of him. 

"Oh great," Wayne scoffed. "now you're following me into my dreams, too?" 

Charm didn't comment on Wayne's snarky greeting, instead just stating in a calm tone, "It's interesting to see you so expressive and her so caring towards you," Charm's chin raised, arms going behind her back. "it differs from what you two inevitably become." 

"You really don't seem like the type to accept they might be wrong every once in a while." Wayne snapped coldly. 

"You claim I'm wrong about the future I've experienced with my own eyes and self?" Charm questioned in an even tone, hand raising, the tips of her middle finger and thumb pressing together. "Do not thrust your bitterness upon me for a truth you do not want-- I merely bestowed upon you the truth... I did not form it." 

"Can you stop talking like you're from Salem for one minute-" Wayne annoyedly said through clenched teeth before Charm snapped her fingers, causing him to blink as his surroundings began to blur. 

"I'm trying to give you a cruel truth now so it will sting less than it would later," Charm informed quietly. "the longer you deny it, the more significant the consequences will be." 

Before Wayne could say anything back, Charm had nonetheless mercifully slipped him into a dream in which he was surrounded by friends in attempts to get him to have a proper rest... so he would be prepared for what she foresaw coming. 

Thomas Jr., meanwhile, found himself jerking awake after having a rather nasty nightmare about being back in Arkham, the boy clenching the sheets as he attempted to steady his rapid breathing as quickly as possible, chest rising and falling repeatedly, eyes wide as he swallowed thickly, throat parched and tongue dry, the vivid images of Hugo's torture still flashing throughout his mind while he silently assured himself it had only been a nightmare, and he was awake now. 

Thomas let out a shaky breath, glancing at the sleeping bag beside him and frowning upon noticing it was empty, the antsy boy scanning the inside of the shack warily, feeling much to vulnerable alone like this in a place he still wasn't used to. 

After taking a few more lengthy seconds to collect himself, Thomas shakily stood up, rubbing his chilly arms while uncertainly shuffling his way towards the door, carefully cracking it quietly open just a bit to steal a glance outside, gaze landing on Jonathan lounging around in the cornfield. 

Thomas raised a brow, wondering what the older one was doing as he paused before forcing himself to step outside, Jonathan turning to look at him when hearing the door creak open. 

"Are you feeling well, Wayne?" Jonathan asked concerned, sitting upright as Thomas timidly walked towards him. 

Thomas still hadn't told Jonathan he wasn't his brother, and didn't plan on ever doing so-- not after the reaction doing such had gotten from Jerome. 

So, Thomas answered to his brother's name, and said, "I'm fine, I just had a- um..." He trailed off, gaze averting, halting awkwardly in front of the Jonathan gazing up at him. 

"Did you have an unpleasant dream?" Jonathan inquired, earning a slight nod. "Would you like to sit down?" 

Thomas relaxed at least somewhat at the offer. "Sure... thanks." Generally, Thomas preferred isolation, however being in a creepy as hell cornfield in a creepy as hell shack smack in the middle of it had him preferring to not be all alone. 

It almost made Thomas feel silly-- he'd been trapped inside a torturous Arkham for so long, which was a truly dangerous place, yet here he was in a relatively abandoned cornfield being all nervous about his silly irrational fears of some kind of creatures hiding in the dark whenever his mind wandered. 

When Thomas sat down, Jonathan glanced at him before looking back up towards the sky above. "It's consistently a rather cloudy forecast in Gotham," He commented musingly. "although occasionally I like to imagine you can see the stars and whatnot." 

Thomas quirked a brow, looking down intrigued at the Jonathan laying on the ground. "... Why?" It seemed like a rather silly thing to pretend to do, and Jonathan seemed like such a serious guy. 

Jonathan paused, not meeting Thomas' questioning stare, continuing to look up at the gloomy sky before answering, "Before I had the regretful experience of losing my family, we had shared ownership over another farm in Smallville-- my mother and I or my father and I would watch over it whenever its primary owners would go on leave, while one person stayed here to watch this one." Jonathan explained musingly. "It was a much more sizable property that wasn't nearly as dreary as this one, and had a much wider variety of produce; the crops rarely perished, unlike the crops here oftentimes do." Jonathan wasn't generally nostalgic, but sometimes he felt a little sentimental and saw no harm in reminiscing a bit every now and again. "After the sun lowered, I would sneak outside of my window and onto the roof to observe the shooting stars every now and then-- the sky there always seemed to be crystal clear." Jonathan's brow furrowed, his gaze averting from the sky towards a row of corn stalks, not meeting Thomas' intrigued stare. "It would have been pleasant if the farm owner had considered..." Jonathan trailed off. 

Thomas tilted his head at that. "Considered what?" 

Jonathan frowned, eying the corn broodingly, eventually giving a sight and sitting up, keeping his gaze averted. "Nothing-- it's a silly matter to fret about." 

Dangit. Now Thomas really wanted to know what Jonathan was going to say. 

"I wouldn't find it silly." Thomas assured, eying Jonathan over and trying to figure out what he'd been talking about. 

Jonathan finally looked at Thomas. "I highly doubt you'd know whether or not you'd consider something silly until you knew exactly what that something was." 

Thomas still wasn't used to someone only two years older than him speaking so properly-- even Hugo didn't talk THAT properly. 

"I'm just saying you can tell me if you want to." Thomas muttered with a shrug. 

"I'm aware I could at this time and moment tell you if I wanted to. It's not currently a matter of whether I'm able or unable to relay what I was previously going to say to you-- it's a matter of whether or not I have any desire to do so." Jonathan replied in a completely serious tone. 

For the love of- "I just meant that I won't judge you or whatever if you tell me." Thomas corrected while crossing his arms. 

"Everyone judges everyone's actions-- it's just a matter of how significantly they judge them, and whether the judgement is approving or disproving." Jonathan continued, nonetheless. 

Thomas had to stop himself from rolling his eyes as he sighed, "You know what I mean-" 

"And what precisely are you claiming I know in this case?" Jonathan questioned. 

"You know what? Nevermi-" Thomas started to say before noticing Jonathan was ever so slightly smirking at him. "You're giving me a hard time about this on purpose, aren't you?" 

The left corner of Jonathan's lips tugged up somewhat more so. "I could be." 

"If you didn't want to tell me whatever you were going to say, you could have just told me that." Thomas huffed, more annoyed than angry. 

Jonathan smirked even more at that. "Oh, and you wouldn't have stubbornly persisted in attempting to figure out whatever it was I chose to not say?" 

"No, I wouldn't have." Thomas lied a bit defensively, earning an amused stare. "Okay, you know what? Let's just drop it." Thomas was close to not even caring about whatever it was Jonathan was going to say. 

Jonathan gave a shrug. "Fair enough," He agreed in satisfaction while laying back down on the ground. "although if you genuinely want to know what I'm referring to so badly, perhaps we could make an exchange." 

Thomas' eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?" 

Jonathan stared back up at the cloudy sky while smoothly elaborating, "Considering the past can be a rather personal thing to discuss, perhaps I'll tell you more of mine if you tell me a bit about yours, Wayne." 

Crap. Thomas didn't know shit about his brother's past. Even if he did, it seemed like Jonathan should already know quite a bit about it considering Jonathan and Wayne seemed to be pretty close buddies. 

"Well what do you want to know?" Thomas murmured uncertainly, figuring he could just make something up and hoping it wouldn't contradict anything Wayne had already told Jonathan. 

Jonathan shrugged, continuing to look up at the sky. "Something interesting, preferably." 

Thomas scoffed. "Oh I'm sorry, am I generally not interesting enough for you?" 

Jonathan arched a brow, looking at Thomas before giving another slight smirk that was barely visible on his lips, and would have to be squinted at to be properly seen. "You certainly seem rather confrontational tonight." 

Shit-- right... Thomas should be acting like his brother; to be fair, sometimes his brother could be pretty snarky. 

"I'm just tired." Thomas grumbled dismissively. 

"Then is there a particular reason you're out here up and about and not in there resting?" Jonathan inquired while gesturing towards the shack. 

"Maybe I just wanted to hang out with you some." Thomas huffed, starting to regret even coming out here in the first place when he probably should have just stayed in the shack with how Jonathan was suddenly acting like such a little shit. 

Jonathan blinked, just staring at the younger for a while before eventually averting his gaze to the side, no longer wearing a vague smirk. "As humbling as that is, I really would rather you rest up-- I don't exactly want you becoming sleep depraved due to me." 

"Just because I'm tired doesn't mean I can sleep." Thomas exhaled in frustration, annoyedly falling backwards from his sitting position and into a laying one, arms crossing as he glared up at the cloudy sky. 

Jonathan raised a brow while turning his attention towards the smaller one, just staring at him for a long while before eventually speaking up to mutter, "What was it about?" 

Thomas glanced at Jonathan with a furrowed brow. "What?" 

"Your nightmare," Jonathan elaborated. "what was it about?" 

Thomas blinked, returning Jonathan's patient stare before looking back up towards the sky. "The alleyway." Thomas lied, because it hadn't been about the alleyway-- it had been about Arkham. It had been a reoccurring dream where the awful people Hugo had assigned him would... 

... 

... no. Thomas wanted to keep his mind off of that. 

Jonathan continued staring at the raven haired boy. "Go to sleep." 

Thomas' eyebrows raised. "Huh?" 

"Go to sleep," Jonathan repeated while standing up. "the fresh air out here should do you some good-- there's a high chance you'll be able to slumber better out here compared to that dreary stuffy shack." 

Thomas sat up as Jonathan began walking towards the shack. "Where are you going?" 

"To retrieve proper sleeping supplies." Jonathan answered dismissively. "Lay back down-- I'll only be a few seconds, and I'll remain out here with you until whenever it is you wake up." 

"You don't have to do that-" Thomas started to object, because he didn't want to be a burden and risk getting on Jonathan's nerves considering that could very well get him kicked out. 

"I know." Jonathan interjected reassuringly, the shack door closing behind him. 

Sure enough, Jonathan came back with two sleeping bags and a pair of pillows, and sure enough, he laid down a few feet away from Thomas before turning on his side and shutting his eyes without another word. 

Thomas hesitantly turned on his side to face Jonathan, and for a few lengthy seconds that felt like minutes, Thomas just stared at Jonathan before eventually saying in a voice that was quiet despite how they were all alone in the middle of a secluded cornfield, "Why were you have trouble sleeping?" Jonathan cracked an eye open to look at him. "Did you have a bad dream, too?" 

Jonathan's eye fell shut once more. "I had a dream that's only good when you're dreaming, and not so good when you wake up." 

Thomas should have expected the vague answer. "Goodnight." He sighed, not expecting to get a straight answer. 

"Goodnight, Wayne." Jonathan said back as they both drifted off, and when Thomas woke up the next morning, he found Jonathan had kept his word and remained by his side, the older one reading some kind of book. "You're awake," Jonathan commented without even having to look at the other, which Thomas found slightly creepy, but more impressive than anything. "what do you want for breakfast?" 

"I'm assuming I have to choose between corn hash, corn cake stacks, or corn fritters?" Thomas yawned, well aware of the 'menu items' by now... and surprise surprise, every single one of them involved corn one way or another. 

"You're absolutely correct." Jonathan confirmed while setting his book down and sitting upright, cracking his neck from side to side. 

Thomas also sat up, stretching his arms and causing his shirt to lift above his waist somewhat. "How about we have corn hash today?" That was Thomas' favorite out of all the limited breakfast options. 

Jonathan found his eyes glancing down at the stretching Thomas' sliver of exposed skin, his attention being caught by something rather peculiar that he noticed... 

... 

... "Where are those scars from?" Jonathan heard himself questioning before he even considered what he was saying. 

Thomas' body locked up, eyes going wide, gut sinking. "What-" He quickly stopped stretching and allowed his arms to fall to his side before crossing them defensively, shirt lowering over the scarred skin. "Why-" Shit shit shit. "Why are you paying attention to- to what's-" Jonathan had spotted the scars Thomas had received from Hugo's experiments. "Why do you care what's under my shirt?!" Thomas found himself accusing in a desperate attempt to change the subject one way or another, wanting to face-palm himself at how THAT'S what he'd decided was an apparently good idea to go with. 

Jonathan certainly hadn't expected that reply. "I beg your pardon?" He questioned, as though he couldn't have heard the other correctly. "I certainly wasn't-" Jonathan started to say upon realizing he apparently had heard correctly with the look the younger was giving him. "I didn't intend to-" Jonathan cleared his throat. "I simply meant-" Thomas' brow quirked, because he had certainly NEVER seen nor heard Jonathan lose his cool and stutter like this, much less look so flustered like that. "You know what? I suppose it just isn't any of my business-- I shouldn't have asked, and I apologize for such." Jonathan quickly said while standing up and brushing himself off. "You said corn fritters, correct?" Now it was Jonathan trying to change the subject. 

To be fair, Thomas' face was heating up just as much as Jonathan's, if not more. "I- um- it's fine..." He murmured while averting his gaze. "and no, I said- I said corn hash," He swallowed thickly. "if that's okay with you..." 

"Corn hash it is." Jonathan agreed almost instantly, not quite sure what the hell was wrong with himself as he speedily turned around and quickly walked towards the shack, figuring the smaller one's comment had just... caught him off guard or... something. 

When it came down to it, the frenzied Jonathan had lit the fire pit and ended up not cooking corn hash nor corn fritters, but instead accidentally cooked corn cake stacks. 

At least Jonathan and Thomas had both calmed down somewhat when Jonathan served the food, neither saying anything to one another for nearly the entire meal. 

Then Thomas just had to go and mutter, "I've- um..." Jonathan glanced at the boy keeping his gaze averted. "I've never seen you get that-" Thomas couldn't help but smirk, looking up at Jonathan, and when Jonathan saw that smirk he gave the raven haired boy a look, yet Thomas continued with a chuckle, "I've never seen you get so flustered before.", before letting out another small laugh. 

"Oh I suppose you find putting me in a rather awkward position like that quite funny." Jonathan said back more sarcastic than unamused as Thomas couldn't help but slightly laugh. 

Thomas had to cover up his mouth at the look Jonathan was giving him, trying to hide his grin. "I'm sorry," He laughed despite not being all that sorry. "I just- gosh your face- and you're usually so serious and- it was just so-" Thomas couldn't manage to get out what he was trying to say through the soft laughs he stopped attempting to hold in. 

"Oh please, pay no mind to my expense-- laugh away all you please." Jonathan spoke while giving an eye roll, arms crossing. 

Thomas cleared his throat, trying to thin his smiling lips into a straight line. "Okay, okay-- I'll stop." He gave Jonathan a very serious look. "I'm sorry." 

Jonathan stared at the other. "No you're not." 

Thomas couldn't stop the smile that cracked through his lips again. "Okay, maybe I'm not, but-" Jonathan gave a sigh while standing up and gathering their plates. "Listen, I'm just-" Thomas swallowed his laugh, gently grabbing Jonathan's wrist, causing the taller one to halt. "I'm sorry, I just- I haven't laughed like this in a while is all." Thomas explained apologetically with a smile, not wanting it to seem like he was teasing Jonathan in a mean way. 

Jonathan glanced at the boy's hand on his wrist, causing Thomas to blink, the younger's smile falling as he quickly pulled back and averted his gaze, Jonathan pausing before assuring in a mutter, "It's fine...", walking away and towards the container filled with soapy water to wash their plates. 

Thomas stared down at his lap. "Right..." He'd been with Jonathan for three weeks and gotten relatively comfortable with the other. Comfortable enough to joke around about small silly things. Comfortable enough to laugh about the little things. Comfortable enough to even be himself sometimes, and not act like his brother, and briefly trust Jonathan. 

Too comfortable. Thomas had become too comfortable. Thomas had gotten comfortable with slipping up by doing something his brother wouldn't do, and causing Jonathan to notice it. Thomas had to be careful-- he couldn't let on that he wasn't his brother and risk being thrown out by Jonathan the same way he'd been dismissed by Jerome upon that realization. 

Thomas had admittedly gotten a bit... fond of Jonathan. Maybe a little more 'fond' than his brother had been of Jonathan. Wayne might have been friendly with Jonathan, but Thomas was acting... like... REALLY friendly with him. Wayne was close to Jonathan, but Thomas was getting a little too close for comfort with Jonathan... 

... 

... Oh. Oh geez. Oh dear no... Thomas was getting just about as cozy with Jonathan as Wayne was with Jerome. 

All right, yeah-- Thomas DEFINITELY wanted to start working on making sure he didn't overstep any boundaries that would make Jonathan suspicious and- 

"It's okay," Jonathan assured after he finished washing the dishes, hand resting on the smaller' shoulder, feeling the other tense up underneath him. "I'm aware you were just joking," the raven haired boy swallowed dryly and looked up at Jonathan with wide eyes. "right, Wayne?" 

Thomas forced on a smile and gave a nod, instantly agreeing, "Yep!" 

Jonathan eyed the boy over, gazing over his expression, Thomas wondering if the older one had somehow caught on and- 

"Are you feeling unwell?" Jonathan questioned, hand lifting so he could rest his knuckles against the younger's forehead while adding, "You look rather flushed." 

Oh dear DC. 

"Do I?" Thomas asked, voice cracking, which he silently convinced himself was thanks to no more than just being an average teenager. "I- um- I feel fine." He added when receiving a tilted head from Jonathan. "I'm just- it's a little hot- it's warm in here... that's all." 

Jonathan's hand fell to his side, not breaking the smaller one's gaze. "Is it?" The raven haired boy nodded as convincingly as he could. "I hadn't noticed." Jonathan mused, earning a shrug accompanied by a (forced) smile, causing Jonathan to continue looking the boy over before finally saying, "Perhaps we should get out of this old shack for a bit-- it is rather muggy in here," He gestured for the other to get up while walking towards the door. "I'll show you a murder." 

Thomas froze up. "A what?" Oh no, Jonathan had totally found him out- 

"A murder." Jonathan repeated, halting at the threshold and looking over his shoulder at the younger. "It's what you refer to when addressing a flock of crows." 

Oh. Right. Okay-- yeah. That made a lot more sense... it was certainly more comforting, in any case. 

In fact, the explanation was rather exciting, because Thomas loved birds, after all-- how could he not love the animals that had oftentimes been the only kind things that would visit him in Arkham from outside his window? 

So, Thomas followed Jonathan while calmly masking his anticipation, which he did rather efficiently and smoothly... until they got to the flock Jonathan had been referring to, which consisted of at least fifteen crows all hopping around in a clearing less than a yard away from them, causing Thomas to gasp and then almost immediately softly apologize before pressing his lips together to quiet himself as Jonathan nudged the boy while softly hushing the other, the crows perking up and directing their attention towards the two observant boys. 

"Give me your hand." Jonathan requested quietly as a few curious crows cawed and hopped a few feet towards them. 

Thomas arched a brow, softly saying back, "Oh, um... okay..?" He reached out to hold Jonathan's hand, earning a blink and pair of raised eyebrows, Jonathan glancing at him questioningly. "Oh- you meant- oh. Right-- got it... sorry..." Thomas mentally face palmed himself as he quickly let Jonathan's hand go, instead stretching his hand out with his palm facing upwards. 

Jonathan smirked at the correction as the younger averted his gaze, but didn't comment on it, instead just pouring some bird feed into the smaller boy's hand while kneeling down, gesturing for the other to do the same. 

Thomas carefully knelt down beside Jonathan, staring at him and waiting to for the older one to tell him what to do next, Thomas nodding as Jonathan gestured for him to hold out his hands. 

"You see the crow with the missing toe?" Jonathan whispered, earning a nod. "That one got caught up in some barbwire when it was a babe," The toeless crow was closer to them than any of the others, the animal hopping forward a few steps before halting to observe them, hopping forward some more, stopping again to look at them, and then repeating the actions. "I untangled it and watched over it until its strength returned," The crow was less than a foot away from them. "when I let it go, it returned to its flock, and they eventually began becoming rather friendly around me." The crow flew forward, Jonathan smirking as the younger boy tensed up as it carefully landed in his outstretched hands. "You're the only other human I've brought to see them, Wayne." 

Thomas blinked, staring at Jonathan taken aback as the crow gently pecked at the food in his hand. "Really?" As Jonathan gave a nod, several more crows flew forward and landed on his arms, legs, and shoulders, causing Thomas to let out a small noise while straightening up, the toeless crow hopping up his arm so a different crow could swoop into Thomas' hands and peck at the bird seed. 

"They certainly seem to have taken a quick liking to you," Jonathan commented amusedly, scratching under one of the crow's chins and earning a caw as it nuzzled its cheek against Jonathan's fingertip. "perhaps they'll bring you a few presents." 

"Presents?" Thomas questioned intrigued. 

Jonathan gave a nod. "Occasionally they drop things on the shack's windowsill-- such as buttons, shiny bottle caps, fishing lures, small jewelry, etcetera etcetera." 

"That sounds amazing!" Thomas said in an excited yet quiet tone. 

Jonathan briefly cracked an amused smile that Thomas would have missed if he'd blinked, the brunet looking the raven haired boy over, Jonathan seeming to consider something as the smaller one enthusiastically continued feeding the crows, Jonathan eventually snapping out of his contemplating and holding out his own handful of seeds towards the crowd patiently waiting in front of them. 

After about fifteen minutes, the two boys returned to the shack to take a shower... and by shower I mean they used a ladle to take cold soapy water from a cleaned feeding trough behind the shack and had to pour it onto a cloth to wash up. 

When Jonathan was done, Thomas went next, and when he was done he put on one of the spare pairs of clothes Jonathan had given him that were a size too big before throwing his laundry into the soapy bucket outside the shed's front door. 

"It's so cold today." Thomas huffed while drying off his hair with a towel. 

"It's Gotham." Jonathan replied with a shrug while tossing the other a padded jacket, earning a nod of thanks as the smaller boy set his towel to the side and pulled on the jacket. 

"It feels like we're Amish." Thomas grumbled while sitting across from Jonathan at the dining table. 

Jonathan gave a smirk, although it was a rather brief one, his expression seeming more broody and distant than amused as he looked over the younger one. "Then why not go back to the manor, Wayne?" 

Thomas' smile fell. "I already told you-- I don't want to see Alfred right now..." 

Jonathan raised his chin, arms crossing as he leaned back in his chair. "Right, right-- because of the argument and all that..." Jonathan eyed the boy across from him. "What was it you two argued about again?" Thomas didn't reply, staying quiet. "I mean, it must have been a rather significant argument considering you've been hiding out here for... what? Three weeks now?" The other looked at Jonathan with a frown. "That's a lengthy amount of time, Wayne-" 

"I don't want to talk about it." Thomas interjected, arms crossing as he averted his gaze, because he couldn't tell Jonathan the truth... the last times he'd gone and revealed he wasn't his brother, Jerome had left him all alone and Selina had distanced herself from him-- he didn't want to risk Jonathan kicking him out, too... then Thomas would have no one to- ...then Thomas would have nowhere to stay... 

Jonathan just stared at the boy for a while, not saying anything for a long time, simply observing the younger before eventually speaking up to say, "When I lost my father to the GCPD and my mother to an accident, I had asked the Smallville farmer they had been partners with if I could stay with him," Thomas blinked, hesitantly looking up towards Jonathan. "he denied my request, because my grandmother had been deemed my legal guardian," Jonathan continued, Thomas staring at him. "so, I attempted to explain to him that I couldn't stay with her, because she wasn't an appropriate guardian," Thomas' brow furrowed, head tilting. "after all, she saw me as no more than a product of my parents relationship, which she reckoned was somehow sinful because she was a looney ol' kook that was absolutely convinced my parents had lost their lives to pay for the mistake of conceiving me before they were married, which meant she had to go and 'cleanse' me with floggings for their sins to make sure I didn't end up like them." Thomas went wide eyed at that, not sure why Jonathan was- "When I attempted to explain this to the Smallville farmer, I was still being influenced by fear gas, so I had trouble conveying this, which resulted in the farmer dismissing my incomprehensible babbling and assuring me I should be taken care of by my real family," Thomas felt sick. "later that day, I received a fractured arm when she found out I'd talked to him." 

Where was all of this coming from all of a sudden..? 

"Jonathan-" Thomas started to speak up, reaching out to rest his hand on Jonathan's. 

"You wanted to know about the dreams I have that keep me up at night," Jonathan interjected as he pulled his hand away, Thomas' stomach sinking. "well they're dreams in which I'm back with my real family, and that ol' hag isn't in the picture, and I'm no longer having fear attacks from the fear gas influences that still hasn't worn off," Jonathan continued while clenching his fist. "and I despise those dreams because I despise going to sleep and feeling as though everything is normal only to wake up and be met with disappointment, so I attempt to stay awake so I won't have to face a rather cruel reality." 

Why was Jonathan telling him all of this out of the blue..? 

"You don't- you really don't have to..." Thomas started to say before trailing off, because he didn't want Jonathan to admit something so personal to him that was meant for his brother. 

"I'm being quite a bit more honest with you right now than I rarely am with the majority of people I'm acquainted with," Jonathan stated not angrily, just... firmly. "and I can't help but feel as though there's something quite wrong currently going on with you that you're not being particularly truthful about," Thomas got that Jonathan just wanted him to be honest here and explain what was going on, but that was just too risky. "so tell me, Thomas-- is there something you're having trouble with?" 

"No," Thomas instantly denied. "really-- I'm fine, I'm just not-" Thomas realized what Jonathan had said a little too late, his blood going ice cold as Jonathan gave him a knowing look. "You- um... you called me..." Jonathan had called him Thomas-- not Wayne. "How... how long have you-" Thomas gave a defeated sigh. "How long have you known that I..." Thomas trailed off. 

Jonathan had figured him out. 

Jonathan looked Thomas over. "Since you arrived here," That earned a taken aback look. "your eyes are bluer than Wayne's-- his are more gray." 

Thomas hadn't expected that at all. "Then why-" That didn't make any sense. "If you knew who I was, then why didn't you..." 

"Throw you out?" Jonathan offered, Thomas looking down towards his lap and nodding, Jonathan eying him for a moment before answering, "I wanted to give you a chance to collect yourself-- to eventually feel... I suppose the word would be 'comfortable' enough to tell the truth whenever you were ready, rather than rush you." That earned a hesitant stare. "When it became apparent you planned on keeping this shenanigan up, I attempted to give you a few openings to tell the truth, but..." Jonathan trailed off. 

Thomas furrowed his brow, gaze averting back towards his lap as he gripped the fabric of his pants tightly. "I'm sorry," Thomas apologized softly, swallowing thickly. "I should- um-" Thomas' voice was hoarse. "I'll just-" Thomas had tried to trick someone once again-- it was only fair he got caught. "I'll-" Thomas let out a frustrated shaky exhale. "I should go." Thomas said while standing up, aware he wasn't welcomed here anymore-- not after dismissing so many chances to do the right thing and tell the truth... not after manipulating another one of one of the only truly kind people he'd met only to take advantage of. "I'm- um..." Thomas backed up towards the door, not looking Jonathan in the eye. "I'm sorry." Thomas sighed again, turning around to grab the handle of the door and shoving it open so he could just get out of yet another home he'd gone and screwed up as quickly as possible. 

"I didn't say you had to leave." Jonathan spoke up as Thomas started to step outside, causing the younger to halt and look over his shoulder at Jonathan uncertainly, resulting in Jonathan standing up while letting out a long breath. "Thomas... I don't doubt you encountered terrible horrors in Arkham-- I know what it's like in there considering I spent more than enough time trapped in there myself," Jonathan approached Thomas, being sure to do so in a calm manner that wasn't too quick-- Thomas looked ready to bolt. "and I certainly don't blame you for choosing to survive whatever horrors you faced by keeping up a deceitful facade," Thomas eyed Jonathan over skeptically, the older one raising his hands to show he meant no harm. "I understand it can be difficult to dismiss your survival methods when you've had to rely on them for so long-- I'm not about to act as though you're in the wrong for being guarded around me, or anyone else." 

"Don't." Thomas warned when Jonathan got within a few feet of him, not trusting this one bit-- it didn't make sense that Jonathan wasn't furious at him for attempting to trick him. 

It didn't make sense Thomas wasn't being punished for doing something wrong, because before he'd always been... 

When Thomas backed up, Jonathan lowered his hands and halted, but continued speaking. "I'm not saying you have to remain here, or have to be on your way-- that choice is yours." Jonathan informed quietly. "Nonetheless, I am saying that if you do choose to stay here, you most certainly do not have to tell me every little thing about you, or anything about you at that," A pause, Jonathan locking their gazes. "however, I don't want anything you do tell me to be a lie from now on-- at least not such a significant lie, in any case, because I am not at all interested in acquaintanceships which are built solely on dishonesty-- they often end miserably, and I've had quite enough misery." 

Thomas arched a brow, looking Jonathan over with narrowed eyes. "Why offer me a place to continue staying when you know I'm not my brother?" 

Jonathan's head tilted. "I care deeply for your brother, Thomas-- when I lost a loving family and was stuck with a cruel woman who claimed to be the sole family I had left simply because of blood, Wayne was the one that gave me a real family again." Jonathan noted Thomas' tense muscles had relaxed at least somewhat. "Although simply because I care a great deal for Wayne certainly doesn't mean I'm about to care less for everyone else." Jonathan gave a shrug while musing, "As true as it is that I significantly lack emotions, there are still people I hold very dear, and..." Jonathan trailed off, clearing his throat at the hopeful stare Thomas was giving him. "In any case, I suppose what I'm attempting to convey here is that you're one of the few people I acquaint myself with, just as I do with Wayne." 

Thomas couldn't help but blurt out, "Why?" Jonathan raised a brow. "Why 'acquaint' yourself with me?" 

Jonathan hesitated, gaze averting towards the side as he rubbed his wrist. "I suppose it's because I found you interesting both now and when we initially conversed, and I feel as though we relate to one another through a mutual understanding of hardships, among connections of other things." Thomas faltered at that. "So if you would like to remain here, I would admittedly enjoy the companionship, although if you desire to leave then I'd rather you go do whatever you wish." 

"I- um-" Thomas bit his lower lip, his own gaze averting towards the ground. "well, I'd actually like to- well..." He swallowed thickly, clearing his throat. "I'd like to stay, then..." Thomas wasn't used to this-- to someone actually caring about HIM and not just who he was pretending to be. "for at least a little while, in any case." Thomas didn't know how to handle this. "If that's okay with you, of course..." 

Jonathan turned his attention back towards Thomas. "Of course it is." Why wouldn't it be, after all? He'd had a pleasant time with the younger. 

Thomas nodded, continuing to stare at the ground for a long while, Jonathan looking him over and starting to ask Thomas if he was going to come back inside then- 

Thomas stepped forward, arms wrapping around Jonathan, feeling the taller one tense as the younger one gave a tight squeeze while softly muttering, "Thank you." 

Jonathan instinctively glanced from side to side as though anyone would actually be watching, clearing his throat while somewhat awkwardly patting Thomas on the back before uncertainly looking down at the smaller one and... hesitantly returning the hug. 

Jonathan wondered if he'd have to get as used to affection like this as Jerome had had to get used to Wayne's very similar affection... not that Jonathan was complaining-- it was far from being unpleasant. 

Speaking of Jerome... he was not getting hugs of assurance from Harley like Wayne, or hugs of relief from Thomas like Jonathan. 

Instead, Jerome was getting a rather intrusive Jester leaning on him like they were the best of friends, which Jerome didn't mind considering Jester had gone and made it sound like that's exactly what they were, and then some. 

"Which one do you figure will win?" Jester asked with a grin as he watched the two patients wrestling on the floor. 

"Oh definitely the gal," Jerome answered with an even wider grin. "she's got some real feistiness in her!" 

"I bet the guy will win," Jester snickered with a shrug, his arm resting on Jerome's shoulder. "he's got a real temperament." 

"I bet my pudding on the girl." Jerome offered with a hum. 

"Ooh, a bet, huh?" Jester mused excitedly. "Sounds fun! I'll bet my creme pie on the guy!" 

Jerome gave a laugh. "You're on, Jester." 

The blonde haired girl briefly glared at the two men betting on her life from the ground she was pinned on before directing her attention back towards the man on top of her, seemingly getting a burst of defiant energy upon hearing the bet and ramming her knee upwards, causing the man attempting to strangle her to let out a howl and let up just enough to where she could shove him off with her knees. 

Jerome quirked a brow as the girl scrambled up and sprinted right towards him, Jester going wide eyed as she lunged, the pair of males separating and hurriedly scooting out of her way considering they had no idea which one they were coming for, the two guys exchanging glances upon realizing she hadn't been going for them at all, and had instead been going for one of the plastic forks on their table. 

"That's plastic, sweet-cheeks-" Jerome started to comment with a smirk. 

"I'm aware." The girl snapped before turning around to face the man charging at her, grasping the fork in her hand tightly before hopping up onto the table's bench to avoid his grab, spitting on him and causing him to open his mouth to let out a disgusted noise, Jerome letting out a hoot of laughter and Jester feeling like he was going to be sick as the girl shoved the fork down the man's throat before punching him square in the lips, causing him to fall back choking after she kicked him right in the chest. 

"Where's my pie?" Jerome chimed cockily as Jester warily eyed over the blue eyed girl, the defeated man choking on the plastic utensil a few feet away from them. 

Jester started to scoot the creme pie towards Jerome, brow furrowing as the girl snatched it up, the copycat objecting, "Hey!" 

"Don't involve me in your damn bets," The girl warned while also grabbing the ecstatic Jerome's pudding and grumbling, "jackasses..." 

Jerome let out a long whistle, hopping up from his seat while following the girl that began to storm away. "Well well well," He chuckled impressed. "aren't you quite the woman-" 

"I'm not interested." The girl interjected icily, not bothering to look towards the snickering teenager walking beside her, Jester hurrying to catch up from behind them." 

"Aw what's wrong," Jerome teased with a wink. "not into gingers, sweet pea?" 

"Not into men." She informed dismissively. 

Jerome gave a smile that stretched from ear to ear, his arm swinging around her as he let out a crackle of laughter. "Well what a coincidence, sweet-cheeks!" He gave her a nudge. "I'm not into women." 

"Thank goodness." She scoffed, shrugging Jerome off of her. 

Jerome snickered, "Well aren't you a feisty one?", as an uneasy Jester walked beside him. "Tell me, beautiful-- what's your name?" 

"If I tell you will you leave me alone?" She asked in an unamused tone. 

"Well nice to meetcha', If-I-Tell-You-Will-You-Leave-Me-Alone!" Jerome laughed, the girl rolling her eyes. "I'm Jerome-- Jerome Valeska! and this here is Jester!" 

The blonde girl blinked, stopping in her tracks, looking at Jerome with wide blue eyes. "You're Jerome?" 

Jerome halted, brow arching, Jester's eyes narrowing as Jerome smirked and answered, "Yeah, that mean something to ya', cutie?" 

The girl looked Jerome over with a furrowed brow, hesitantly muttering, "I'm Alice," She paused before reaching out her hand. "Alice Tetch..." 

Jerome's head tilted, eying the girl intrigued at the change in behavior. "Alice, huh?" He took her hand, giving a firm shake before tugging her forward a bit roughly, earning narrowed blue eyes as he studied her reaction while saying, "Should that name ring a bell or somethi'n?"

Alice pried her hand away with ease. "No-- we've never met, but-" She frowned, glancing at the cautious Jester. "I just- I have a... friend... that's talked about you." She explained vaguely. 

Jester nudged Jerome. "I don't know if I like the sounds of that-" 

Jerome dismissively raised his hand, Jester going quiet at the gesture. "Yeah?" Jerome stepped forward, arms crossing as he wore a curious grin. "And just who exactly is this friend of yours?" 

Alice glanced back towards the glowering Jester before returning her attention to Jerome. "I'll bring you to see her," She gestured towards Jester while adding, "but not him." 

Jester gave a scoff. "Excuse me?" 

"No no no," Jerome objected with a chuckle. "wherever I go, Jester goes," He reached into his pocket. "which means you're gonna' have to show both of us to whoever this little 'friend' of yours is." He added while raising a shank towards Alice's throat. 

Alice didn't falter in the least. "I've already been impaled once from my back to my stomach, and it was by a spike a lot bigger than your little toy there," She stepped forward, Jerome's brow arching as she carelessly let the weapon press against her throat. "and I've gone up against a man more horrific than the likes of both of you combined," She met Jerome's gaze daringly. "so go on and try to kill me-- I've already been brought back once." 

Jerome smirked. "Ooh, so you were one of Hugo's little revival experiments, too, eh?" 

Alice didn't smile back. "I'm going to my room now, Jerome. You can either come with me alone and meet my friend, or stay here with your creepy little friend." 

"Hey-" Jester huffed when being called 'creepy.' 

"Or," Alice continued dismissively. "you can try to use that weapon of yours, and end up with your throat torn out of your neck while I walk away with a scratch at most." She gave a shrug. "It's your choice." 

Jerome found her amusing, to say the least. "You're certainly not a pushover." He chuckled while considering his options. 

"I've had enough men push me around for long enough." Alice replied, not even wanting to recall all the awful things Jervis had... 

"All right," Jerome sighed with a smile nonetheless, shank retreating, because he'd seen what she'd done to that guy in there, and he didn't want to risk finding what else she could or couldn't do. "let's go." He'd prefer to keep his throat in tact. 

Jester's eyed widened as Jerome slipped the shank back into his pocket. "What?" He questioned in disbelief. "No-- if you're going then I'm going with you-" 

"Tell your friend to back off and go back to the cafeteria-- unless he wants to end up with a plastic fork lodged in his throat, too." Alice warned while walking off. 

"Jerome, come on," Jester objected pleadingly. "I don't like this-- something fishy's going on with that looney," He insisted while gesturing towards Alice. "you don't need to be going anywhere with a freak like that alone-- not after what we saw her do to that guy." 

Not only did Jester want to constantly be by Jerome's side as his most loyal copycat, but Hugo had also made it quite clear that it was Jester's duty to not let Jerome out of his sights, and it was never pleasant when someone failed to carry out the doctor's orders. Plus, Jester didn't like the sounds of this seemingly dangerous girl taking Jerome to someone he was supposedly acquainted with-- that could mean risking them saying something that resulted in Jerome realizing his interpretations of the past were being manipulated by Hugo... realizing Jester wasn't really his ally. 

Realizing Wayne hadn't betrayed him. 

"Sorry, Jester," Jerome said with an apologetic grin. "but it sounds like she's pretty set on making sure ya' can't tag along this round." He turned while following Alice down the hallway, giving a wave over his shoulder. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes tops and we can watch T.V. in the lounge or something." 

"Jerome-" Jester sighed while taking a step forward, halting at the warning glance that Alice gave him. 

"Relax, buddy," Jerome chuckled dismissively. "I'm sure you can go a few minutes without me." 

Jester gnawed on the inside of his cheek as the two walked off-- oh Hugo wasn't going to be happy about this... 

"So," Jerome began in anticipation. "who's this friend of yours?" Alice briefly looked at him before once again looking forward without replying. "Are they handsome?" 

"It's a she." Alice informed, and left it at that. 

"Nothing wrong with handsome women," Jerome chuckled with a shrug, giving Alice a nudge. "I personally prefer pretty boys myself." Alice let out a long exhale, her eyes rolling. "What about you, hun? What kinda' gals are you-" 

"I can't tell if you're genuinely interested in attempting to start a conversation, or if you just don't know how to shut up." Alice interjected irked. 

"Ya' know who you remind me of?" Jerome laughed while swinging an arm around Alice, immediately being shrugged off. "There was this boy I used to know in here not too long ago, but I haven't seen him in a while..." Jerome tapped his lip broodingly, contemplating as he stared off into the distance, continuing to walk beside the uninterested girl. "Oh what was his name..." Jerome huffed, arms crossing, taking a few lengthy seconds to- "Oh, right! Johnny boy!" Jerome gave a wide grin. "He had a stick up his ass, too." 

"So everyone that gets annoyed by you has a stick up their ass, huh?" Alice sarcastically quipped. 

"Well it's certainly not my fault you don't know how to have a bit of fun." Jerome snickered. 

"Maybe we just have different definitions of fun." Alice grumbled, not in the mood for this. 

"And just what's your definition of fun, sweet-stuff?" Jerome mused intrigued. "Sunny day at the beach? Snowy day at a ski resort? Rainy day at your local library? Clear week on a camping trip? Nice night during a concert or party?" Jerome rested his arm on her shoulder, leaning heavily on her. "Or do you prefer the perfect gloomy day here in Arkham's state of the art mental facility!" 

Alice pursed her lips, jaw clenching and hands going into fists, wanting to flinch away from the human contact. "Can you stop touching me?" She snapped, jerking away from him, anger nearly boiling over from the constant all too familiar nicknames. "And stop calling me things like 'sweet-stuff'." Jerome smirked, about to teasingly joke around just a little more with her, yet quirking a brow as she crossed her arms and averted her gaze while swallowing thickly. "I don't-" She let out a shaky exhale, brow furrowing. "I don't exactly like being around guys who..." She trailed off. 

Jerome blinked, his smile becoming somewhat apologetic, a slightly awkward chuckle leaving his lips, clearing his throat while rubbing his neck. "Uh- right-- sure sure, got it... no problem." He didn't exactly want her snapping. Plus, he possibly felt a little bad... but mostly didn't want her snapping and shoving a plastic fork down his throat, too. 

Jerome could tell when he'd gone too far, or was really pushing it. Sometimes he cared, sometimes he didn't. Mostly he didn't. That didn't mean there weren't still subjects even he wouldn't jokingly try to pry at. He still had SOME morals-- like, at least five... maybe five... possibly less-- probably not more.

Jerome was occasionally a decent human being. Heck, he'd REALLY been working on bettering that, too... and then Wayne just had to be a jackass by going off and betraying Jerome along with the help of that piece of shit Theo. Jerome had been doing pretty good, too! Now, he just didn't see a reason to have a go at playing nice anymore; Jerome had barely been keeping himself grounded with all the B.S. he'd gone through as a kiddo, and Wayne had been his last thread of hope keeping him tied down which ended up pushing Jerome over the edge to snap by proving there really wasn't any genuine good in the world after all. 

Now, Jerome just found anyone else trying to be a decent human being in this not so decent world amusing, because they were so wrapped up in trying to be good where there was no solid good that they didn't bother just going with the flow and having a bit of fun! Unlike Jerome, that now didn't have to worry about anything other than finding ways to have more fun. 

In a funny kind of way, Wayne had actually freed Jerome by being the final cause of many that unhinged him. That didn't make Jerome want to kill him any less, though. After all, revenge would just be too FUN to give up for any kind of reason! 

Jerome snapped out of his contemplating on how the best thing to do in a cruel world was find a way to just have fun in it when he heard a guard say, "You know visitors aren't allowed, Tetch." 

Oh-- Jerome knew this area-- well, kind of... he knew OF this area, in any case; this was the restricted section in which only the most dangerous patients were kept, and it was off limits to all other patients. 

Jerome glanced at Alice unsurely as they continued walking towards the wary guard, Jerome's nose scrunching as Alice bit her lower lip to draw just a smidgen of blood, Jerome's eyebrows raising as Alice spit at the guard who realized what she was doing too late and failed to cover their eyes. 

"You sure do like spitting at people, huh?" Jerome commented both disgusted and intrigued as the guard dropped to their knees while screaming. 

"Piss off." Alice grumbled, grabbing the guard's I.D. while they thrashed about on the ground, calmly scanning it. "Come on," She instructed while a long and loud beep was heard, the metal door clicking open. "I'm not sure how long we have before the next guard's duty." 

Alice dismissively stepped over the writhing guard, Jerome hopping over said guard with a grin before giving them a well placed kick in the ribcage accompanied by a laugh, Alice looking over her shoulder and rolling her eyes as Jerome giddily caught up. 

In all honesty, Alice could care less about the guard-- the lot of them were cruel. What she did care about, however, was Jerome taking his sweet ass time when she wasn't sure how much time they had to get this done. 

Jerome followed Alice down the hall of patient rooms with barred metal doors, an uneasy smirk meeting his lips upon the sounds of fists pounding against the walls and lonely screams filling the air, several hands reaching out in attempts to desperately grab at him and Alice... some of the hands not exactly looking human. 

Alice didn't falter in the least at the cries and reaches for help, not halting until she was in front of a door towards the end of the hall, giving a rhythmic knock and briefly waiting for the door to open. 

What Jerome certainly hadn't been expecting to see was an all too familiar blonde haired girl with gray irises to be standing there, and she apparently hadn't been at all expecting to see him, either-- if the way her jaw dropped and eyes widened was anything to go by. 

Jerome's initial instinct was to snatch his shank out of his pocket and cut her throat open. For some reason, her instinct was a very different and very unexpected one. 

Jerome had expected the door to slam shut, or for her to take a defensive stance, or to see her play casual to keep her dignity, or for her perhaps even attempt to run and hide. 

What Jerome hadn't expected in the least was for her to just damn well lunge for him and HUG him. 

"Jerome!" Silver St. Cloud greeted with a gasp. "You're really here!" She laughed softly, pulling back to smile at the arched brow and narrowed eyed Jerome, her hands grasping his upper arms as she examined him. "Are you okay?" For a while, Jerome just stared at her; what in the world was she- "Oh! Right-- you should come inside before anyone sees you," Silver stepped to the side, gesturing Jerome in. "we're not supposed to have visitors." 

Why the hell was Silver..? 

Jerome glanced inside the room before returning his attention towards Silver, trying to figure out if this was some kind of trap. "I'm fine speaking out here, thanks." He scoffed with a smirk, eying Silver over skeptically. 

Silver blinked at that. "But if we get noticed and caught we won't have any time to talk and-" 

"Then start talking and say whatever you wanna' say." Jerome interjected with a sour laugh. 

Silver just stared at Jerome for a while. "But-" 

"Oh for the love of-" Alice sighed, eye rolling as she gestured for Silver to move. 

Jerome tensed up as Silver hesitantly moved timidly to the side, Jerome turning to face Alice while anxiously laughing, "What are you-" His eyes widened as Alice shoved him by his chest, sending him flying a few feet or so into their room, Jerome landing on his ass and yeah that was gonna' leave a mark. "Hey-" Jerome objected with an irked smile as the door closed behind Alice and Silver. 

"Are you all right?" Silver asked worriedly, Jerome looking her over unsurely. "That looked like it hurt..." 

"He's fine." Alice assured dismissively, handing Silver the pudding she'd taken from Jerome. 

Jerome decided he'd figure out why the manipulative niece of the equally manipulative guy that had manipulated and betrayed Jerome was suddenly being so concerned over him later, for now focusing on his surroundings to get a feel for whatever he could be going up against. 

The room was normal enough. Three small beds lined up next to one another, a pile of books by Lewis C. Carole next to one bed, a toy dolphin next atop another bed, and a journal under the last bed. There was also a fan barely turning, and a flickering lightbulb, along with a small barred window, and a pond in the corner of the room, and- 

Wait. A what in the corner of the- 

Jerome froze up as something that certainly wasn't a fish abruptly emerged from the water, anxious grin plastered on his lips, a scaly... thing leaving the pond, and oh hells wait a minute why did it have to leave the damn water- 

"No need to attack him, Karen," Alice assured. "he's a visitor." 

It had a name... and Karen at that? 

"Karen?" Jerome scoffed as the thing that was apparently a 'she' stood up, Jerome raising a brow upon realizing this 'Karen' was human. Or at least, she had a human outline... the body of a human or whatever. In fact, everything about her was human... 

... 

... except for the shimmering scales littering all along the cracks in her skin, and her hands which did not look human at all, and instead looked rather... crocodiley. 

"Karen, Jerome, Jerome, Karen." Silver introduced, Karen making a small series of hand gestures while flashing a smile through a mouthful of fangs. "She says it's nice to meet you." 

Jerome hesitantly stood up, wary smirk remaining. "She can't speak?" 

"Not anymore," Silver confirmed. "she was in a terrible accident, and when she finished recovering, she was back to normal for the most part..." Silver rubbed her upper arm. "... other than being mute, and having the scales covering where her injuries had been at." 

"A terrible accident?" Alice commented while crossing her arms. "She was frozen solid and then shattered by one of Hugo's lackeys," She furrowed her brow, gaze averting. "The ONLY reason she survived was because Hugo's awful experiments finally resulted in a little good happening." Alice let out a long breath, stressed hand running through her hair. "Hugo spliced her DNA with a reptile's-- a crocodile's. Apparently it gave her some pretty damn good regenerating genes... it pretty much lets her regrow limbs, muscle, nerves, skin tissue... you name it." Alice handed Karen the cream pie she'd stolen from Jester. 

Jerome looked Karen over intrigued. "No kidding." Well that was certainly interesting. "It looks like she wasn't the only one that was in an accident." He commented, referring to the noticeable wide scar stretching from one side of Silver's throat to the other. 

Silver self consciously raised her fingertips to her throat, pressing them gently against the skin. "Uncle Theo and I had a disagreement..." 

That caught Jerome's attention. "Oh?" 

Silver nodded, swallowing thickly while shifting around uncertainly, Alice noting the girl's discomfort and explaining for her, "Silver got caught and thrown in here a while back when she got separated from her aunt after they'd escaped Theo," Alice looked at Silver to make sure this was okay to tell, earning a hesitant nod and continuing, "by the time Hugo revived Theo, Silver had been planning an escape for a while. When Silver found out Hugo's plans for bringing Wayne here, she ended up risking making her escape attempt early, and managed to get out." Alice leaned against the wall, arms crossing. "Silver warned Wayne to stay away at the court hearing about you, but she got caught, brought back here, and Hugo's punishment for her escape was essentially death by her uncle." 

"But then Hugo brought me back from the edge when I was barely hanging on by a thread," Silver spoke up softly. "the same way he brought Karen back, and Alice back," She looked at Jerome. "and you back." Silver swallowed thickly. "We're just all his little experiments that he keeps in the dark about what he has planned for us now." 

Jerome wasn't sure if he had trouble following along because everything was still a little fuzzy from being brought back within an inch of his life, or if he was missing something here. "So essentially, you're not on your uncle's or Wayne's side anymore?" He guessed, trying to figure out what all had been happening between the cozy little trio that had left him to rot abandoned in this shithole. 

Silver quirked a brow. "I'm definitely not on uncle's side anymore, and I know that I ruined things with Wayne, but I'd like to find a way to make things up to him and properly apologize..." 

Jerome stared at Silver for a while. "How the hell do you plan to get on Wayne's good side if you're on Theo's bad one?" He scoffed. "Sorry, doll-face, but we both know that if you've pissed Theo off, then you don't have much of a chance snuggling up to Wayne." 

Silver blinked. "What are you talking about?" 

Jerome narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean what am I talking about?" 

Silver had no idea on what was going on. "Why in the world would Wayne be upset at me for going against Theo?" 

Jerome couldn't tell if Silver was being serious. "Why the hell wouldn't he?" 

"Because..." Silver felt like there had to be some kind of misunderstanding between her and Jerome here. "...they hate each other?" 

Jerome wondered if he and Silver were talking about the same Wayne and Theo. "Since when?" He scoffed. 

Silver couldn't tell if Jerome was trying to joke around, or..? "Since almost a year ago." That earned an arched brow from Jerome. "When Wayne found out Theo was using him." Silver added as though it should be obvious, not getting why this had to be clarified. 

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jerome laughed with a furrowed brow. "They were closer than two peas in a pod three weeks ago!" 

"What am I talking about?" Silver scoffed in disbelief. "What are you talking about?!" She knew she'd missed a lot of what was going on in the outside world, but she was pretty sure Wayne and Theo hadn't become all buddy buddy. "Theo attacked Wayne and was blown to smithereens three weeks ago by one of Wayne's friends!" By Oswald... or at least, that's what had been on the News. 

"My ass he was!" Jerome snapped with an annoyed chuckle. "Theo was very much in tact and very much NOT blown up when he stabbed me in the damn throat three weeks ago!" 

"Stabbed you in the-" Silver started to question before noticing the relatively fresh wound on Jerome's neck where a once healed scar had been. 

Oh. Oh no. 

"What?" Jerome irritatedly snickered unsurely as Silver's eyed widened in realization. 

"Jerome," Silver began to say in a calm voice. "the charity event was a year ago." That earned a raised brow from Jerome. "That place on your neck was almost healed when Wayne introduced you and me-" 

Oh. Jerome got what was going on. Or at least, he was convinced he did. "No," Jerome interjected with a bitter laugh. "no-- you, and Wayne, and Theo are not bullshitting me with this kind of crap," Jerome wasn't falling for their tricks again. "the last time I believed a word you bastards said, I ended up with a knife in my neck, while you all got to act like a happy little family that was Gotham's hero for stopping the big bad villain. You-" Jerome gave a cold laugh. "You jackasses set me up-- we were supposed to leave that charity ball together-" 

"Wayne and I had nothing to do with that charity thing," Silver objected. "that was Theo's-" 

"Oh no," Jerome laughed bitterly, Alice straightening up and Karen baring a mouthful of fangs as Jerome swiped his shank out of his pocket, angling it towards Silver threateningly. "I get what's going on here-- Theo ended up betraying you and Wayne, too, so now you kiddos are trying to place the blame on your uncle so I'll deal with your mess." Jerome stepped forward, Silver gesturing for Alice and Karen to stay back. "You and Wayne always were a little too cozy for comfort-- neither of you gave a shit when I was out of the picture, but now that your lives are on the line you're suddenly being all nice and sweet to me, huh?" He flashed a wicked smirk. "What's wrong, doll-- need someone else to do the dirty work for ya'?" 

"Jerome," A wary Silver attempted to calm, her hands raising to show she meant no harm. "if you want to despise Theo, and you want to hate me, then that's fine-- I wouldn't blame you for that... even if I wasn't a part of Theo's charity plan, I still did some pretty awful things to you for him, and-" She swallowed dryly, brow furrowing. "-and even if I didn't want to do the things I did for him, I still did them to save myself-- regardless of how that hurt you and Wayne..." She hesitantly stepped forward. "So you can want to kill my uncle, and you can want to kill me-- but please don't bring Wayne into this... the last thing Wayne would ever do is betray you." 

Well Jerome certainly hadn't expected Silver to incriminate herself while defending Wayne... "Why are you-" He started, brow furrowing yet smirk remaining. 

"Jerome, I am trying to right my wrongs," Silver continued, not breaking his gaze. "and that doesn't mean you have to forgive me, but I am asking you to just listen to me when I say Hugo's doing something to you to make you go against Wayne for some reason, and you can't listen to whatever Hugo's-" 

"Wait, what?" Alice interjected, eyes going wide. "Silver, if Jerome's one of Hugo's primary experiments right now, we can't be caught aiding him." 

Jerome gave Alice an irked smirk while scoffing, "Thanks." 

Alice glared at Jerome before returning her attention towards the frowning Silver, Alice's furious gaze melting into one that was more frightened than anything. "It would already be bad enough if we intervened with Hugo's treatment on a common patient, but if Hugo's really planning on using Jerome for something that's as significant as it sounds, then that's a whole different thing." 

"Then I'll take the blame if we get caught," Silver assured. "but I'm not about to just sit here and do nothing if Wayne's in danger." 

"You won't be the only one who faces the consequences," Alice argued. "I'm the one that brought Jerome here, and none of us are supposed to have visitors-- even Karen could get in trouble for this." 

"I can't just sit back and let Wayne and Jerome-" Silver started to object. 

"I get you want to right your wrongs, Silver, and I'm all for that," Alice interjected firmly yet sympathetically. "but this isn't the way to do it-- your intentions might be good, but this will just cause more harm than anything." 

"But-" Silver tried to plead. 

"You need to go back to your room," Alice stated while turning her attention towards Jerome. "now," A pause. "and keep quiet about what you heard here." 

"No!" Silver persisted before Jerome could reply. "Jerome, please, just listen to me-- Wayne isn't your enemy-" 

"Silver," Alice warned while walking towards the younger girl. "that's enough," She rested a hand on Silver's shoulder. "we need to stay out of this." 

Silver wrenched away. "Back off, Alice." 

Alice arched a brow, warning in a calm tone, "Silver..." 

"No," Silver's hands went into fists, patches of silver appearing on her skin and spreading. "I'm not going to stand aside while Hugo does this." 

Jerome's eyebrows raised as Silver's skin began to turn... well, silver. "That's new..." He commented with a chuckle and an intrigued smirk. 

Alice let out a long exhale, aware there was no talking sense into Silver now. "I understand you want to help, Silver-- I really do... I don't like standing by idly, either," Alice used her thumb nail to cut a long slice across her own palm, Jerome making a face and wincing at that. "... but this isn't the way to do it-- we need to go about this rationally and have a plan." The blood dripping from her palm solidified into spikes a few inches long, Alice raising her hand defensively. 

"Waiting around to form a plan and then taking the time to get ready for that plan before actually carrying it out could take too long." Silver insisted, almost her entire body silver. 

"Ooh, cat fight over lil' ol' me ladies?" Jerome enthusiastically laughed with a cheeky grin as the two got into readying stances. 

Silver ignored Jerome's comment, Alice giving him a glare before returning her attention towards Silver, Karen worriedly whimpering. 

The two girls got ready to lunge, and this was great-- if Alice killed Silver, Jerome wouldn't have to get his nice little shank all dirty! If Alice lost or didn't go as far as killing Silver, then Silver would probably at least be weakened enough to make it an easy kill, and Jerome would get to satisfy his recent itch of craving to kill someone-- it was a win-win! Jerome could get his revenge either way! The only thing that would make this any better would be if he had some popcorn and a- 

The door slammed open, Jerome's smile falling because they'd just been getting to the good part for one, and for two Jerome wasn't exactly giddy about the person standing in the threshold. 

"Ladies," Hugo greeted while inclining his chin, the frozen up girls eyes going wide. "Jerome..." 

Jerome forced a smile, anxious laugh leaving his lips as he unsurely replied, "Hey there, doc..." 

Hugo straightened up, hands going behind his back, Silver's silver skin fading back to normal, Alice's spikes of blood retreating back into her hand, Karen retreating into her pond, Jerome grinning forcefully, the doctor evenly saying, "I wasn't aware you were having company tonight, ladies," He sounded calm-- too calm. "did you conveniently forget visitors are currently restricted?" The girls didn't reply, so Hugo turned his attention towards Jerome. "What exactly were you all having such fun conversing about?" 

Jerome swallowed thickly, giving an anxious chuckle. "Um- just... ya' know... girl talk..?" 

Hugo didn't look amused in the least, instead saying without missing a beat, "Jerome, I'd say it's about time you and I had another session." 

Oh great... 

Jerome reluctantly followed Hugo to his office where the 'therapy' happened, Hugo informing the trio of girls he'd deal with them later. 

The questions were predictable. 

Why were you in their room? Were you aware their room was off limits? Why did you willingly go into the restricted section? What did you talk about? What did Silver say? What do you mean Silver apologized? Did you accept her apology? Did she say anything that seemed out of the ordinary? How do you feel after talking with Silver? What else did Silver talk about? 

The question Hugo got Jerome on was, "Did Silver bring up Theo or Wayne while talking with you?" 

Jerome faltered, parting his lips to reply and pausing, hesitantly shutting them, hurriedly contemplating on what to say. Hugo clearly noticed Jerome's reaction, the doctor raising his chin and straightening up, causing Jerome to instinctively defend, "Theo and Wayne are just sensitive subjects for me.", explaining before he was even asked to. 

It was apparent Silver had revealed Jerome and Wayne were still friends, and there was never a betrayal between them. Hugo sighed, because regardless of whether or not Jerome believed Silver, she had managed to plant a seed of doubt in Jerome, and Hugo couldn't have the smallest chance of Jerome ever questioning him... Hugo wanted almost certain loyalty from the boy. 

So, Hugo would have to break Jerome yet again, and fix him once more to the doctor's liking. Hugo would have to manipulate Jerome's interpretations of his past yet another time. 

If only Jester had done his job and kept Jerome properly under his watch... 

Regardless, what was done was done, and so Hugo once again toyed with Jerome's very life until he took the doubt Silver had planted within Jerome through words of truth, and broke that very doubt out of the boy by pushing him towards the edge, only to reel him back to reality, and picking and choosing what significant events he'd allow Jerome to and not to recall. When Hugo was satisfied with his work, he froze Jerome on the edge of life Hugo had been pushing him to and from, because he wanted to keep Jerome contained until Jerome was transferred somewhere that Hugo wouldn't have to risk him wandering into that troublesome Silver girl again. 

The only problem was that the transfer didn't go as smoothly as Hugo would have liked... apparently Jester had gone and betrayed Hugo out of fear of the doctor possibly taking Jerome from him as punishment for not keeping a close eye on Jerome. So, Jester informed some of Jerome's copycats of where Jerome was being contained, and the next thing Hugo knew a copycat by the name of Dwight had gone and kidnapped the Jerome that was on a fine line between something like sedation versus a breathless slumber that lasted forever. 

The next thing Hugo knew, all of Gotham was aware Jerome was back, and so was Wayne. 

Jerome had returned, and he was more broken than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there hasn't been as much interaction between Jerome and Wayne as usual the last few chapters due to them being separated, thus resulting in them going about the last few chapters without being by each other's sides for the most part, but don't worry-- the next chapter I plan to post involves a 'reunion'... 
> 
> ... 
> 
> ... it definitely won't be a typical friendly reunion, however, so brace yourselves, and that's all I'm saying for now ;)


	41. A Gentle Reunion of Enemies

It was a dark and stormy night... as many nights are when an important event in a story is being told-- and this night held a story Gotham wouldn't forget anytime soon. 

The phone rang, causing Alfred to furrow his brow and Wayne to blink taken aback, the pair uncertainly glancing at one another. 

"Who's calling at this hour?" Alfred questioned aloud, more to himself than Wayne, the boy just staring at him quietly, neither having any idea of who could be phoning them. 

Alfred paused before approaching the phone, doing so somewhat hesitantly, Wayne almost holding his breath as he stared at his butler, awaiting an explanation and whether or not everything was okay, because surely if someone was calling so late, something had to be wrong. 

Alfred's fingertips touched the phone just as it stopped mid-ring. 

Wayne felt his gut sink; the phone rang many more times than that before the line ended, and he doubted whoever was on the other side of the phone would just hang up if something was urgent. 

The phone lines had been cut. 

"Alfred-" Wayne started, going quiet as Alfred quickly raised a hands to his lips, the boy swallowing thickly, not daring to move an inch on the creaky floorboards. 

Alfred heard something behind him-- a misplacement of air, perhaps. By the time Wayne saw the figure creeping through the shadows out of the corner of his eye as Alfred spun around, his butler had already been knocked to the floor. 

Wayne wasted no time rushing to Alfred's side, kneeling beside him protectively, gripping his butler by his upper arm and eying the people lighting their candles and surrounding them, the boy feeling his eyes widen when realizing they were wearing the attire of Jerome's copycats. 

Wayne's skin prickled, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end, hearing an all too familiar laugh coming from the figure entering the parlor. There was something different about this laugh, however-- it was more throaty, and a bit forced, like the person was having trouble emitting noise almost. It just made it sound all the more wicked. 

Jerome walked into the room, Wayne's blood going cold at the sight of Jerome's carved face stitched together at the seams-- like a skin mask. 

Jerome's dangerous laughter shifted into a mocking ghost-like, "Whoo...", as he imitated a cliché spirit with a dramatic wide eyed gaze, referring to the power being out, doing a type of haunted jazz hands and shivering in sarcastic fear before a cruel grin met his lips as he placed his hands behind his back, finally in front of the wary Wayne, looking him over amusedly. "My my..." Jerome leaned over to Wayne's eye level. "look how big you've gotten. Wayne winced at how Jerome's smile grew, the skin seeming to stretch painfully on the older one's face, another chuckle leaving Jerome's throat at the boy's amusing reaction. 

As Jerome had gotten closer, Wayne realized the other's scarred throat had a fresh injury in the exact place Theo pushed in his blade during the Charity Ball incident, irritated and red with new stitches. 

Hugo had reopened a wound, it seemed. 

Wayne began piecing together what was going on, but didn't quite have enough bits of the puzzle to see what the full picture was yet, needing to pick up more of the scattered hints that would result in an explanation of what was going on. 

Jerome's words had also caught Wayne off guard, because he certainly hadn't gotten THAT much bigger since they'd last seen one another three weeks ago... 

Wayne swallowed dryly, meeting Jerome's gaze bravely, as though he was searching for an answer residing in Jerome's stare that would explain what was going on. "Jerome-" He started uncertainly, tensing as Jerome intrusively reached out to grip his chin in a bruising hold while lifting somewhat, forcing Wayne to purse his lips and crane his neck back, exposing his vulnerable throat to the other. 

Jerome gave a pleased hum, gently running the blade of his knife against the faint scar he'd left when taking Wayne hostage at the Charity Ball and scraping his skin somewhat, tempted to press the weapon forward harder to coax out some of the pretty crimson liquid while musing, "Not too shabby," Wayne clenched his jaw, eyes staring up at the ceiling as Jerome pressed the very tip of his blade against Wayne's adam's apple, forcing the boy to straighten up. "but I'd say that Gotham's favorite kiddo deserves a bigger scar, wouldn't you agree?" He couldn't wait to make the blood from this brat's throat spill and splash all over the floor until he was absolutely writhing in his grasp and begging Jerome through whimpers for release from the clutches of this cruel city. Which Jerome would, of course-- he'd kill Wayne nicely. 

Wayne was aware Hugo had clearly manipulated Jerome into believing another falsehood. He just wasn't sure what it could be yet, and was trying to figure that out quickly. At least the last misinterpretation was in Wayne's favor... this one? Not so much. 

"Why are you-" Wayne started to question, earning a sudden tight grasp on his hair, eyes squeezing shut as Jerome yanked him back somewhat, the weapon dangerously resting against his jugular. 

"Wouldn't you agree?" Jerome repeated warningly, smirking amusedly as Wayne hesitantly opened his eyes back up to stare up at him. Damn Wayne looked hopeless... that was satisfying. 

Wayne grit his teeth, more frightened than angry. "I'm good with the scar I have now, thanks." A new angle for now. Humor Jerome's dark comedy with Wayne's own dry comedy. Ask questions about what was going on later. Until Wayne found out, he'd play along to an extent. 

Jerome stared down at Wayne, not saying anything at first, not even smiling, just keeping a brow quirked as he examined the boy helplessly trapped in his grasp. Wayne feared Jerome would cut the flesh at any second and have him choking on his own blood. 

But then, Jerome drew back his hand and gave a loud laugh, wheezing noises accompanying his fit of amusement, throat obviously worse than the first time it had been wounded almost a year ago, Wayne hesitantly lowering his chin, not wanting to keep his throat exposed and vulnerable. 

"At least you've gained a sense of humor." Jerome commented amusedly, twirling his knife in his hand and giving a pause. "Well... kinda'." He added with a shrug, stuffing the knife back into his pocket, catching how that made Wayne visibly relax ever so vaguely, Jerome giving a bitter smirk and knowingly commenting, "Don't get too comfy, kiddo," The ginger made a clicking noise in the back of his throat, the wound feeling irritated. "just because I wanna' talk a little first doesn't mean you're off the hook." Jerome had a long and fun night ahead of him. He could enjoy playing around with the kiddo that had wronged him for a while-- like a cruel cat that finally caught the frustrating mouse. It was instinct to not kill Wayne right away, and Jerome reckoned that's because he wanted to mess with the annoyance some. 

Wayne was the captured prey that had been a success to finally get ahold of, and Jerome was the victorious predator that planned to take the traitorous brat apart piece by writhing piece until there was nothing left for Gotham to remember the traitorous boy by. The predator wasn't about to just devour the prey in one gulp-- he planned on taking his time and playing with his food like a hawk plays with a rabbit. Jerome had gotten his trophy, and he wanted to make an example of it. 

Wayne didn't like the sounds of that. 'Talk a little first?' What did Jerome mean by that? He wanted to speak before he did something. Before Jerome did what? Slit Wayne's throat? 

"What do you want to talk about?" Wayne asked casually, attempting to nonchalantly stand up, keeping his eyes locked on Jerome as the copycats leader began to roam around the room, observing the decor it held. 

Jerome didn't even have to look at Wayne as the boy stood, knowingly gesturing him back down, Wayne's teeth gritting as a pair of copycats grabbed him by the shoulders and harshly forced him back into a kneeling position, Alfred stirring and groggily sitting up as well, the wary butler gazing at Wayne, then Jerome, and then the copycats surrounding them. 

"How's school?" Jerome sarcastically asked, glancing at Wayne as the boy set his jaw, Jerome smirking, finding the interior of the mansion becoming boring rather quickly, resorting to keeping his sights on the glaring boy while circling him and his butler. "What? No desire for small talk?" He chided, Wayne glaring at him, yet it was strangely enough more of a hurt glare than angry one. Jerome dismissed it. Wayne looked like a puppy you'd just taken a treat away from. One that didn't hate you for it, but was upset about it. It was amusing, to say the least. 

"Just what's all this about, Jerome?" Alfred interrogated, figuring Wayne had gone and ticked Jerome off somehow, and Alfred was already regretting allowing this bastard to be anywhere near his boy. He should have never let Jerome step foot in this manor-- it had only been a matter of time before the criminal stopped finding Wayne entertaining, and now all he wanted to do was throw Alfred's boy away so he could get a new toy. 

At least, that's what Alfred believed was going on. 

Jerome glanced at Alfred irked, before returning his stare to Wayne, not answering the guardian and instead deciding to get the butler a little riled up as punishment for interrupting his conversation with Wayne, the intruder coming to a halt and gesturing for Wayne to stand up while instructing, "C'mere." 

Alfred's eyes widened. "Now wait just a bloody minute-" Jerome gave him a look of warning, not smiling in the least, that making Alfred shut up. 

Jerome returned his gaze to Wayne's, catching his cautious gaze and putting on a smug grin, mocking, "What's wrong, kiddo? Worried I'll bite?" 

It was less of courage and more of stubborn pride that caused Wayne to ball his hands into fists at that, wanting to prove his wasn't scared and defiantly standing up, hiding his fear by puffing out his chest and raising his chin, Jerome giving a toothy smile as the boy practically stomped up to him. 

"Yes?" Wayne said in a voice as brave as he could muster. 

Jerome looked Wayne over, the right corner of his lips tugging upwards. "You're a ballsy little thing, aren't you?" He mused, circling Wayne amusedly, knife in hand, examining the structure of the boy that surely wouldn't stand a chance against Jerome's physique, the criminal searching for any sign of hidden weapons the boy could be hiding. 

Wayne felt like prey being stalked as Jerome circled him, swallowing dryly and crossing his arms defensively, not replying, instead resorting to averting his gaze, not daring to meet Jerome's, fearing he'd act like a wild dog and take such as a challenge. 

"Still not much of a conversationalist, are ya'?" Jerome commented, Wayne tensing as he saw Jerome's hand raise in the corner of his eye, the killer twirling the weapon in his hand. "Or you just have a stick up your ass." Wayne didn't look directly at Jerome, but noted the way he began to make pauses between he knife twirls every now and then, probably taking those brief halts to consider a possible place to jab the knife at on Wayne. 

For a while, Wayne just stared at Jerome, an expression of betrayal and uncertainty taking over the younger's features. "Why are you doing this, Jerome?" Wayne finally spoke up, trying to figure out what the angle here was, because maybe this was all somehow a big misunderstanding. 

Jerome gave an irked grin, because how DARE this boy pretend he wasn't fully aware of why Jerome was wanting to drive a blade through him? 

"Take a guess, buddy." Jerome sarcastically answered, earning a laughably clueless frown, that just causing the bitterness in Jerome to seethe and rise towards his lips smirking sourly, more venom meeting his expression, menacingly adding, "I suggest you guess carefully." 

Wayne didn't like the threat Jerome's words held, not quite wanting to find out what would happen if he guessed wrong, but also not exactly wanting to find out what would happen if he didn't guess at all, aware Jerome seemed to be impatiently waiting for an answer, causing Wayne to hesitate briefly before uncertainly replying, "Hugo convinced me that I'd dreamt I'd found you in Arkham. If I'd known he really had brought you back, I wouldn't have left." Was Jerome upset at Wayne for not rescuing him? Did Jerome not realize Wayne believed their last interaction could have been a dream until now? 

Jerome stared at Wayne blankly before giving a scoff. "What the hell are you talking about?" Wayne arched a brow at that-- did Jerome not recall that Wayne had found out he was alive only three weeks ago? Before Wayne could ask, Jerome gave a wave of the hand, shrugging off the younger's peculiar answer and giving a buzzing noise, Jerome shaking his head while beginning to pace and state, "In any case, wrong answer. That's your first strike-- you only get three, buckaroo. Next guess?" 

"Can I have a hint?" Wayne requested warily, having little to no clue on what else Jerome could be pissed off about, guessing Jerome had recalled a piece of their past without getting the entire picture once again, and was probably angrily misinterpreting it. At least last time had been a romantic misinterpretation... 

Jerome halted, looking at Wayne blankly, disbelief settling in his features, just staring at the boy for a while before giving a scoff, eyes rolling and hands going up in exasperation, because he really couldn't believe Wayne had to guess on something like this. "Fine! I'll give you a hint, but you lose a guess if I do." Was Wayne being sarcastic, or did he really not recall what he'd done? Did he just not care enough to recall it because it hadn't influenced him as much as it had Jerome? That made it even more infatuating! 

Wayne wasn't very keen on losing a guess, but having a hint could potentially be the key to realizing what Jerome was referencing-- it was better than going off on having nothing. 

"Deal." Wayne hesitantly agreed despite attempting to accept the compromise confidentially. 

Jerome began pacing again, giving an annoyed clicking noise in the back of his throat, chuckling under his breath in sour disbelief as he muttered something to himself about what hint to give, twirling his knife around while contemplating, eventually straightening up and raising his chin, settling on what to say as he continued to pace and toy with his knife, not bothering to look Wayne in the eye as he finally said, "Volunteer." 

Wayne crossed his arms defensively. "Volunteer for what?" 

"No," Jerome snickered impatiently. "that's your hint." 

Oh. So a single word was Wayne's hint. Lovely. At least it rang a bell almost instantly. 

"Something about the charity ball?" Wayne questioned, and despite being right next to certain, there was still some doubt, so he tried to not have too much hope when guessing. 

Jerome halted, giving Wayne a look accompanied by a smirk, voice dropping while confirming, "Ding. ding. ding.", pausing between each word to give a tap of the knife in the air. "You got it, kiddo." He mockingly congratulated with a slight bow being sarcastically given. 

Wayne should have felt good about getting the answer right, but he really didn't considering Jerome's confirming tone sounded rather menacing. "Does that mean you'll let us go?" Wayne hopefully asked despite already knowing the not so hopeful answer. 

Jerome gave a grin. "No," He began to approach Wayne. "that just means I won't drive my knife straight into your gut and make your rich-boy blood spill all over the floor..." Jerome corrected while halting in front of the uneasy other, giving a grin and gently tapping the knife against Wayne's chest. "... yet." 

Wayne swallowed thickly, but met Jerome's gaze, sarcastically replying, "How generous of you." 

Jerome's smile widened, vainly humming in a cheeky kind of way, "It is, isn't it?" He angled the flat of the knife under Wayne's chin, forcing the boy to raise his head to meet Jerome's gaze, Wayne not daring to defiantly look away. "Maybe if you keep winning the games I give you, you'll keep gain enough time to die of natural causes." The tip of the knife traced down to the scar Jerome had given him long ago at the charity ball-- where he'd first held the boy hostage. "Sure would be a real bore to see such an amusing little thing like you go to waste if you were to accidentally slip up..." 

Thing. Jerome had called Wayne a thing. They were back to square one-- to Jerome seeing Wayne as a possession. 

"Jerome," Wayne spoke up, voice distressed and desperately attempting to signal SOMETHING in Jerome. "please..." Wayne's pleading stare was meeting a stone cold emerald gaze, searching Jerome's eyes for some sign of the old Jerome. "this isn't you." Jerome noted how Wayne's hand grasped his upper arm, quirking a brow and glancing at Wayne's hand, before quizzically returning his sights to the smaller one. "I don't know what Hugo did or said to you, but if he told you we're enemies, he's lying," Perhaps if Wayne could just remind Jerome of how close they'd been... if he could just convince Jerome of that... then perhaps... "you need to trust me-- you have to get away from whatever Hugo's dragged you into." Wayne was trying to portray confidence, certainty, and truthfulness in his words, voice, expression, and body language, but it was hard to do with a knife lingering against his throat. "We're friends, Jerome. You KNOW that. You have to..." If Jerome would just hear Wayne out, at the very least... 

Jerome eyed Wayne over for a long, long while, not smirking, or frowning, or laughing, or sneering. Not rolling his eyes, not sighing. Not blinking in realization, and not faltering. Eventually, he did do something, however. Eventually, Jerome leaned forward to press his lips against Wayne's ear. Eventually, Jerome spoke. That is, he spoke to say, "The only thing I have to know is you're a traitorous brat that needs to keep his damn mouth shut before I sew it shut so you can't give anymore bullshit speeches about what great friends we WERE before you screwed me over." He gave an all too friendly smile and pat against Wayne's cheek as he pulled back. "Now go sit your ass back down next to that butler of yours." 

Traitorous..? 

It was clear Hugo had a hold on Jerome, and Wayne wasn't quite sure how to break it, and it would stay that way until he figured out what was going on. 

So, for now, Wayne listened, and did as told, kneeling next to Alfred and being guarded by two copycats while the others tore apart their home. 

"Are you okay?" Wayne eventually asked in a quiet voice after a few minutes, making sure the copycats were too busy ransacking their home to notice them speaking to one another. 

"I'll be fine, Master Bruce," Alfred assured despite the concern Wayne could hear leaking from his guardian's voice attempting to steady. "I'll be fine..." 

Jerome noticed their talking, however, of course, and that just wouldn't do, because if he let them talk, then he risked them coming up with an escape plan. So, Jerome spoke up to say, "Nice place ya' got here!", after tossing a match into the fireplace. "Your rent?" He questioned, turning to give the two a grin. 

Wayne didn't smile back. "What do you want?" He asked yet again, as though repeating the question would increase the chances of it being answered, gripping Alfred's upper arm protectively. 

Jerome's grin fell into an irked stare. "Attitude." He scolded warningly, before glancing at Alfred and joking, "Teenagers, ami'right?" Alfred didn't laugh, Jerome returning his sights towards Wayne. "Ooh I remember those days-- so many exciting emotions flowing through you," He began to reminisce, as though he wasn't seventeen. "wanting to kill everyone you saw..." He gave a nostalgic sigh that was cut short when catching how Wayne's gaze flickered towards something, glancing where Wayne's eyes had landed and seeing a crystal owl one of his copycats' were examining, smirking while saying, "You-" He gestured the other forward with his finger. "-gimme'." Alfred's expression fell, Wayne tensing as Jerome held the owl up high as though to weigh it while musing, "Ya' know I will never understand rich people's tastes-"

"It's worthless," Wayne interjected. "my father found it at a flea market-- I keep it for sentimental reasons." 

Jerome's lips broke out into another grin. "Nice try." He knowingly said while raising and lowering the crystal owl experimentally. "It's got some heft to it," He commented, hand pausing. "expensive, I'm guessing?" He observed Wayne's expression intrigued. "It would such a shame if I..." The object carelessly rolled out of his hand. 

"No don't-" Wayne shouted with wide eyes as the decoration hit the floor, Jerome chuckling at how Wayne let out a sigh of relief when it stayed in tact, Alfred relaxing. 

Jerome leaned over to pick it back up while commenting, "Tougher than I figured." He met Wayne's eyes, locking their gazes, wanting to drink up his reaction as he said, "Anyways...", before tossing it over his shoulder, the crystal owl shattering against the fireplace tile. 

"Oh bloody hell!" Alfred huffed exasperated. 

"I asked you what you want!" Wayne snapped in aggravation, abruptly standing up and taking a step towards Jerome, halting at how the copycats glanced at him warningly. 

Ah yes-- Jerome hadn't fully gotten to that part quite yet, had he? 

Jerome didn't stall any longer, finally answering, "Right! Sorry-- the ol' noodle's still a little al dente post thaw... The reason I'm here is I'm gonna' kill you." 

The last part Wayne was certainly surprised about, despite Jerome believing the boy would expect such an answer in such an obvious situation. In fact, Wayne almost seemed hurt and confused even-- as though it was somehow unfathomable that the big bad Jerome Valeska would ever want to do such a thing to poor sweet Wayne as the younger genuinely questioned, "Why?" 

"Oh." Jerome said, because he felt this should be evident, and yet... "Well it's the last thing I remember wanting to do," He explained with a shrug nonetheless. "it's been nagging at me since I woke up." He added while switching his blade open and holding it up, Wayne's expression falling-- as though he didn't understand why a killer would want to kill him, Jerome giving an annoyed click in the back of his throat at what he took as cluelessness. "The idea of slitting that pretty pink throat of yours..." Wayne was almost giving him a look of what Jerome would have said was betrayal if he didn't know better. "... figured that would clear the decks." Then, Wayne's gaze dropped to the fresh wound on Jerome's neck, and suddenly an expression of realization met Wayne's features, Jerome figuring he'd just been in shock and was only now realizing the position he was in. "What do you think, huh?" 

Wayne had an idea of what was going on. 

"Oi-" Alfred objected as Jerome began to approach Wayne. 

"I remember that night," Wayne interjected as his demeanor changed, a confident smile forming on his lips. "when you took over the benefit," Alfred glanced between the two uncertainly. "you were quite the showman." That's what this had to be about-- that was the only time Jerome REALLY wanted to kill him. 

Jerome looked Wayne over skeptically yet intrigued. "Thank you," He angled the knife while eying Wayne's throat. "always nice to be appreciated-" 

"And you're just going to kill me here?" Wayne asked unimpressed, Jerome halting. "It's kind of disappointing..." He commented while leaning towards the older one challengingly, Jerome running his tongue over his teeth intrigued. 

Nonetheless, Jerome gave a grin and raised the knife, Wayne straightening up at that, Alfred watching intently and not daring to move, Jerome readying his hand to strike, Wayne not faltering in the least... 

... 

... Dangit. 

"Oh what do you mean?" Jerome huffed while retreating, because he HAD to know what Wayne was talking about. 

"After all the buildup... you coming back to life... turning the lights off in Gotham... killing me here just doesn't show a lot of..." Wayne trailed off. 

"Flair? Hm?" Jerome impatiently inquired, hopping upright onto the sofa. "Style?! Huh?" He asked while kicking a pillow off. "Finesse? Hm?" Jerome stared at Wayne expectantly. "Go on, boy-- spit it out. I can take it." 

"I'm Bruce Wayne." 

"I'm aware." Jerome replied with an eye roll while jumping off the sofa. 

"I am the ruling elite," Wayne continued as Jerome approached him. "my company is the machine that keeps the cogs of Gotham running," He said while Jerome sarcastically whispered 'wow!' at the cocky words while beginning to circle the smaller boy, knife circling around Wayne's throat and the back of his neck. "Killing me should mean something, and you're telling me no one's going to see it?!" 

Jerome's eyebrows raised, a grin meeting his lips, suddenly getting where Wayne was going with this. "You're saying I need an audience? Aw..." It as almost sweet. Almost. At best it was an artificial sweet. "Look," Jerome said in a much more serious tone, gripping Wayne by the nape of his neck, knife raising to hover inches from his throat. "I know you're just trying to buy time so you can escape..." Jerome leaned forward, pressing his lips against Wayne's ear. "but your point is still valid." He pulled back, giving Wayne a grin and a pat on the shoulder before walking around him and towards his awaiting copycats. "Saddle up boys, we're taking this show on the road!" He exclaimed as Wayne closed his eyes and relaxed somewhat, exhaling in relief. "And I know just the spot... come on." Jerome mused while turning to face Wayne, Wayne meeting his gaze warily, Alfred also standing. "Ah-ah-ah," Jerome objected, giving Alfred a halting gesture. "not you, ol' chap. The prince of Gotham deserves a public death." He declared in a British accent. "His butler? Not so much." Jerome's gave a nod towards Alfred while gesturing towards his copycats and directing, "Kill him." 

"No!" Wayne objected, dread filling him as he sprinted towards his butler, ready to stand by his side and- 

"Bruce!" Alfred warned as the copycats readied their weapons, Wayne meeting his gaze taken aback at the butler's hand resting on his chest to signal him to stand down. "This is what you've been training for," He assured quietly. "you're going to be all right on your own." 

Training? Jerome allowed them to continue talking, that one word intriguing him enough to see if they'd say any more on the matter. 

Wayne's unease shifted to determination as he clenched his jaw and promised, "I will see you again." 

Alfred faltered, his hand lowering as he swallowed thickly, nodding before saying, "Carry on, son-- you carry on." 

Jerome gripped Wayne by his ear, scrunching his nose at the word 'son' and commenting, "Strangely intimate...", before tugging Wayne along. "Come on." The two began to leave, Jerome glancing at the sofa and gesturing at it with his knife while saying, "Try not to get any blood on the couch, I'm gonna' come back for that." 

Wayne felt empty as he followed Jerome, because this couldn't be happening-- Jerome couldn't be taking away the only guardian Wayne had left. Jerome couldn't be taking away the last person that remained in his manor. Jerome couldn't be taking everything away from Wayne after giving him so much. 

Jerome couldn't be the cause of Wayne being all alone again... 

... 

... could he? 

The hard truth was that when it came down to it, this wasn't Jerome anymore-- at least not the one Wayne was familiar with. This was Hugo's creation, and so Wayne's life didn't lie in Jerome's hands... it laid in Hugo's. Unless the unhinged Jerome had gone rogue, of course, which wasn't much more settling. 

As much as Wayne didn't want to believe it, he couldn't ignore the fact Alfred could be gone by morning. Wayne could be gone, too. It was risky to build too much hope on a foundation that could very well fall, so Wayne found himself preparing for the worst, and in doing so Wayne also found his concern for what was going on with Jerome souring into a bitter resentment. 

Wayne wouldn't forgive this hollow being that had once been his closest friend if he took away the one bit of family Wayne had left. 

As Wayne debated on the likeliness of there being a sliver of Jerome hidden somewhere inside the once-familiar ginger he reluctantly followed, Jester looked over at the pair approaching, and Wayne froze the second his eyes met the surprised copycat's. 

Jester cussed under his breath anxiously, tossing the cigarette he'd been smoking to the side and swallowing dryly, inhaling shakily as he cracked his neck from side to side while hurriedly approaching the two and questioning in an on-edge voice, "Why the hell is the kid still alive?" 

Wayne instinctively shuffled closer to the cultist leader, Jerome quirking a brow and looking over his shoulder at the boy quizzically, causing Wayne to clear his throat and back up, Jerome staring at the boy a few lengthy seconds and looking him over before redirecting his gaze towards Jester and answering, "Kiddo's coming along with the rest of us for a little while." 

Jester gave a scoff, enraged eyes glued to the wide eyed boy he continued storming towards while laughing in disbelief, "Why?!" 

Jerome caught Jester by his chest, keeping his palm firmly against it, not allowing the copycat to get any closer to the orphan warily shifting away somewhat. "Because he's getting a public execution." Jerome answered with a shrug, like it should be obvious. 

Jester narrowed his eyes, looking Jerome over questioningly before glancing at Wayne, eyes widening in accusing realization before he returned his irked gaze back to Jerome. "It was the kid's plan." It was a knowing statement-- not a question. "Come on, Jerome-- he's planning something! We should just kill him here-" 

Wayne's eyes widened as Jester was abruptly jerked forward, Jerome raising his knife to the wide eyed copycat's throat warningly while chuckling in an impatient tone, "Are you trying to make the calls here?" The blade angled against Jester's skin in a threatening manner. "Because I know you know better than to try to damn well undermine me," He gave a dangerous smirk. "but it almost sounds like that's exactly what you're trying to do." 

Jester swallowed dryly, meeting the icy emerald gaze and coming close to shaking while assuring, "I'm not-" 

"Good." Jerome interjected, not even giving Jester time to finish, shoving him away while dismissively declaring, "We don't have all night! Cops could be here any minute-- last one out's a rotten egg.", while giving impatient waves forward, his copycats continuing to follow, Wayne reluctantly doing the same. "Oh, and Jester?" Jerome mused in a voice only loud enough for Wayne and the copycat to hear, Jester staring at him unsurely. "The kid's my kill. If I see you or anyone else lay a single finger even near my stuff, both hands getting chopped off." He gave an all too friendly grin. "Got it?" Jester gulped, forcing a smile back and nodding. "Good." Jerome redirected his attention to the glowering Wayne, smugly chiming, "Come on, kiddo!", having the audacity to act like Wayne should be just as giddy as Jerome was at the fact it would be such an HONOR for Jerome and Jerome alone to kill him. 

Wayne found himself just as tired of Jerome's cockiness as he'd been when they first met. 

"Don't talk about me like I'm one of your pets." Wayne snapped as he followed Jerome into a black van, a part of him pissed off Jerome was treating him like he was his dog again, but an even bigger part of him furious about what Jerome had told his little gang to do to Alfred. 

Wayne's gut dropped, wondering if the deed was done yet... 

"A pet?" Jerome scoffed amusedly. "Nah..." He opened the car door for Wayne, giving a wink. "more of a toy." You had to be responsible for and take care of pets, but toys? You could dismiss toys whenever you were done playing. 

Even better... 

~*~*~*~ 

"Jerome said to kill him, War Paint." One of the men growled as War Paint fixed up her bright red lipstick that stretched by the corner of her lips somewhat, dabbing at it with her her pinky. 

Alfred glanced at War Paint warily, not quite sure what this girl was playing at as she dismissively chimed, "He didn't saw we had to kill him right away~", while reapplying some of the foundation a shade too light to her face. 

"Is there a reason we're waiting?" Another copycat sighed impatiently, stomping his foot on the ground in a childish manner. 

War Paint batted her eyelashes long with mascara a few experimental times to make sure there were no loose lashes, answering with a shrug, "He seems like a fun chap to talk to~" 

"Well then hurry up and say whatever you wanna' say to him so we can get this over with in time to see the brat's public execution." Another copycat directed, raising his weapon readily. 

"None of you have the slightest bit of patience~" War Paint huffed as she blended in the heavy black eyeshadow around her eyes. 

"Screw this," Snarled the first copycat who had spoken up, revving his chainsaw. "I'm killing this bastard here and now, like we were told t-" 

A loud BANG rang out, Alfred's eyes widening as the outspoken copycat fell face-first against the floor, blood pooling under him as War Paint gave a satisfied hum and stuffed her firearm back into the bedazzled belt fastened around her shorts, the other copycats' shuffling around uneasily as she said with a smile, "Jerome left ME in charge here, so if anyone else has a problem with that, you can take it up with me or him~" The copycats muttered uncomfortably, neither option exactly being ideal. "No objections?" Silence filled the room, Alfred looking her over quizzically. "Good! Then unless the rest of you want to end up like Mr. Bossy, Alfred better still be alive when I get back from freshening up~" She giddily warned, giving the butler a wink as she left the parlor to go find a restroom. 

Alfred was skeptical of the possibility of having a copycat on his side for whatever the reason, and yet... perhaps there was a chance he could get through this after all. 

If Alfred kept them entertained enough, that is. 

~*~*~*~ 

It was just Jerome, Wayne, and Jester riding together-- the rest of the copycats had taken their own vehicles. 

Every time Wayne attempted to talk, Jester quieted him, and Jerome just snickered-- such as when Wayne asked if they could roll the window down, Jester told him to shut his trap before he cut his tongue out, and Jerome gave a chuckle. To be fair, Wayne had been planning to try to catch some stranger's attention if the tinted window was rolled down, but he was pretty sure Jester didn't realize that, and just felt like telling Wayne to shut up. 

So, Wayne attempted to stir the pot by getting Jerome interested enough in what he had to say, hoping Jester would get scolded for trying to hush Wayne. 

It was easy enough. 

"I'm surprised you and Jester are friends now." Wayne commented casually, Jester feeling his anxieties skyrocket, whipping around to glare at the boy in the backseat warningly, because Jerome could not know Jester and him had not exactly been the best of pals. 

"Do I need to put a muzzle on you?" Jester threatened, yet this time, Jerome didn't snicker-- he listened, and Wayne was satisfied with the reaction, because it confirmed Jerome believed he and Jester had always been friends. 

So, Wayne continued. "I'm surprised a guy as mean as you would forgive anyone for trying to kill you, Jester-- even you're idol." 

"I told you to-" Jester started to say while slamming his hand against the back of his seat warningly in attempts to scare Wayne into silence, eyes widening as Wayne instantly reacted to the intimidating gesture by smirking and suddenly ramming his cheek against the window hard enough to make a loud THUD while emitting a fairly real sounding pained noise, Jester realizing what the kiddo was doing and feeling his gut drop as Jerome abruptly swerved the car off to the side of the road and slammed his foot on the break. 

"I told you to not touch my-" Jerome laughed in a furious tone while yanking the gear into park. 

"I didn't touch him!" Jester interjected defensively, meeting Jerome's seething gaze. "I just hit the seat to scare him a little! He slammed his damn face against the glass at the same time so it sounded like I-" Wayne let out a shaken up breath that sounded quite genuine, the fifteen year old rather proud of his crocodile tears as Jester glanced at Wayne with a glare. "I told you to shut up-" 

"Get out." Jerome scoffed, Jester blinking while looking at his leader in disbelief, and wow perhaps Wayne should take up theater... 

"But-" Jester objected, because he hadn't laid a single finger on as much as a strand of Wayne's hair, and this just wasn't fair. 

"Now!" Jerome laughed irked, Jester feeling his shoulders and smile droop at the raised voice. "You can walk the rest of the way." 

"Walk?!" Jester exclaimed distressed, because the carnival was miles away, and Jerome just couldn't be serious! This HAD to be a joke- 

"You're lucky I'm letting you keep your hands." Jerome snickered with an eye roll, Jester staring at him with a dropped jaw, and why was this bastard that had touched Jerome's THINGS still in Jerome's sights? "Do I have to drag you out-" 

Jester gave a grumble while shoving open the door, they copycat glaring at Wayne as he reluctantly stomped out of the van, Jester staring at Jerome accusingly for actually taking the captive's side and earning an expectant look, causing Jester to sigh heavily and slam the door shut, Wayne sticking his tongue out at him as the car screeched off. 

Jester didn't find that funny at all. 

Wayne's triumph quickly shifted back into dread when realizing he shouldn't be acting like this was a victory for both him and Jerome, because this wasn't Jerome-- not really. It was just a regression of Jerome. A Jerome Hugo molded until it wasn't the Jerome that Wayne knew anymore. 

A Jerome that had probably been the cause of Alfred very likely being- 

No. Wayne didn't want to- he didn't want to ponder on that. Maybe Alfred was okay. Maybe he'd gotten away somehow. Maybe- 

Maybe Wayne should stop kidding himself. There was little to no chance Alfred was still breathing. There was also little to no chance Wayne would still be breathing by tomorrow. 

"Why did you call me 'traitorous'?" Wayne heard himself asking as he stared out the window, his own voice feeling distant-- as though Wayne's words were being spoken for him and he was just listening to what came out. 

"What?" Jerome inquired with a snicker, keeping his eyes on the road he sped down. 

Wayne watched the people, signs, and lights that blurred by. "At the manor, you said I was a 'traitorous brat'," He began to explain, wondering how fast they were going. "what makes you say I betrayed you?" What had Hugo convinced Jerome of? 

Jerome gave an annoyed click in the back of his throat. "Playing innocent doesn't work when I know you're guilty, kiddo." 

Wayne's concern for Jerome was being replaced by his concern for Alfred. "I'm not 'playing'," Wayne felt numb. "I'm being serious," Yet Wayne also felt a hatred rising through the numbness towards Jerome. "I don't know why you consider me a 'traitor'." 

Jerome gripped the steering wheel tighter, giving a bitter chuckle. "You're either acting ditsy to piss me off, or just really damn clueless then." 

"Or you're refusing to accept your past has been manipulated by Hugo again." Wayne countered coldly. 

Jerome furrowed his brow despite his smile remaining etched on his lips. "Excuse me?" He laughed unsurely. "Again?" That wasn't what Hugo was doing, and he certainly hadn't done it before- 

"We were friends," Wayne stated in a bland, quiet tone. 

"I'm aware." Jerome scoffed sourly. 

Wayne blinked at that, staring forward at the driving Jerome. "What?" 

"I'm aware we were friends before the charity ball." Jerome informed with a forced smile, Wayne furrowing his brow. "I'm also aware you know the charity ball is what caused this mess, because you asked if that was what all this is about back at that fancy mansion of yours." Jerome pressed his foot against the pedal harder, speeding up even more. 

Wayne began to piece together more of Hugo's plan. "We were friends AFTER the charity ball," Wayne stated, Jerome going quiet. "we hadn't even met until that night-" 

"We met at Arkham," Jerome argued musingly, Wayne furrowing his brow. "back when you had long hair." 

Huh? When he had long what? Long- 

Oh. Oh no. Thomas was a part of this, too. 

"Jerome," Wayne spoke as calmly as possible, attempting to sound confident. "you're getting events mixed up," Despite the fact it was the truth, Wayne felt like he didn't sound genuine. "I saw you in Arkham a few weeks ago, but the boy with the long hair wasn't me, and the charity event was almost a year ago-" 

"So what?" Jerome laughed in disbelief, swerving in and out of lanes. "Hugo's somehow gone and magically made me recall my own past incorrectly?" 

"Weren't you telling me how everything's a little fuzzy at the manor?" Wayne countered, Jerome quieting. "Jerome, please... you have to listen to me, okay? Hugo is controlling you. He wants you to do this-- he wants you to kill me so he can fully break you-" 

"Well I'm not Hugo's little helper anymore!" Jerome laughed in aggravation, a horn honking at him, causing him to ram his palm against the wheel and give a long honk back. "So this is all me, kiddo!" This was Jerome's choice-- not Hugo's. "Sorry to disappoint." Jerome teased, looking over his shoulder at Wayne and giving a wink, because Jerome was going to do this-- he was going to execute this lying brat. 

"He's making you believe this is all your choice," Wayne objected as Jerome returned his gaze to the road, earning an eye roll from the older one. "but it's exactly what he wants you to do." 

"And just why exactly is this exactly the way Hugo wants to go about getting rid of you?" Jerome hummed unconvinced. 

"Because he won't have to get his hands dirty this way, and if you do this, there's no coming back from it-- he has you the second I'm gone." Wayne explained calmly. Quietly. Simply. 

Hatefully. 

Jerome gave a hoot of laughter, the van swerving somewhat as he did so. "So you're saying that you're the only thing standing between him and me?" Jerome crackled in amused yet bitter disbelief. "That essentially you're the only thing keeping me grounded?" His laughter continued to sour. "You've got a pretty big ego there, kiddo, if you really believe you're the only person I ever gave enough of a shit about to-" 

"If you've really killed Alfred, I could care less about whether you give or gave a shit about me," Wayne interrupted, Jerome's laughter silencing. "and if you have, then you could stay like this for all I care." It wasn't a nice thing for Wayne to say, but Jerome killing Wayne's last guardian wasn't very nice either. To be fair, Jerome wasn't exactly in his right mind, and despite knowing that, Wayne couldn't help but to feel the hate towards his once-friend grow in him. 

Regardless of what was going on, Wayne could never forgive Jerome if he caused Alfred's death in any way. After all, Wayne would have to put all that anger somewhere, and towards someone. 

Wayne was aware of the likeliness Alfred was already gone, but he wasn't quite certain, so for now Wayne's bitterness towards Jerome was nowhere near as high as it could be, but it was still abundant. 

It was almost funny how Wayne realized he could forgive Jerome for attempting to kill him, yet he couldn't do the same when it came to Alfred-- when it came to those around him. Then again, that wasn't really funny at all. 

Not to Wayne, in any case. 

How cruel of Wayne to say such awful things to Jerome. They'd been so close, it almost hurt! Although Jerome should expect such things from such a traitorous brat. So, Jerome laughed at Wayne's boldness instead of crying at having his feelings hurt a little, because Jerome had never really been one to cry when he could instead see the funny side of things, and Jerome was aware there were much more painful things to experience than a few hurt feelings. 

That didn't mean Jerome didn't get back at Wayne for the snide comment. 

"Put this on." Jerome directed, tossing a black sack into the back, earning silence, and he had reckoned Wayne would be stubborn. "Now." He warned, only being met with quietness. "If I have to pull over and tie it around your throat myself, you might find your face turning purple." At that, Jerome heard rustling and a grumble, smirking as Wayne reluctantly put the black sack over his face to cover his sights. "Good boy." He chided smugly. 

"Piss off." Wayne said under his breath. 

"Don't mumble." Jerome warned with a snicker. 

"Where are we going?" Wayne sighed, finding it hard to breathe under the sack, and he could vaguely make out a few objects through the cloth, but not many. 

"It's a surprise!" Jerome exclaimed with a grin, earning a deep exhale and huffing, "Ya' always act this sour when you're being given surprises?" 

"Only when they're shit surprises." Wayne answered through clenched teeth. 

Jerome's eyebrows raised, giving an annoyed chuckle accompanied by an irked sigh, because this kid was really testing him... 

~*~*~*~ 

After Jim and Alfred took out the copycats surrounding them, the two immediately went after Jerome and Wayne, but on their way out Jim asked, "Were those all the copycats?" 

Alfred hesitated, earning a look. "There was one more little miss... their leader, I believe. They called her something along the lines of War Paint-- very defined by her makeup, she was." Jim looked at Alfred as he spoke. "Funny enough, she told the lot of them to leave me be even after Jerome gave the order to kill me as he walked out the door. Insisted they have some fun, first." Jim frowned at that. "Odd thing is I didn't get a single beating... just a few intrusive questions, but nothing all that bad. Next thing I know, the gal's killed one copycat that insisted they should all hurry up and do off with me. She gave a warning towards anyone that tried any funny business on me without her say-so, and then she went to the restroom to freshen up." Jim arched a brow at that. "Next thing I know, you're here helping me fend the bastards off." 

Jim directed his gaze forward as they walked through the door, quieting at Alfred's words for a while, before eventually revealing, "I figured you and Wayne were in trouble when Lee suggested Jerome could be going after the kid, and then you guys didn't answer the phone... but an anonymous female called in and tipped me off about how by copycats were at your place." Alfred blinked at that, Jim staring forward. "Reckon that could have been her?" 

Alfred went towards the backseat of the police car, aware they still had to pick up Bullock. "Well I'd say it would have to be... she's the only one that could have provided that information." 

Jim sat on the driver's side. "I suppose that means we have a copycat seemingly on our side for some-" He noticed a pink post-it note on the outside of his car. "-reason..." 

Alfred stared at the picture drawn on the piece of paper. "Well I guess we were right about where Jerome took Wayne off to..." 

It was a picture of a ferris wheel-- a prime example of a carnival ride. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne took in a deep breath of air as the stuffy black sack over his face was finally pulled off, blinking several times to get used to the multi colored lights he'd seen glimpses of through the sack patches, panting slightly from how hard it had been to breathe under said sack, slightly from the adrenaline rush of being in such an energetic place, and slightly from the fear of seeing this carnival with distorted music and screams of terror rather than joy being completely infested by Jerome's influence. 

Jerome smirked and observed Wayne's discomfort, relishing his reaction, wanting to savor it-- to put it in a bottle, wrap it up, and keep it on his shelf. Wayne was so amusing! 

Instead of people aiming baseballs at toy clowns to attempt knocking them over for a prize, copycats were instead aiming at real people stuck in place as they flung baseballs which whizzed by the terrified prisoners and slammed against their bruising faces. Moving targets were in motion not by machine, but by reluctant people being forced to walk back and forth with targets attached to their clothing as they were fired at by Jerome's followers. The merry go round consisted of sobbing people being forced to hold still as intimidating cultists aimed their weapons menacingly at them. Whack-a-mole contained not toy moles, yet real wide eyed people being whacked at by Jerome's lackeys with huge mallets. The balloons the criminals flew darts at were held up by whimpering bystanders. 

Wayne's jaw dropped, chest aching, a helplessness residing-- innocent people were being hurt by the influences of someone he'd given refuge to, and Wayne couldn't do anything about it. 

"Get him! Squash her! Get the old lady!" Jerome encouraged, Wayne feeling like he was going to be sick. "No-- the fat guy! Put your back into it!" Finally, one of the copycats playing whack-a-human succeeded much to Jerome's delight and Wayne's regret, Jerome grinning while cracking his neck to the side as he rolled his shoulders, giving a satisfied hum followed by a chuckle. "Well... we're off to a good start," He commented, putting on a black and red circus hat as Wayne glared at him. "what do you say, Bruce?" Wayne scrunched his nose in distaste as Jerome smirked all too welcomingly at him, suggesting, "Wanna' have some fun before the main event?", while giving a slight bow and gesturing towards his chaotic carnival. 

"Do I have a choice?" Wayne asked despite knowing the answer. 

Jerome smirked, holding out his hand expectantly. "You could just say no and stay where you stand..." He answered, Wayne straightening up somewhat. "but I doubt you'd be very fond of me dragging you the rest of the way by your ankle." Wayne's jaw clenched, Jerome's smile growing. "I'm asking nicely, Wayne..." At that, the younger hesitated. "now do you want to come try to enjoy yourself willingly, or am I going to have to make you come?" At that, Wayne's lips pursed, yet his hand reluctantly took Jerome's, earning a pleased grin that almost seemed to stretch from one of Jerome's ears to the other. "Good choice," Jerome laughed, Wayne going wide eyed as Jerome yanked him closer, the taller one leaning down much too close for comfort. "we're going to have loads of fun, kiddo!" Jerome crackled, Wayne personally doubting that. 

As far as Jerome was concerned, it was time for them to have one last big gig together. 

And then Jerome would kill the kid that had betrayed him to end their night together on a good note. 

~*~*~*~ 

Selina was feeding the stray cats her leftovers in the warehouse lit by candles, Jen feeding the mice her crumbs, neither realizing there was a stranger watching them until an unfamiliar voice chimed, "Wow! You two really care of your little pets a lot better than you do your own friends~" 

Selina's eyes narrowed as she instantly spun to face War Paint while taking a stance of attack, Jen feeling her eyes widen and hopping up from her crouching position as she turned to face the copycat while taking a defensive stance. 

"What do you want?" Selina interrogated menacingly. 

"Who are you?" Jen inquired quizzically. 

War Paint raised her hand to her lips, giggling as Selina and Jen quirked their brows and exchanged uncertain glances, Jen shrugging and Selina sighing before they returned their sights to the copycat chiming, "How cute! Do you two always team up like this? It's pretty adorable to see a couple of kids playing tough~" When only earning glares and silence, War Paint only gave a bigger smile. "I'm Jerome's copycat-- War Paint! It's so nice to finally meet you two~" That earned wary stares. "Not very talkative, huh?" Their refusal to speak was answer enough. "Oh fine, don't be any fun... how impolite!" 

"What-" Selina started to repeat impatiently. 

"In any case," War Paint interjected, waving the other off with a shrug. "I just dropped by to tell you two nice gals that a good pal of yours is in trouble," Selina and Jen's expressions fell at that, instantly expecting that had to mean Ivy. "and if I were you, I'd be careful about hesitating too long... you might not have enough time to save the poor boy~" 

Boy? So it wasn't Ivy- 

Selina's guy dropped in realization. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome had told the makeup artist to give Wayne something that would make the boy's eyes pop. Wayne felt like the black and white makeup made him look even more depressing than he already did as a fifteen year old angsty as shit teen. Wayne's personalized clown makeup included tear drops, and that honestly said a lot. Geez Wayne felt like a gothic emo bastard. He couldn't use the excuse of this just all around being a bad night-- he was always pretty moody. 

"Gotta' be honest, Bruce," Jerome commented while approaching the unamused boy questioning his life choices. "you don't make the world's funniest clown." Jerome growled against his ear, Wayne glaring straight on, refusing to meet his gaze like a stubborn little shite. "But..." Jerome gave a smirk. "we can fix that..." He assured all too casually, holding up a knife and switching out the blade. 

Wayne tensed and attempted to jerk away, Jerome grabbing him by his raven locks warningly, causing the boy to lock up and eye over the approaching weapon, breathing shakily as the knife traced his clenching jawline, and oh how Jerome would have to coax more of those wonderful reactions... 

Jerome looked Wayne over satisfied by said reaction, drawing the knife away from the boy stiff with fear and debating on whether he wanted to just give pretty-boy here a little flesh wound. Nothing too severe, of course- 

Everything around Jerome seemed to dim and fade, not quite going all the way out, but becoming too blurry like grainy glass to focus on anything but the clear picture of a somewhat younger Wayne standing in front of him, and he would have looked real if not for the shine engulfing his vaguely transparent skin that almost looked solid. 

This peculiar Wayne was holding a bag out towards him cautiously. 'Do you want food and a place to rest or not?' 

Jerome froze at a rather familiar feeling that arose when hearing those words; what was Wayne- 

A flash overtook Jerome's vision before his sights returned to normal, smile falling as he found himself almost instinctively choosing to stab the makeup artist rather than Wayne, earning a whimper from the artist as an upset Wayne looked around distressed, Jerome shoving his finger into the wound carelessly and scolding, "Ah shut up, you big baby.", to the groaning guy he'd just driven a knife into. 

Jerome chose to joke off... whatever that flash was. Like he did with most things he was uncertain about. He did so by holding the squirming Wayne in place while saying, "Let's turn that frown...", while drawing a crimson red arch over Wayne's pursed lips. "...upside down." Jerome gave a satisfied grin at the quiet rage that emitted from Wayne, the older one admiring his handiwork as the younger breathed in and out sharply while attempting to calm himself. 

Jerome had always been the one to ease Wayne's panic attacks-- not cause them. 

"You having a good time?" Jerome purred amusedly while moving beside Wayne, gripping the boy's chin and lifting, forcing their eyes to meet, examining his new toy he could change here and there as he pleased-- like a doll. 

Wayne glowered at Jerome, forcing his fist to not collide with the other's jaw, aware that would result in the copycats doing much worse to Wayne. "It's not exactly my cup of tea." Wayne hissed through gritted teeth. 

Jerome chuckled at the polite phrasing accompanied by a tone that was anything but. "Oh don't you worry-- we're not quite done yet." Jerome gave a cheeky smile. "There's still time for you to settle in and have some fun..." 

Oh great... 

~*~*~*~ 

Ivy and Harley were sitting atop the roof of Harley's house when War Paint visited them. Harley had been sobbing about the beating her dad had just given her when he found the clothes hadn't been washed, and Ivy had been comforting her by distracting her through a tutorial of how to make a flower crown. 

Ivy's fingers helped Harley's hands along, correcting any mistakes she made, the two managing to get the flower crown a quarter of the way done when the window they'd crawled out of slammed opened, causing the two to jump and look back in fear, relieved to see it wasn't Harley's father as War Paint grinned at them, but rather cautious to see it was a stranger, which wasn't much better when the stranger looked as peculiar as War Paint. 

War Paint introduced herself, and explained she was there because a friend of their's needed their assistance. 

"Wayne?!" Harley instantly guessed with wide worried eyes, because Wayne was always the number one kiddo in their group getting his ass in trouble, and resulting in them having to get him out of it. 

War Paint only grinned and gave a shrug accompanied by a wink, chiming out teasingly, "Maybe~" 

Ivy felt Harley use both of her hands to worriedly grasp the red haired girl's hand, causing Ivy to question, "Well what's going on, and just where is he?" 

~*~*~*~ 

"Is there a plan to all this madness?" Wayne finally asked, Jerome's arm around him, yet none of the usual warmth there. 

"These people don't want a plan," Jerome answered as he kept Wayne close, not about to have the younger run off, and enjoying how uncomfortably tense the wary boy was more than anything. "they want an excuse." He began to give examples. "A mother who dreams of strangling her child... A husband who wants to stab his wife..." Jerome halted, Wayne being forced to do the same, Jerome locking their gazes. "All they want is someone to tell them..." Jerome examined Wayne. "... do it." Wayne frowned as Jerome gave a shrug. "Kill them-- it doesn't matter." Jerome paused, leaning forward, voice dropping while insistently emphasizing, "It doesn't." 

A game bell rang, Jerome breaking his gaze from Wayne's and perking up. "Ooh, I love this game!" He exclaimed, Wayne being secured by a copycat as Jerome made his way towards a dunk tank filled with piranhas, a begging businessman sitting inches above the water full of starving fish. "One please!" He chimed. 

"Yes sir!" The copycat replied, handing Jerome a single baseball, Jerome giving Wayne a cocky grin while moving into place. 

"You won't get away with it." Wayne stated stubbornly. 

"I already did. Now, shush-- need to concentrate." Jerome retorted, rolling his throwing arm as a warmup while spitting off to the side, because that's what baseball players are supposed to do, right? Spit a lot or something? 

"A few dozen brainwashed maniacs can't keep the city hostage forever." Wayne argued, and the Maniax group's fall had proved just that. 

"Well duh." Jerome scoffed like that should be obvious. 

Wayne watched Jerome ready his arm, aiming at the button that would dunk the businessman into the piranha filled tank if hit, just about to throw it when Wayne stalled for time by speaking up to ask, "So what's the point?", causing Jerome to give an irked smirk and halt, hand lowering. 

"The point," Jerome began impatiently, turning to face Wayne. "is that all these people out here... looting, robbing..." Jerome gave a cruel grin, approaching Wayne casually. "... killing..." Jerome put his hands behind his back. "is that they're the people who wash your car. Who pour your coffee. Who... take out your trash." Wayne raised his chin at that. "And what happened the moment the lights went out?" Jerome mused, earning a scowl, Jerome grinning in return. "They showed their true faces." Jerome's smile fell, meeting Wayne's glower with a glare. "They showed how quickly they want to open up your rich-boy veins, and bathe in your blue blood." Bitterness seeped through Jerome's tone. "THAT is the point." An unsettling smile returned to Jerome's lips. 

The fact that so many people wanted this brat to die as much as he did delighted Jerome immensely 

"That's not true," Wayne objected, earning an intrigued gaze. "there are good people in Gotham." Not everyone was like that. 

Jerome grinned from ear to ear at the stubbornness, letting out a hoot of laughter, Wayne watching him with an glare that was much too serious for the Jerome that challenged, "Like who?" He wasn't smiling anymore. "The sheep that lock their doors and crawl under their beds?" Jerome stepped closer, leaning over and smirking, inches away from Wayne's face, bluish gray eyes bravely flickering up to meet crazed emerald irises. "Face it, kid-- Gotham has no heroes." 

Wayne averted his gaze at that, frowning as Jerome gave a triumphant smile of satisfaction at Wayne finally behaving like a good boy and seemingly backing down, Jerome turning back towards the piranha infested dunk tank, experimentally tossing his baseball upwards before catching it, reeling his arm back readily, earning pleas from the businessman sitting atop the tank, Jerome dismissing them as he went to throw the baseball and- 

Wayne shoved Jerome right as the ball left his hand, causing it to swerve away from the button the taller one had been aiming for as Jerome stumbled, the businessman staring at Wayne with surprised, grateful eyes. 

"Hey!" A copycat growled, grabbing Wayne by his arms, holding him in place. 

"Foul!" Jerome huffed while straightening up to turn and glare at Wayne. "He pushed me! Did you see that?!" The copycat that had handed Jerome the baseball gave a nod. 

"You wanna' kill someone?" Wayne spoke up, offering himself to Jerome as a distraction. "Let's get on with it!" If he could just keep Jerome's eyes on him... "Come on!" Wayne coaxed, jerking in the copycat's hold, staring at Jerome with a seething gaze. 

Jerome only gave a yawn, dismissively stating, "You're so boring, Bruce.", while casually pressing his palm against the button and pushing, earning a dinging noise. 

The businessman's relief melted into fear as his chair folded, forcing him to slide into the tank as Wayne yelled, "No!", with distressed eyes, the copycat keeping the struggling boy in place as the businessman stared out at the helpless wide eyed boy, the man's hands pressing against the glass desperately as piranhas swarmed their victim attempting to scream through the water becoming a shade of crimson red. 

Jerome tore his gaze away from the entertaining sight, looking at the upset Wayne and giving a shrug while sarcastically mouthing, "Sorry." 

"Yo." One of the copycat's spoke up, noticing the upper left side of Jerome's stapled on face was loose, handing his leader a heavy duty stapler while temporarily taking his black and red hat, Wayne scrunching his nose and inwardly wincing as he watched his once-friend staple the torn skin in place while letting out a groan. 

There was a time when Wayne would have been concerned about Jerome. A time he would have helped him. A time he would have asked if he was okay. That time was coming to an end as Wayne sarcastically said in a satisfied voice dripping with smugness, "Did that hurt?" 

Jerome gave Wayne an unamused look. "Not much." A lie. That was a lie. "You try it." He bitterly offered, because he wasn't about to let Wayne get away with being a snide little shit. 

Oh crap... 

Wayne set his jaw as Jerome grabbed his hand, meeting an emerald gaze as metal was so cruelly easily stapled into the top of his hand, Jerome quirking a brow at how the only reaction he got was a blink. So, Jerome stapled higher, only earning another blink as more metal pierced the flesh of the boy raising his chin defiantly while Jerome gave a glare, because he wanted a reaction. A reaction is exactly what Jerome got when he moved onto Wayne's arm. 

"Stop!" Wayne finally pleaded, doubling forward somewhat and squeezing his eyes shut, forehead resting against Jerome's chest, earning a satisfied chuckle. "Stop..." Wayne pleaded as he felt the stapler rest against another place higher up on his arm, causing Jerome to hesitate. 

"All right," Jerome agreed amusedly while pulling back, because he was feeling nice, and had gotten what he wanted in any case. "enough dilly dally," He said while taking back his circus hat and putting it on. "To the main event!" He declared while stretching out his arms dramatically. 

Wayne swallowed thickly, water prickling at his eyes as Jerome nonchalantly walked by him, the boy's teeth gritting as he continued having to accept the fact this wasn't the Jerome he knew anymore, eyes looking down at the staple injuries the old Jerome would have NEVER inflicted on him. 

That meant Wayne had to get away. 

So, Wayne suddenly found himself running. 

Of course, Jerome just rolled his eyes and shook his head impatiently, giving a heavy sigh as his copycats who were supposed to be watching the boy a bit more carefully stared with wide eyes at their irked boss forcing a smile. 

"Well," Jerome began in an all too calm tone. "go. get. him." The copycats gave obedient nods- "Now!" At that, they scrambled to run after the kiddo, Jerome giving a pissed off laugh while stalking towards the direction Wayne had fled to. 

How annoying. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jonathan eyed War Paint over quizzically. "Exactly what benefit do you gain by doing this?" 

War Paint gave an innocent smile. "By doing what?" 

Jonathan crossed his arms, examining her cautiously. "Alerting us of the predicament Wayne is in." 

"Oh!" War Paint gave a shrug accompanied by a soft laugh. "I don't gain anything from tattling, if that's what you're asking~" She smiled a bit too warmly. "I just reckoned you'd like to know your little buddy is in pretty big trouble with Mr. Valeska-- that's all~" 

A skeptical Thomas Jr. spoke up to sarcastically say, "How kind of you..." 

War Paint gave a cocky hum. "I am kind, aren't I?" 

Jonathan and Thomas glanced at one another uncertainly, before returning their gazes to the copycat, Jonathan stating, "I highly doubt you're just up and risking going against your idol simply to be 'kind' to us two strangers you've never bothered becoming acquainted with before," He continued looking her over-- like he was searching for answers through her reactions. "so what precisely is the catch here? What's your reasoning for revealing such a thing?" 

War Paint brought a finger to her lips, giving a wink. "Sorry boys, but that's a secret." 

"It's a trap." Thomas suggested confidently, shuffling back somewhat ready to run, frowning as Jonathan held his ground. 

War Paint gave an exaggerated gasp, placing her hand against her chest. "You really believe little ol' me would be trying to lure you two nice boys into a trap?" 

"Yes." The two boys both answered at once. 

War Paint gave a smirk, eyes rolling as she sighed, "Fair enough, I suppose... honestly, I can't really blame you for being cautious~" She placed her hands on her hips, saying in a rather matter-of-factly voice, "But when it comes down to it, this hypothetical trap is only a possibility, but Wayne is in very real trouble, so it's up to you two to decide whether you wanna' risk helping or not~" 

Their initial reaction was to play it safe-- to listen to their instincts and stay where it was safe and they were hidden in the cornfield shack. 

That was only their initial reaction, however... 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne had managed to get within only a few yards away from the front gate, but much to his dismay that was the most heavily guarded place, and the majority of copycats had walkie talkies, so they were probably if not certainly aware they needed to be on the look out for him. 

Great. 

Perhaps Wayne could find some soft ground near the gates surrounding the carnival and dig his way out... perhaps he could even attempt climbing over the wire. He could also try to blend in by walking around laughing and pretending to be a fellow copycat. Wayne could possibly take on the copycats guarding the gate as well. 

Jerome had told his copycats that Wayne was his when it came to maiming and killing... so Wayne probably just needed to worry about not being caught since they wouldn't injure him. Unless one of the copycats didn't get the memo or happened to conveniently forget such a thing. Then again, Jerome could have given them permission to injure if it meant stopping the boy... 

Wayne stayed in his hiding place behind a cotton candy stand while debating on which plan to go with, keeping his sights on the guarded front gate, because freedom was right there, and if he could just get by those blocking it off... 

A new problem arose when Wayne realized he had been so busy paying attention to what was in front of him, he hadn't been paying any attention to the copycat sneaking up behind him, until it was too late and Wayne was being yanked back by his shirt. 

Wayne gave a frustrated noise as he kicked and squirmed in the arms entrapping him, growing aggravated at how all eyes turned towards them, because now it was too late to attempt getting away again-- Wayne couldn't fight off everyone. 

Nonetheless, Wayne stubbornly persisted, elbowing the walkie talkie out of the copycat's hand before they could call Jerome, stomping on their foot so their hold loosened, scrambling out of their grasp and sprinting towards the exit, one of the observing copycat's in the crowd catching him and shoving him back into the clear area as several copycats began to radio their boss. 

Wayne helplessly looked around at the crowd of copycats surrounding him, adrenaline running in his veins as he attempted escape again, the crowd remaining firmly in tact and not parting in the least as he tried to run through, more copycats shoving him out, Wayne clenching his jaw at the smirks being given. 

So, Wayne tried again, and got pushed away again, swallowing thickly at the snickers. He tried another time, and got pushed back into the clearing once more, breathing shaky as chuckles were emitted. Desperately, Wayne took one more run forward, throwing his weight into the crowd, and being shoved out so hard he found himself skidding on his side before coming to a halt on the asphalt, letting out a stifled noise at the painful impact, the laughter fully erupting as Wayne sat up and looked around him only to find grinning faces lacking any sympathy, the unsettling laughs only seeming to get louder and louder- 

Abruptly a BANG rang through the air, the crowd instantly quieting at that, Wayne feeling cold, and tired, and hungry, and upset, and achy all over as Jerome walked through the crowd that obediently stepped aside for him, clearing up a path so he could get through. 

Wayne was shaking. Perhaps from adrenaline. Perhaps from anger. Perhaps from fear. Perhaps from the cold. Perhaps from exhaustion. Perhaps from hunger. 

Jerome halted a few yards away from Wayne, looking the shivering boy over, and his emerald irises lacked concern at the state Wayne was in, only holding an icy gaze. 

Jerome's eyes were no longer familiar to Wayne as Jerome gestured for Wayne to get up without smiling in the least, clearly not pleased by Wayne's little escape attempt. 

Wayne didn't move, just staring at Jerome accusingly. Desperately. Pleadingly. 

There had to be SOME part of Jerome that still cared about Wayne. Hugo couldn't have taken all of that away. 

Then again, perhaps there wasn't with how Jerome just said in an eerily calm voice, "Get. up.", while impatiently holding out his hand. 

Perhaps Hugo really had made sure every single piece and speck of the old Jerome was taken out and thrown away. 

Wayne reluctantly got up, legs shaking. 

Perhaps Hugo really had turned Jerome into something else completely. 

Wayne didn't say anything as he took Jerome's hand, just averting his gaze and staying quiet. 

Perhaps Hugo had won after all. 

At first, Jerome hesitated, holding Wayne's hand gently, looking him over quietly, causing hesitant bluish gray eyes to look up at their captor hopefully. But then, Jerome stated in a sharp tone, "The main event starts in an hour inside the circus tent.", while tightening his grasp so hard Wayne winced, worrying his bones would break if Jerome held any tighter, tugging the boy along firmly, not planning on releasing his hold anytime soon and risking another escape attempt. 

~*~*~*~ 

"What took ya' so long, Styles?" War Paint hummed, kicking her feet back and forth as the ferris wheel came to a stop. 

A woman in a purple dress containing red designs and emeralds littering her dress collar didn't bother getting in the seat-- even as War Paint opened the ride's door for her. "I was supposed to gather the adults," She stated simply, referring to Alfred and Jim. "you were supposed to stick to the kids." 

"I figured it would be entertaining to take some of your load-- they're all so fun to round up~" War Paint waved off with a shrug, grinning as she gestured Styles inside. "Besides, you've been looking pretty tired lately... I was just trying to help a little~" 

"Were you?" Styles asked skeptically, not budging from the place she stood. 

War Paint smirked. "Would I lie to you?" 

Styles didn't falter. "Yes." 

War Paint gave a hum. "Oh?" She challenged. 

"You lied to those kids you rounded up." Styles brought up quietly. 

"I didn't lie to them," War Paint huffed. "I just didn't tell them the whole truth..." War Paint crossed her arms impatiently. "Now are ya' going to get in or not?" 

Styles hesitated. 

~*~*~*~ 

Jester had gotten to the carnival about ten minutes before the main event was scheduled to take place. The copycat was in charge of watching Wayne as Jerome changed into his ringleader clothing. 

"It must really hurt to see Jerome regressing like this after he was doing so well." Jester commented casually, Wayne keeping his gaze averted. "I can't even imagine what it's like to have your best friend suddenly hate your guts." Wayne stayed quiet. "So what's it like then, huh? Realizing the guy that gave his life for you is about to take yours?" Wayne felt his eyes begin to water. "And giving the order for his men to kill your butler... it's not like you can forgive him for that, right? Regardless of whether he's in his right mind or not, you can't forgive anyone for taking away the last bit of family you have left, can you? The reason doesn't matter when that butler's all you have left." Wayne's jaw clenched, teeth gritting. "Tell me something, kiddo... do you feel like those staples on your arm scarred the tissue? I personally reckon you'll have some kind of blemish there forever." Wayne swallowed dryly, feeling sick to his stomach. "Wow. It's really making you fall apart, huh? Losing Jerome like this. You two were closer than I realized." 

"Shut up." Wayne breathed shakily, pulling his legs against his chest, burying his face against his knees. 

Jester's voice went dangerously low. "Excuse me?" 

"You can't do anything to me," Wayne said in a hoarse voice. "Jerome will cut off your hands if you touch me." 

Jester gave a scoff. "Listen here, you little shit-" 

"It must really upset you," Wayne said while pulling back to glare at Jester. "the fact Jerome and I were so close when he was in his right mind," Wayne was turning the tables. "but with you?" Wayne gave a weak laugh and shrugged. "With you he has to REALLY be out of it to give a single shit about you." Jester's expression fell at that. "Heck, even with how messed up and out of it Jerome is, he still gets pissed off at you pretty badly." 

"Watch your damn mouth-" Jester started to threaten. 

"Or what?" Wayne scoffed. "You can't do shit to me without pissing off Jerome." Jester was seething. "At least he actually gave a damn about me before all this, but now that you two are finally 'friends' it seems like he can barely stand you-" 

Jester abruptly stood up, Wayne glowering at the enraged copycat, the boy spitting at the criminal as Jester yanked him up, causing the older on to shove Wayne against the contraption he was to be wheeled off on, about to handcuff him to the white and red striped pole when Wayne kneed upwards, hitting Jester where it counts and earning a grunt of pain, Jester falling to the floor as Wayne shoved him away, glancing at the exit and- 

"I really don't feel like running after you again, kiddo." A dangerous voice warned, Wayne freezing up and looking over his shoulder at the entering Jerome. 

"You should get better friends." Wayne grumbled, gesturing towards the annoyed Jester wincing as he stood. 

Jerome gave a sour snicker. "Oh that is rich coming from you, rich-boy." 

"Right," Wayne said with a shrug. "you're still going with whatever Hugo told you I did." 

Jerome gave Wayne a look, smile forced. "I'm not blindly following the doc's word, kid," He sighed, approaching Wayne while pulling handcuffs out of his pockets. "I personally remember what you did just fine." 

Wayne reluctantly held his wrists out as Jerome gestured for him to do so, not seeing a point in being stubborn and thus being forced to since that would probably just result in him getting hurt more. "Care to fill me in on what exactly I did?" 

Jerome gave a scoff, handcuffing Wayne's left hand. "I already told ya' that acting innocent doesn't mean shit when I know what you did." He gestured for Wayne to lift both hands. 

"Have you considered you're misinterpreting what I did?" Wayne countered, begrudgingly allowing Jerome to handcuff him to the pole. 

"I'm not." Jerome stated oh so confidentially. 

Wayne found himself blurting out, "Well you misinterpreted the kiss." 

Jerome halted at that, quirking a brow and staring at Wayne questioningly. "Excuse me?" 

"You already said you don't remember what happened back at Arkham." Wayne dismissed in a grumble, Jerome eying him over quizzically. "Never mind." Wayne sighed, not exactly wanting to explain... THAT. 

Jerome gave a snicker, making sure Wayne was firmly in place. "Whatever you say, kiddo." 

Wayne hesitated, brooding for a brief while before pausing only to finally say, "If you'd just tell me what you believe is going on, maybe we could-" 

"I know what's going on." Jerome interjected icily, Wayne going quiet at the not so nice smile Jerome gave. "I REALLY don't need you attempting to explain." As far as Jerome was concerned, Wayne would just shift the story in his favor. 

"Jerome-" Wayne persisted nonetheless. 

"Show starts in five minutes," Jerome stated while turning to leave, Jester smirking at how you could practically see the hope draining out of Wayne. "break a leg, kiddo." Jerome halted at the flap of the tent, looking over his shoulder at the boy cheekily. "Or both legs." At that, Jerome left, Jester laughed, and Wayne slumped in defeat. 

Wayne really had lost Jerome, it seemed... 

~*~*~*~ 

"What exactly are you all doing here?" Penguin questioned cautiously, Nygma by his side. 

"What are we doing here?" Fries scoffed, Dent shuffling closer to him. "What are YOU doing here?" 

"Well we asked first," Nygma said with a shrug. "so..." 

Dent cleared his throat. "Nygma..." 

"Boys," Barbara interjected, hands raising, Tabitha standing beside her. "let's play nice and not start ripping out each other's throats before we even know what's going on." 

"Oh now that is pretty rich coming from you." Zsasz chuckled, his trio of zsaszettes readily behind him with crossed arms. 

"Watch it, Zsasz." Tabitha warned, hands resting on her waist near her belt with a whip attached, Butch moving in front of her unsurely. 

"Tabs, maybe we should bail-" Butch started to say when receiving glares from the zsaszettes. 

"No one's bailing." Barbara and Oswald said at the same time, earning glances from one another. 

"At least not until we know what's going on." Tabitha agreed. 

Nygma gave an anxious chuckle. "Um... yes, and what if- well- uh- just hear me out here, haha..." He cleared his throat. "what if we don't know what's going on until it's just a tiny bit too late and it turns out whatever this is is... well, you know-- a trap." 

"Yeah," Dent spoke up. "this all feels a little too funny to me." 

"We came to check on the kid," Fries stated while crossing his arms. "didn't exactly realize the rest of you would be here." 

"Which is incredibly odd if you ask me!" Nygma laughed uneasily. 

"Well goodie," Barbara said with a shrug. "we came to check on the kid, too." She gave a forced smile. "So we can all go on and do that now." 

"I don't even know Jonathan that well!" Nygma objected, Oswald giving him a look. 

"Ivy." Barbara corrected. "We came here because Ivy was in trouble." Tabitha and Butch nodded at that. 

"Wait," Fries muttered. "you guys aren't here for Selina?" Dent and him exchanged stares at that. 

"Yeah... uh, we came here to check up on that Harley kid." Zsasz revealed, the zsaszettes giving nods. "The gals are pretty fond of her, so..." 

Oswald didn't like the sound of this. "We all came here to help out different kids?" He questioned in disbelief. 

Barbara was a bit more cautious now. "Sounds like it..." 

"So what do we do?" Dent asked uncertainly, Fries giving a shrug. 

"Since when do you two work together?" Butch scoffed. 

Fries gave him a look. "I needed a lawyer-" 

"The main event starts in five minutes! I repeat, folks-- the main event starts in five minutes!" An intercom declared, the adults exchanging unsure stares. 

They either had to go in or leave, and it sounded like that was a choice they had to make fast. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne could hear the roaring crowd on the other side of the curtain he was anxiously waiting behind. 

"We all know why we're here! Here comes Jerome, everybody!" A southern accent laughed, earning louder cheering. "Come on!" The voice encouraged, earning louder yells of joy. "Come on, y'all!" 

"Here'e, here'e!" Jerome's voice sounded through a megaphone, the crowd going absolutely wild. "Gather 'round!" They silenced all at once, listening intently. "The show is about to..." Jerome paused for affect. "... begin!" The cheering resumed for a while, and then silenced except for the man with the southern accent, resulting in a loud BANG being heard, followed by a grunt and thud, the crowd gasping. "Shut up!" Jerome directed through the megaphone impatiently, earning laughter. "That's better." He mused satisfied, giving a chuckle. "Well I think we can all agree tonight was a ROUSING success..." The crowd whooped in agreement. "We brought this MISERABLE city to it's knees." Shouts of success raised. "So, how to thank the BEST darn cult of fanatics a messiah like myself could ever hope for?" A silent anticipation took place. "I give you..." Trumpets played, but the curtains didn't open, and Wayne didn't roll out. "Cue!" Jerome snapped impatiently. 

"Oh!" Two voices right on the other side of the curtain exclaimed apologetically, Wayne squinting from the brightness as the curtains were pulled back by a pair of copycats, eyes landing on a cheering crowd and Jerome standing on a red, yellow, and white pedestal. 

"I give you the climax of our festivities!" Jerome declared as Wayne was rolled out. "The billionaire prince of Gotham..." He introduced in a proper voice. "Bruuuce Wayne!" The crowd gave its loudest cheer yet. "Well... so what do ya' say, Bruce?" Jerome mused while hopping off the circular carnival pedestal. "Should we end the night with a bang?" He suggested, approaching the younger. "Or better yet... a boom?" He offered, facing the crowd and earning whoops and whistles as they began to chant 'boom! boom! boom!' several times. 

Jerome ruffled up Wayne's hair as a canon painted in flames was rolled out, because they had to give the crowd what they wanted after all. 

~*~*~*~ 

War Paint and Styles watched the event unfolding below from their place atop the ferris wheel, a few large tears here and there on the top of the circus tent from canon test runs being what they gazed through. 

"Wanna' make a bet?" War Paint offered with a grin, keeping her eyes glued to the sight below. 

"That depends on what the bet is." Styles answered without missing a beat, continuing to watch the event unfolding. 

"I betcha' Jerome's gonna' blow that poor kiddo sky high~" War Paint giggled, watching so intently she was nearly hanging off the edge of the ride. 

"What exactly are we betting with?" Styles inquired, staying safely inside the compartment. 

War Paint gave a hum, the ride swaying as she put all her weight on the side she was almost hanging off of. "How about our lives?" 

"In that case..." Styles was silent for a few lengthy seconds, not bothering to look at War Paint. "... I bet you Jerome will realize that he just can't do it." 

War Paint blinked, staring at Styles taken aback, not expecting her to actually take the bet. 

War Paint surprise shifted into l a grin. "Deal!" She returned her stare to the occurrence below. "Say, Styles... did you get any adults to have a try at saving that Jen kid?" 

Styles glanced at War Paint, observing the copycat for a while before finally looking back towards the circus tent. "Yes... I got one." 

~*~*~*~ 

Jerome couldn't just have a canon ball for his canon apparently. "All right... What's next?" He asked, earning a bucket of knives. "Death by a thousand cuts... very poetic-- I like it." Cuts? More like stab wounds... In any case, the next bucket was full of nails, which Jerome got a handful of before pouring it back into the bucket, showing it off to the oohing audience. "Nailed it..." 

Wayne kept from rolling his eyes, because Wayne had better things to do than critique Jerome's cheesy humor. Such as living. Living would be a tad bit more important. Wayne planned to continue doing that rather important thing by working on taking a staple out of his skin, which is easier said than done with the kind of tear down the middle that the metal makes. 

"All right folks, this is very important: whatever you do, please... definitely try this at home. Preferably on a family member." Jerome announced, earning amused laughter. 

The laughter increased when Jerome hopped atop the canon, waving his red and black circus hat around like a cowboy. 

That laughter silenced when loud bangs were heard. 

"Detective Gordon!" Jerome greeted, Wayne's eyes searching for said detective desperately, but finding it hard to do so with the lights shining directly towards his eyes. "You're just in time for the big finish!" 

"Nobody move!" A new voice warned, Gotham's strike force suddenly swarming in, Jerome jumping off the canon and hiding behind it as the policemen began moving in through the crowd of copycats. 

Wayne tried to unlock his handcuffs like Selina had taught him to, using the pulled staple and managing to get one cuff off, but his nerves got the best of him when he saw Jerome light the canon and give a laugh while waving goodbye, the staple slipping from shaky fingers as the spark on the canon burned much too quickly for comfort. 

So, Wayne allowed himself to freak out for a brief few seconds, before quickly regaining himself and pulling out another staple, and... 

... 

... Wayne managed to free himself and jumped out of the way less than seven seconds before the canon fired. 

When Jerome looked over towards the red and white striped pole to admire his handiwork, you can imagine his surprise when finding there was no handiwork. 

Fine. Wayne could go out with a bang instead of a boom. 

"Oh Bruuuce!" Jerome rang out, cocking his firearm. "Where are ya', boy?" He scanned the chaos around him. "Come on out, boy." So many running and screaming people... trying to find his runaway captive was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. "I won't hurt ya'..." ... much. Jerome's eyes landed on familiar raven locks belonging to a boy running into a house of mirrors. "Bruce, darli'n..." Jerome hummed with a satisfied smirk. 

~*~*~*~ 

Lee wasn't quite sure what was supposed to be at the end of the map Styles had given her, but she guessed it was a child considering the thing that had gotten her out to this chaotic event in the first place was the fact that there was a kid in trouble. 

Jim might have been the policeman. He might have been the guy that was supposed to handle stuff like this. But Lee was a doctor, damnit, and she'd become one because she cared about helping people just as much as Jim did. 

Particularly children and those in need. 

Lee had always been a bit ballsy. Sometimes that was a good thing. Other times though? Not so much. It pretty much just depended on the situation and outcome. 

She wasn't quite sure what kind of thing her actions would result in quite yet... 

Either way, Lee was stubborn. She'd joined the GCPD because she wanted to help with stuff like this, and she was determined to not turn back now. 

So, Lee followed Style's map, and out of all the adults Style's had chosen, Lee was the only one that had gotten a map, because Lee was the only one who wasn't set on saving just one of the many children. 

It was a game to Styles. To War Paint. To the copycats. To Jerome. To Jester. 

It wasn't a game to the children it was being inflicted on, and it wasn't a game to the adults who would have to make some very hard choices when it came to whether they would be willing to give up enough to save them. 

~*~*~*~ 

"Oh Brucie..." Wayne heard Jerome call out, waiting crouched in one of the clownish boss' blindspots, watching the older one walk around, Jerome's voice dropping dangerously low to add, "You ruined my show, Bruce... hiding's just going to make things worse." Two shows. He'd ruined two of Jerome's shows. First the charity event, now this. 

Wayne pursed his lips, jaw clenching while teeth gritted, hands going into fists as nails sunk into palms, glower settling on once uneasy features. 

Ruined his show? Wayne had ruined Jerome's show? Jerome had killed Alfred! There was no use in pretending he didn't anymore-- no use at all. It was a silly thing to hope Alfred was anything but dead because of this maniac. It was better to accept that now so he could ready himself for the worst, rather than allow himself to be hurt by something almost certainly true, just because he wanted to blissfully remain ignorant. 

So, the bit of concern and hope Wayne had for Jerome left at Jerome's words, and shifted into hate as Wayne carefully stood from his hiding place. 

"I didn't come here to hide," Wayne stated, Jerome abruptly turning around towards where he believed Wayne's voice came from and firing only to miss. "I wanted you to follow me." Jerome looked around unsurely, trying to figure out which Wayne was the real one, not very well wanting to waste his ammo. "You're going to pay for what you've done." At that, Wayne disappeared once again, and Jerome hesitantly began searching once more. 

If only Wayne would make this easy... Jerome might have even gone easy on him. Given him a quick death, even. But no, Wayne had to be difficult, so Jerome would have to torture him. Break him. Kill him bit by bit. 

Jerome would have to teach Wayne what happened when Wayne tested Jerome's merciful offer of a relatively quick kill, and Jerome would teach Wayne such through giving him anything but a quick one. 

Jerome would make Wayne writhe and scream and suffer all night, and Jerome wouldn't stop to finish him off until morning. 

At one point of the search, Jerome accidentally aimed at an image of himself, still not quite used to his new... 'look' with the whole face thing and all. At that, Jerome laughed, finding himself confessing, "I have to tell ya'... this is WAY more fun than I was expecting." His chuckle dimmed, suddenly turning very, very serious. "We make a good team-- you and me..." 

"You killed Alfred." Wayne accused hurt as Jerome smoothed back his hair, because they had made a good team once. 

Jerome spun around, firing again... and missing... again. 

"Is that what this is about?" Jerome huffed, referring to Wayne's sudden ballsiness. "Yeesh! Are all rich kids this close with their butlers?" Jerome heard closer footsteps. "Oh!" He exclaimed, aiming and firing towards the footsteps, and for the love of all that was good... did he really have this shit of aim? 

"This is about doing what's right!" Wayne corrected angrily, because the right thing to do was put what he and Jerome had behind-- it wasn't worth anymore suffering. 

"You wanna' be a hero?" Jerome offered, holding out his firearm by his thumb and pointer finger. "Tell ya' what, buddy..." He set the weapon on the floor, sliding it away, because it's not like it was doing Jerome any good anyways. "I'll give ya' a fighting chance." It's not like Jerome was actually going to fight fair-- he had a trick up his sleeve. Literally. As in a knife. The jackass had a knife up his sleeve. "Let's do this 'mano y mano', my little conquistador..." Jerome offered, eyes scanning his surroundings. "Come on..." He coaxed, like Wayne was a stray animal-- like he was a frightened puppy. 

Wayne approached Jerome. Not quite in the way Jerome would have preferred, but it was an approach nonetheless. A lunge, at that. A lunge that sent them both flying to the floor. 

"What kinda' hero attacks someone from behind?!" Jerome huffed, crawling for his knife or firearm, not really caring which one he managed to get ahold of, just needing something to end this brat as he reached out and- 

Another one of those weird dimming flash things happened, and shit shit shit not right now of all times- 

The world blurred like grainy glass, a lot of it fading to black, the only clear thing being a slightly transparent younger version of a glowing Wayne laying with his cheek against a line of pillows propped up as a fort. 

The projection of Wayne curled up in a ball, giving a yawn. 'Yep.' He answered to... something. 'Night, please don't kill me.' He sounded half joking, half serious. 

Almost as quickly as the familiar recollection came, it left in a flash. 

Oh. Right. That was when they'd first shared a bed or something in... in Arkham, right..? 

Right? 

Jerome found himself no longer reaching for his deadly weapons, and instead just standing up to fight Wayne hand to hand. 

"Put 'em up, put 'em up." Jerome jokingly challenged while putting up his fists in a dorky fighting stance, but Jerome's smile fell as he suddenly felt himself recalling how he and Wayne would play fight, and train together, and- 

No. 

Jerome swung at Wayne, punching the boy square in the face, Wayne ducking beneath his next strike, hitting Jerome on his side and causing a grunting Jerome to flinch, giving Wayne just enough time to hit his vulnerable area-- his jawline... his face. 

Jerome stumbled back, making sure his face was still in place by patting it before swinging at Wayne again, causing the boy to dodge a second blow, afterwards retaliating with a backhand to the face, and for shit's sake could their faces not be off limits?! 

Jerome resorted to charging Wayne, only for Wayne to dodge him. Again. 

Wayne kicked Jerome in the leg, making the taller one drop to his knees, and then drop to the floor when Wayne went for the face again. 

Before Jerome could get up, Wayne pounced on him, pinning Jerome's arms underneath his knees, and Jerome needed to STAY down, so Wayne made sure he'd be in too much agony to get up by repeatedly punching Jerome in the face again, and again, and again. 

At least that's the excuse Wayne used for his brutality as he wondered if Alfred had died painfully or quickly. 

The way that Jerome laughed and encouraged Wayne to let it out only fueled Wayne's fury. 

Despite this, Wayne found himself pausing, because this was Jerome-- this was his best friend. The person he'd been closer to than anyone. The person that had looked out for him countless times before. The person that had readily given up his life to protect Wayne. 

But then, Jerome said, "That's it-- let it out!" again, and that hesitation diminished. 

This wasn't Jerome. Not anymore. Not the one Wayne knew. He didn't deserve to even call himself Jerome at this point. This guy was someone else completely now. 

So, Wayne's fists kept flying, until he found himself grasping a shard of glass and raising it, ready to get revenge for Alfred, and end Jerome's suffering so he could just move on and no longer have to be this thing Hugo had turned him into. 

Jerome found himself challenging Wayne to do it. Provoking him. Encouraging him. 

Begging him. A smaller part of Jerome was begging him to do it. Even if Jerome wasn't fully aware of it, he really did want Wayne to do it-- to stop him before he went further than he already had. 

To stop him before he did something to Wayne that he couldn't return from. 

Wayne almost did do it. 

But then, Wayne looked up, and saw an unfamiliar image of himself looking back at him. A clownish version. A cruel version. A vengeful version.

Jerome's version. 

And Wayne's bleeding hand dropped the jagged shard of glass, and he settled at screaming at Jerome in frustration. Frustration of what had been done to Alfred. To Gotham. To himself. 

To Jerome. 

Jerome found himself laughing more at that, because strangely enough, he'd been expecting Wayne to be like Theo, and take a stab at his neck. To prove there really were no heroes in Gotham. This boy entertained him greatly-- he was constantly doing the unexpected. He was also so amusingly naïve. 

Wayne placed his hands on Jerome's chest, and hesitated, because he wanted to bring Jerome back. To hug him. To ask him to just stop. To pull him up and help him back home. To force things to go back to how they'd been before. 

But things couldn't go back-- not when Alfred was gone... not when Jerome had been the cause of that. If Wayne tried to force them to go back, he'd only make whatever was between him and Jerome now break even more, as most things forced into place do. 

So, Wayne pushed off of Jerome, and left, feeling as numb and empty and hopeless as he had the night in the alleyway. 

Wayne hadn't just lost Alfred. He'd lost Jerome... the real Jerome. 

Except for the thing was, when Wayne went outside to tiredly thank Detective Gordon, he found Alfred was right there instead, and Wayne felt everything he'd been forcing to shut down this night suddenly come rushing back all at once. 

"Alfred!" Wayne called out, tears gathering in his eyes. 

Alfred shoved the last copycat he'd been fighting out of the way, looking up at the familiar voice, relief washing throughout him. "Bruce!" He called out in return as the younger sprinted right into his arms, Alfred instantly wrapping his arms around his son- 

Boy. I mean boy. Not son. His boy. 

... 

... Ah what the heck? Son it is. 

"I thought you were dead." Wayne said hoarsely while pulling back. 

Alfred gave a reassuring smile. "Can't get rid of me that easily, can you, mate?" The water gathering in Wayne's eyes began to fall, because this had certainly been way too many emotions to go through in one night. "Oh, come here." Alfred sighed, pulling Wayne back into a hug. 

The reunion lasted about fifteen seconds. Longer than most good things in Gotham do. This city was like a rotten soil that made sweet things sour at an uncanny speed. 

"Behind you!" Wayne heard Jim's voice warn, causing him and Alfred to turn to see what he was referring to, Jerome approaching with the shard of glass that Wayne had chosen to not use rather than his firearm or knife, which was almost poetic in a terrifying kind of way. 

Alfred protectively pushed Wayne behind him as Jim rushed to their aid, Wayne wincing as Jim- well... punched Jerome's face off, and resulted in the older one falling to the ground. 

Wayne instinctively started to move forward, because Jerome was in pain, but Alfred firmly pushed the boy back behind him, Jerome letting out a choked up laugh from the place he laid on the asphalt. 

Alfred was alive, and it was clear Wayne's concern for Jerome was undoubtedly returning because of such, and despite Wayne being incredibly upset at this chaos Jerome had caused, he had realized by now too much of this was Hugo's doing. Wayne wanted to help Jerome-- to get him away from Hugo. To bring Jerome back. 

To just blame Hugo for all of this, and not Jerome. 

Although it wasn't like Wayne could just excuse Jerome from his actions simply because of Hugo when Wayne wasn't even sure about the specifics of the influence Hugo had. 

Alfred realized Wayne was getting a little emotional towards his once-friend, and so the butler kept a sturdy stance and tight hold, not about to let his boy get anywhere near that crazed kidnapping maniac. 

Jim also realized this, and so he helped Alfred out by telling both of them, "Go home. Civilians need to be clearing the premises while we clean the rest of this scum out." 

"Right." Alfred instantly agreed with a thankful nod, turning to leave and trying to tug Wayne with him, finding the boy's feet planted firmly against the ground and scolding, "Wayne-" 

"What are you going to do with him?" Wayne couldn't help but ask, causing Jim to give Alfred an exasperated stare, earning an apologetic shrug. 

Jim said in as calm and professional a voice as he could muster, "Jerome's gotta' go back to Arkham-" 

"No!" Wayne found himself instinctively objecting, Alfred sighing and Jim giving Wayne a look. "You can't take him back! Hugo will-" 

"I don't have a say in this matter, Wayne." Jim stated firmly, earning a stare of disbelief. "I'm sorry-- if I had alternate options, I would take them-" 

Wayne abruptly yanked out of Alfred's grasp, the butler huffing, "Oi!" 

"Wayne-" Jim warned, stepping in front of the Jerome fading in and out of consciousness. 

"Move!" Wayne interjected, trying to push by Jim, causing the detective to grip him by his upper arms and push him somewhat away, holding him in place. "I said move." Wayne said shakily, trying to get out of the firm grasp. "Get out-" Wayne was choking up. "Get out of my way." Wayne stopped trying to fight. "You can't take him." He found himself resting his forehead on Jim's chest. "You can't..." Wayne was crying. "Hugo will just make things worse, so don't-" Water began to drop away from Wayne's eyes. "-don't take him to Arkham." Jim's hands loosened their hold, the detective's arms instead wrapping around Wayne. "Please-" Wayne spoke hoarsely. "Please don't-" Wayne let out a choked sob. "Please don't take him away," Not right when Wayne got him back. "not again." Wayne couldn't lose Jerome again. "I can't lose Jerome, too." Wayne had already lost two important people to Hugo, and he didn't want to lose another. Not again. 

Jim swallowed dryly. "I'm sorry, Wayne." He couldn't make those promises, because what had to be done had to be done. 

Wayne absolutely slumped in Jim's arms when hearing the detective's reply, which was answer enough. 

It turned out Wayne hadn't lost Alfred after all. 

But it sounded like he'd lost Jerome, and that was no better. 

"What a sweet sight~" A voice hummed, Alfred and Wayne tensing at the familiar sound, Jim growing cautious at the sight of one of Jerome's copycat's. "Why, looking at you three sad boys almost makes me wanna' cry~" She sniffled dramatically, Jim warily pushing Wayne behind him. "There's a little problem here, though, I'm afraid..." 

"That problem being?" Jim questioned uneasily, eying over the copycat. 

War Paint suddenly emitted a huge red grin stretching from ear to ear, eyes landing on the Wayne staying defenselessly behind the detective. "We can't have you crying for the camera, sweetie~" Wayne didn't like the sounds of that. "After all, our show certainly isn't over yet!" At that, all the lights shut off, an invisible ink trail gradually showing up in the dark as bright red and glowing. "You all don't have to play the game, of course, but you are the host... and we've already gotten the contenders..." War Paint gave a cheery smile. "So if you're fine with them dying due to your absence within the next half hour, then by all means-- go on home!" Oh great... "Be sure to bring Jerome if you do tag along-- it's important to credit the sponsors!" 

It looked like Wayne was going to be forced to play one of these carnival games after all... 

~*~*~*~ 

The green and purple ink trail lead to an area towards the back of the carnival and to a building full of broken ride contraptions and discarded food stands, said building being one that would be best described as a makeshift warehouse. A very techie and well put together makeshift warehouse. Honestly, it was pretty impressive. 

Wayne was directed to a balcony, Alfred, Jim, and Harvey taken somewhere else the second they entered. From the balcony, Wayne saw there was a circular wooden table and sheets of sturdy glass dividing said table into six sections. In section 1, there were two men with red sacks covering their faces. In section 2, there were two women and one man with orange sacks covering their faces. In section 3, there was a man and a woman with green sacks covering their faces. In section 4, there were two men with yellow sacks covering their faces. In section 5, there was one man and three women with blue sacks covering their faces. In section 6, there was one woman with a purple sack covering her face. 

The glass not only kept the sections separate, yet also trapped those in them. 

From the balcony, Wayne could also see there was a long rectangle table, and six children all sitting on the right side. In section 1, a girl with a red sack. In section 2, a girl with an orange sack. In section 3, a boy with a yellow sack. In section 4, a boy with a green sack. In section 5, a girl with a blue sack. And in section 6, a girl with a purple sack. 

Across from these children on the left side of the table sat more adults with matching sacks. There was glass dividing the children from each other, but not from the adults. A man wore a red sack, a guy orange, a woman yellow, a lass green, a gal blue, and a lady purple. 

Wayne tore his gaze away from the sight below, instead scanning the surroundings of his wooden balcony, which was barren other than a locked door behind him, the black and gray throne he sat upon, a microphone in front of him, and a small table with a walkie talkie on it. 

Directly across from Wayne, there was an identical balcony, except its empty throne was purple and green instead, and there was a curtain behind it rather than a locked door. 

Benches surrounded the bottom of the warehouse, the remaining copycats who hadn't been arrested or killed sitting there. 

About ten minutes went by until someone finally entered the balcony across from Wayne, that someone being Jerome, his face stapled back on. 

The crowd cheered as Jerome gave a grin, bowing once, twice, and about to go for thrice, yet pausing, meeting Wayne's wary eyes and giving a smirk, gesturing the boy to stand up and earning a quick shake of the head as an objection, Jerome giving Wayne a look of warning. Wayne didn't particularly want to find out what would happen if he didn't listen considering he had no idea where Jim and Alfred were, causing Wayne to reluctantly stand, Jerome giving him a pleased look as the two bowed at the same time, the crowd going even more wild at that, and Wayne didn't dare break Jerome's gaze as they bowed, not caring about how they were several yards apart up high, just wanting to make sure Jerome didn't try anything funny regardless. 

When Jerome straightened up and sat down on his throne, Wayne did the same. 

The walkie talkie beside Wayne scratched on, Jerome's voice musing through the quiet static, "Comfy?" 

Wayne hesitantly picked up the walkie talkie, as though it could be a bomb, only taking his eyes off of Jerome to check for the button to reply, pressing it and quickly looking back up at the amused other while answering, "As comfortable as someone being held hostage could be." 

Jerome gave a chuckle, about to say something else to the younger as he raised the device back up to his lips, but being interrupted by the sudden sound of circus music, causing him to give an irked smile at the timing before setting his walkie talkie down, Wayne doing the same as the lights dimmed. 

"There you have it, ladies and gentlemen! The prince of Gotham, and the king of Chaos!" Jester introduced as the spotlights shone upon him, earning whoops, whistles, and applause, Jerome watching how Wayne's eyes uneasily tore away from Jerome to instead stare down at the show below, Jerome giving an snicker and doing the same. "Who's ready to see the prince play our little game?" Jester exclaimed, earning excited cheers. "Who's ready to amuse our king?" Louder cheers erupted, Wayne having to stop himself from covering his ears. "Should I go on and teach the prince our rules then?" Cheers of 'yes!' echoed. "In that case, are you ready to play our game, Mr. Wayne?" Jester shouted while pointing at Wayne, spotlight suddenly shining down on the squinting boy, the crowd going quiet. 

"I- I don't-" Wayne started to say. 

"Don't want to wait another minute?" Jester interjected, spotlight returning to him, Jerome snickering. "In that case, here's how we play!" Wayne listened intently, guessing losing this game would result in losing more than... well, a game. "You choose a color ranging anywhere from red to purple, and you get to see who's underneath the sack of that very same shade!" 

"Easy enough..." Wayne said under his breath. 

"On the round table, we have the sacrifices! On the right side of the rectangular table, we have the damsels! On the left side of the rectangular table, we have our fellow copycats!" Jester gave a wicked grin. "You're good friends with each sacrifice and damsel." 

"What?" Wayne whispered in disbelief. 

"Here's how it goes, kiddo-- you choose one sacrifice of the same sack color for each kiddo. That sacrifice can either sacrifice something important to them of our choosing, or they can choose not to and the kiddo can get a minor hit." Jester began to explain. "After that, you have to answer a question about the kiddo, and if you get it wrong, they get an average hit-- if you get it right, they remain unharmed! Lastly, you have to say whether you want the copycat to die or not, and if you say no, the kiddo gets a major hit." 

"What's-" Wayne swallowed dryly, trying to follow along, leaning towards the microphone. "What's a minor, average, and major hit?" 

"I'm glad you asked! Isn't he doing a good job listening, folks?" Jester praised, the audience agreeing cooingly-- like Wayne was a pup. "The copycats dish out all the hits," He began to answer. "A minor hit is something that would heal with scarring at worst-- like a gash or stab. An average hit is something that would result in permanent damage-- like a broken spine or chopped off arm. A major hit is something that would be fatal-- like penetrating a major organ." 

"Shouldn't a minor hit be something like a cut, an average a stab, and a major a broken arm?" Wayne objected, earning laughter, and he wasn't trying to be funny-- he was serious. 

"Nice try, kiddo!" Jester chuckled amusedly, Jerome smirking at Wayne's words. "But nah, those are the rules." Wayne slumped in defeat at that. "Last thing is your three perks! Careful, though-- you only get to use each of these once." Wayne arched a brow, wondering if perhaps said perks could help him get through this without anyone having to be killed. "Perk 1: Try, Try Again! With this one, you get to either choose a different sacrifice if your first refused to give something up, or you can get another question if you answered the first one wrong." That could definitely be useful. "Perk 2: Switcharoo! With this one, you can choose an audience member to receive one of any three types of hits instead of the designated damsel! Or, you can choose an audience member that has to sacrifice an equivalence to whatever the sacrificer is asked to sacrifice, regardless of whether they want to or not!" Wayne would be reluctant to choose someone else to take another person's place in harm's way, but if it came down to having to save his friend or having to get a copycat killed... well... "Perk 3: Beggar's Plea! With this one, you're given five minutes to win over me, the audience, or our king, and if you succeed, we might just be merciful and give you a freebie towards a mess-up!" That definitely sounded risky, but it was better than nothing. "Got it, kiddo?" 

"Yes..." Wayne sighed through the microphone, doing his best to keep up. 

"In that case, let the game start off with you choosing your first color!" Jester chimed, the audience cheering. 

Wayne didn't know how to make a choice like this-- a choice where he chose who got hurt first one way or another. He considered choosing based upon his favorite color, or just choosing red since it was the first color, before eventually going with the method of choosing based upon eeny meeny miny moe, and coming up with orange, reluctantly speaking the color into the microphone. 

"Orange it is!" Jester exclaimed as the crowd chanted the color's name over and over again, Jerome glancing at Wayne with an intrigued smirk before returning his gaze towards the ongoing show as the word, 'ORANGE', flashed upon an electronic billboard, Jester gesturing the copycats readily standing by to remove the sacks from those wearing orange ones. 

The sacrificer options consisted of Barbara, Tabitha, and Butch, while the damsel was Ivy, and the copycat was one Wayne recalled meeting at the club... he was a serious looking bald man with a scar curving up the right side of his mouth-- Smiles was this tough guy's name. 

A gagged Ivy stared up at the Wayne seated far away, her eyes rimmed red and puffy, fresh tears still pouring down her cheeks, the poor girl slumped over and looking more defeated than ever in her chair as she emitted small shivers; she'd been kicking and sobbing and desperately trying to free herself in fear and determination earlier, but now she was just... exhausted. 

Wayne felt sick. 

"Heeere's round one for Iiivy Pepper!" Jester declared, drawing out his words as though he was a gameshow host... which he was, in a messed up kind of way. "First off, who do you choose as he sacrificer? The beauteous Barbara Kean? The thrilling Tabitha Galavan? Ooor the Badass Butch Giiilzean?" 

A clock began to count down from 10. 

All right... Barbara cared about Ivy, but she was definitely the kind of lady to always put herself first when it came down to it. 

9\. 

Butch seemed to have at least somewhat of a soft spot for kiddos, but he never really bothered showing much of an interest in them... other than going easy on them if they were causing trouble, and telling his family to do the same. 

8\. 

Tabitha, on the other hand, could be just about ruthless and merciless as the worst of the worst when it came to how villainous she could be. 

7\. 

However, Tabitha had also shown she could be compassionate, and showed she actually give a shit about kids-- she'd turned against Theo to save Silver, after all... which was REALLY saying something with how dedicated she'd been to staying by Theo's side for so long. She and her brother had been close, but she had chosen to protect the new kiddo. 

6\. 

Not to mention Tabitha had seemed uncomfortable when Theo had been causing physical harm to Wayne and Jerome, and gone as far as to telling him to either let up or make it quick since they were just kids. 

5\. 

"Tabitha." Wayne finally answered in reluctance, because he didn't want Tabitha to have to sacrifice anything, but she was his best bet at making sure Ivy didn't get hurt. 

The copycats removed gags from Ivy and Tabitha at that, Smiles not having to wear a gag considering the copycats were there completely willingly. Ivy let out a shaky broken sob, trying to curl into herself the best she could being tied down to the seat, Tabitha glaring at the copycat. 

"Tabitha it is!" Jester chimed, the crowd clapping and whistling. "Now let's see just what it is that she has to sacrifice in order to save Ivy!" He exclaimed while pointing enthusiastically towards the electronic billboard, the claps and whistles erupting into cheers upon reading the words. 

The board read:  
'BABARA: BEAUTY. [CARVE UP HER FACE] 

BUTCH: HAND. [CHOP OF HIS OTHER HAND] 

TABITHA: HEALTH. [REOPEN WOUND]' 

Tabitha narrowed her eyes. "What the hell does 'reopen wound' mean?" 

"Well, Ms. Tabitha," A deranged Jester giddily began as the clock began to count down from 10 again. "you got into a little scrap with your brother not too long ago, and got a pretty nasty little injury," Tabitha's expression fell, her brow furrowing. "so you can either let one of the copycat's drive a sword through you like Theo did, or you can let poor sweet little Ivy here get hurt." 

The clock was at 5 seconds. 

Tabitha glanced at the copycat beside her readily holding up a sword with an awaiting grin. 

4 seconds. 

"Fine." Tabitha growled, Jester quirking a brow as she ended up snatching the sword from the copycat, Jester smirking as she hesitated. 

2 seconds. 

Tabitha took in a deep breath, and ran the sword through an area that wouldn't hit any major organs with 1 second to go, being sure to at least give herself a wound she could heal from. 

It hurt like a bitch. 

As Tabitha withdrew the sword and dropped the bloodied weapon on the ground while doubling over and letting out choked noises she just couldn't stifle, Jester gave a grin while giddily stating, "Congratulations, Ivy! You got through this round unharmed!" Ivy whimpered, staring at the woman kneeling and trying to give her a reassuring stare, Tabitha attempting to convey that everything was going to be all right. "Time for round two!" The crowd laughed and whooped. "Are you ready, Wayne?" 

Wayne felt weak. Helpless. Out of hope. "What?" He asked quietly, brow furrowing, Jerome examining him from across the balcony with a satisfied smirk-- Jerome wanted this. Wanted Wayne feeling hopeless. Jerome had Wayne exactly where he wanted him, and it was absolutely delightful. 

"Are you ready, Wayne?" Jester repeated, the crowd chuckling. "It's your turn to answer the question we have on Ivy, and you better get it right if you don't want her to face the consequences!" 

No pressure. 

"O-" Wayne swallowed dryly. "Okay..." He softly answered, because what else could he do? He was stuck here-- he had no choice... Jester was in control... 

... 

... Jerome was in control. 

It was an awful feeling-- seeing his friends in trouble when he couldn't do anything. 

Jester gave a wide eerie smile. "In that case, you have ten seconds to answer!" Jester looked up at the board, reading off the words that came up. "What did Ivy like to do with her dear ol' mum as a kid when things would get rough at home and daddy had one too many drinks?" 

The countdown began. 

10\. 

What? Shit-- Ivy never really talked about what her life had been like before she'd became an orphan... before the GCPD killed her dad and her mom committed suicide. 

9\. 

Jen had been the only kiddo in the group more reserved than Ivy... other than Harley and Selina, Ivy had pretty much kept to herself. 

8\. 

Ivy just... didn't like to talk about her past. Or current events going on with her. Or what she'd like to do in the future. In fact, Ivy didn't really like to talk about anything going on with her. 

7\. 

Ivy just kind of... talked about whatever her friends talked about. 

6\. 

Ivy wasn't much of a conversationalist-- she preferred gardening. 

5\. 

... Oh. 

4\. 

"Gardening!" Wayne finally answered. "They'd garden together!" 

The countdown stopped, Jester enthusiastically raising his voice to ring out, "And the answer is..." 

'GARDENING' came up on the billboard, the crowd going wild, Wayne having trouble being excited all things considered, Jerome noting just how wonderfully stressed out the boy looked. 

"Last round for Ivy, Wayne!" Jester congratulated, Wayne's gut sinking upon realizing what that meant. "Now you get to choose who gets killed-- Ivy or Smiles!" Jester gave a grin that was much too cheeky and cheery. "If you don't choose either, they both get taken out." 

The countdown began, and for eight seconds, Wayne said nothing, attempting and failing to figure a way out of this before finally softly answering in reluctance and defeat, "Smiles," Wayne felt responsible for... this-- for what was about to happen. "the copycat..." Wayne couldn't just let both of them... he had to... it's not like he wanted to... 

... 

... Wayne didn't want to do this... 

Jester gave a Wicked grin. "You got it, kiddo-- Smiles it is." 

Smiles casually straightened up, Wayne not seeing how someone could be so willing to allow themselves to be murdered to- to... to do what? Please their dismissive icon over a game show that treated them like expendables? 

To entertain Jerome. 

It was absolutely awful. 

Smiles picked up some kind of plant, ate it, and fell over within seconds. 

The crowds stood in their seats, and clapped, and whistled, and cheered, and Wayne just looked up at Jerome with a glare as Jerome smirked a wicked triumphant smirk and casually clapped while staring right back at Wayne. 

Then, the rounds continued. 

Harley had the blue sack, and her sacrificers consisted of Zsasz and the Zsaszettes. Wayne was aware it was primarily the Zsaszettes that had a soft spot for her, however Wayne figured Zsasz had the best pain tolerance considering he was a guy that casually marked himself up with tally marks signifying each kill he'd made-- which was a lot. Zsasz's sacrifice was messing up the tallies on his left arm with several others marks. Harley's question pertained to the most severe injury she'd obtained from a beating. The answer was a fractured rib. The copycat she was paired up with that Wayne sacrificed was War Paint, who was killed with this awful 'makeup' that had some kind of terrifying chemical reaction. 

Thomas had the yellow sack. His sacrificers were Hugo and Peabody. Wayne wasn't sure who Peabody was, so he chose Hugo in hopes the doctor would be willing to make one sacrifice for one of his patients Wayne assumed was rather significant, all things considered. Hugo refused to agree to the sacrifice of losing his tongue, resulting in Wayne reluctantly yet quickly using his perk 'Try, Try Again' to keep Thomas unharmed, in which Wayne instead got to choose Peabody as the sacrificer, all while Thomas pleaded for Wayne to leave Peabody out of this and just allow him to face the consequences alone. Peabody chose to take her own sacrifice so Thomas wouldn't be harmed, and allowed an eye to be taken as Thomas begged her not to agree to such a thing for him. The question given asked who Thomas blamed for the alleyway event, and Wayne knowingly answered that Thomas blamed him, and Thomas felt guilt ridden at how Wayne was aware of that. Jeri was the copycat that Wayne sacrificed to save Thomas, resulting in Jeri being stabbed in the back... literally. 

The red sack was Selina's. Her sacrificers were Fries and Dent. It wasn't a hard choice-- Wayne was aware Selina was close to Fries... it had been clear she had felt bad about leaving him and Bridgit in Arkham. Fries had to sacrifice his suit by turning it off until the game was up, which left him looking sicker every second. The question was about who Selina was closer to than anyone else, and Wayne nearly said Ivy, then almost said Harley, and came close to even saying himself, before finally settling on answering Jen. Mittens was one of the copycats from Jerome's club that Wayne sacrificed to save Selina-- he was the one with the elegant gloves. He was killed by being hanged. 

All that were left were green and purple. Jerome's favorite colors-- if the color scheme in this warehouse was anything to go by. 

The walkie talkie made a beeping noise, Jerome musingly suggesting through the slight static, "How about you do purple first?" 

Wayne glared at Jerome defiantly while almost instantly saying, "Green.", through the microphone at that, Jerome smirking at the stubbornness before giving a shrug. 

Jonathan was the one under the green sack, and his sacrificers were Nygma and Oswald. As nice as Nygma seemed, Wayne knew Oswald better, and Nygma seemed somewhat dorky, so Wayne assumed Oswald would be the best bet when it came to facing and withstanding whatever was to come. Oswald had to sacrifice the long and achy healing process of his legs, which were once again fractured. The question asked was the only one Wayne knew the answer to almost right away-- what emotion does Jonathan have trouble overcoming? The answer was, of course, fear. The copycat that Wayne sacrificed to save Jonathan was the copycat with emerald shaded hair called Wigs that Wayne vaguely recalled meeting at the club. She was killed with an over dosage of laughing gas. 

One more color, and it only left one kid... Jen was purple. She'd been the only damsel with just one sacrificer-- Lee Thompson's. Lee bravely agreed to sacrifice her right fingers for Jen almost instantly, and allowed them to be broken despite barely knowing much about the girl. It was clear Lee was frightened, but she was more compassionate. For Jen, the question was a simple one that should have seemed silly, and shrugged off as childish, but seemed cruel with how it was asked in front of a live audience and was being directed towards a girl that was always so reserved. It asked who Jen essentially had a thing for, and when Wayne knowingly yet hesitantly answered Selina, Jen couldn't look her friend in the eye. Wayne of course chose to allow the copycat Styles to be the one to be killed, rather than Jen. Styles was killed by choking on... something. Wayne wasn't really sure what-- this traumatic experience had kind of just put him out of it... he felt dazed. 

At least this schtick was over now. 

"It's not over yet folks!" Jester declared. 

Oh for the love of- 

"What?" Wayne questioned while leaning towards the microphone as calmly as he could. 

Of course they wouldn't let this end easily. 

"We have to do the bonus round, of course!" Jester exclaimed, Wayne staring at the copycat in disbelief. "Now because we're feeling nice tonight, we'll put Thomas on the line here," Jester informed with a cruel smirk while striding towards the wide eyed Thomas. "because we all know you don't know poor Thomas here nearly as well as the others." Wayne's stomach sank as Jester rested one hand on Thomas' shoulder, the other angling a knife under Thomas' throat. "This is the final round, Wayne-- it's all or nothing!" This wasn't fair, but it wasn't about being fair-- it was about satisfying Jerome's cruel view of what entertainment was. "You only have five seconds to answer this question..." 

Of course these bastards wouldn't just leave things at that... of course they wouldn't let Wayne get out of this without losing something. 

At that, the electronic billboard flickered and read, 'WHO IS THOMAS TO YOU? WHO CARES ABOUT THOMAS, AND NOT JUST YOU? WHO ALL BROKE AND TOOK THOMAS WIH THEM?' 

There were three questions, and five seconds. They were also vaguer than the others. Wayne didn't have enough time to even consider the first one. It was rigged, and Jerome loved it. 

However, when the countdown got to 1, Wayne desperately stilled tried to win. 

"Switcharoo perk!" Wayne practically shouted into the microphone as the buzzer rang, Jester hesitating, Thomas swallowing thickly. "I want to use the switcharoo perk!" 

Jester kept the knife against Thomas' throat, grinning wickedly. "Sorry, buddy, but there's no perks allowed for the final round." 

That wasn't fair-- that hadn't been a rule. Jester was just saying that so Wayne would lose at least someone tonight one way or another. 

"What if I switch myself in?" Wayne desperately offered hurriedly, Jester quirking a brow, and for a long while Jester didn't say anything, the audience watching in intense anticipation. "Let me switch myself in instead of an audience member." Wayne offered as bravely as he could, but his legs were admittedly shaking behind the railing of the balcony he stood behind. 

Interesting offer, but... 

"You're the player, kiddo," Jester finally answered with a smirk, because he didn't want any of this to be on the brat's terms. "that means you can't switch yourself i-" 

Bullshit. 

"Beggar's plea!" Wayne persisted, instead turning his attention towards the ever so observant Jerome, and if Wayne could just be allowed this perk of having five minutes to attempt to convince Jerome too listen to him... 

"I already told you-- no perks for this round!" Jester scoffed. 

However, Jerome almost immediately added intrigued yet casually, "Just who would the beggar's plea apply to, kiddo?" 

That caused Jester to go quiet. 

"You," Wayne answered, because he doubted he could convince Jester of anything he had to say, and the audience could be a wildcard, but Jerome was at least seemingly considering his offer, so... "I want to talk to you-- not Jester, and not the audience." If Wayne could just attempt to get through to the old Jerome, then he'd at least had a chance at getting everyone out of here. A small chance it seemed, but a chance nonetheless. 

Jerome looked Wayne over-- examining him... sizing him up. Considering him. 

Then, Jerome smirked. "Five minutes." He permitted with a shrug, because now he was intrigued as to what Wayne had to say to him. 

"But-" Jester objected, because he was supposed to make the rules for this game. 

"The show will be taking a five minute intermission." Jerome interjected dismissively while standing as guards unlocked the door behind Wayne, the two that had once been friends leaving the balconies to privately talk to one another as friends no longer somewhere below. 

Wayne was harshly shoved into a room, being firmly forced onto his knees by two copycats pushing him down by his shoulders, keeping Wayne in an uncomfortable kneeling position. 

Bluish gray eyes scanned the interior, noting the room looked like a fancy party parlor-- the kind you saw in Hollywood media where all the furniture was made out of velvet or marble, or expensive wood and pricey leather, and everything was colored white and gold. Of course, in movies the key trait for rooms like this was the cliché bottle of champagne in a fancy bucket filled with ice-- the kind the villain would pull out and offer the hero before shit went down. In films, the finishing touch for this schtick was the intimidating bodyguards-- the copycats... 

Yet this wasn't a movie to Wayne. To him, it was really happening, and more than just a piece of entertainment. 

The door opened, Wayne's gaze flickering towards Jerome who paused upon seeing the once ballsy boy now giving him a wary stare, the criminal looking Wayne over broodingly for a few seconds before glancing at his copycats holding Wayne in place. 

Wayne swallowed thickly when an all too calm Jerome walked forward, staring up at the crime boss uncertainly as a non-smiling Jerome halted in front of him, the younger setting his jaw while Jerome casually reached into his pocket to pull out a knife, Wayne's lips pursing upon feeling the flat side of the blade that was cold to the touch rest under his chin. 

Jerome raised his weapon, Wayne being forced to crane his neck to glare up at the villain, Jerome examining him for a few lengthy seconds that felt like long minutes before finally just retreating, slipping the knife back into his pocket while turning his back towards the boy that relaxed somewhat upon seeing the weapon be put away. 

"Both of you-- out." Jerome instructed while approaching the champagne stand, the pair of copycats exchanging glances at that. "Now." The lackeys paused upon hearing Jerome's tone before hesitantly doing as told, leaving Jerome and Wayne in the room alone. "Get up." Jerome directed, keeping his back towards Wayne as he poured two glasses of the alcoholic beverage. 

Wayne uncertainly but obediently did as told, staying quiet for now, Wayne not wanting to do anything that could set Jerome off and mess up the chance of negotiating a peaceful outcome. 

Jerome finally turned to face Wayne, looking him up and down as though he was reading Wayne-- figuring him out. "Take a seat." Jerome added, gesturing towards the couch. 

Wayne listened and sat down, but kept his eyes on Jerome, not daring to break the other's gaze, watching as Jerome sat across the room on an armchair, Jerome keeping both champagne glasses in hand. 

"Talk." Jerome finally permitted, continuing to stare at Wayne. "You've got five minutes." 

Wayne glanced at the clock hanging on the wall before returning his attention towards Jerome. 

All right... five minutes to get an out-of-it Jerome to be rational and listen to Wayne-- the boy that Jerome was convinced had stabbed him in the back and taken everything from him. No pressure. Could failing in this task result in Wayne losing everything and everyone he cared about? Most likely-- but hey, no pressure... 

"You want to get rid of me," Wayne stated, mustering up as much calmness, confidence, and braveness as he could-- as though he was making a business deal here, and not gambling his life to a madman. "so get rid of me this way," Wayne held Jerome's gaze daringly-- respectfully. "let me take Thomas' place," Jerome was silent, hearing Wayne out. "you get to execute me however you see fit in front of an audience, and I get to make sure no one innocent gets caught in the middle of the quarrel between you and me." 

Jerome hadn't smiled the entire time he'd been in here-- Wayne wasn't sure he'd ever seen Jerome go this long looking this serious without at least cracking a smirk. "Or," Jerome spoke up. "I could slaughter each and every one of your little friends outside, and then slit that pretty throat of yours after making sure you watched each and every second." 

"You'd lose the game if you did that." Wayne countered without faltering, earning narrowed eyes. "You might cheat, Jerome, but you never just say 'screw it' to a game and toss it aside whenever it gets challenging and risky-- it wouldn't be any fun if you just quit when things got tough and claimed you won... you have to actually finish it and come out on top one way or another." Wayne could read Jerome like a book the same way Jerome could read him. "If you just killed everyone that survived the gameshow, you'd be a sore loser, but if you just change the rules a little and let me take Thomas' place, then at least you'd have won this game between us-- even if it wasn't fair and square." 

A little over a minute had gone by, and for a good long while Wayne's offer was met with no more than an icy stare. 

Then, Jerome finally smirked for the first time since he'd entered the room. "It's a tempting offer." He admitted with a shrug. 

"Will you take it?" Wayne inquired without missing a beat. 

Jerome examined Wayne, the boy wanting to shiver as that smug bastard looked him over again-- like he could see right into Wayne... his stare was venomous-- it made Wayne uneasy. 

"All right," Jerome finally agreed. "sure-- why not? I'll let you go out feeling noble." That's how Jerome would respect what they had once been, because he was feeling nice. 

Jerome started to get up, but halted as Wayne kept his composure while saying, "I still have a little over two minutes left." 

Jerome quirked a brow, staring at Wayne for a while before hesitantly sitting back down. "Oh?" It was true Wayne had been permitted five minutes to talk, but Jerome had figured they were done here. 

Perhaps the boy wanted to bide the little time he had left... it was understandable-- Jerome saw no harm in allowing such a trivial thing. 

Wayne softly swallowed dryly, exhaling quietly-- here was the hard part. 

Wayne had saved Thomas-- now it was time to try and save himself... and Jerome... 

... 

... the old Jerome. 

"Can you please just tell me what you're convinced I did?" Wayne hesitantly asked, no longer keeping up a firm façade-- just being... himself. "Tell me what got you so set on believing I went against you somehow for some reason?" Wayne furrowed his brow, ignoring the urge to avert his gaze. "What you're so sure that happened that I should be aware of?" 

Jerome's smirk had soured. "You're really trying to play innocent even after I watched you choose that bastard over me, huh?" Even after Jerome saw Wayne betray him alongside Theo. 

"I chose who over you?" Wayne persisted, because maybe if Wayne could just get a better idea of what Jerome was misinterpreting, Wayne could explain what had actually happened. 

Jerome didn't see what Wayne was playing at here. "You know who." How could Wayne not know who he'd chosen to stand by as Jerome was carelessly discarded? 

"Jerome, please-- if you'd just tell me what you believe happened when I 'betrayed' you-" Wayne desperately pleaded, because he wanted to help Jerome so badly, but Jerome just wasn't letting him. 

"Oh I'm fully aware of what happened." Jerome interjected convinced with a bitter scoff and cold grin. 

No. 

"If you were fully aware of anything then you'd be aware that one of the last things I'd ever want to do is betray you by ever putting you in harm's way because I give too much of a shit about you considering you're the one of the only people I care about more than I care about this- this... this dang city!" Wayne snapped in frustration. 

Jerome blinked at that, brow quirking, smile falling. 

Wayne had gotten Jerome to somewhat falter ever so slightly. 

Eventually, Jerome started to get ready to say something back after several tense seconds that felt like minutes dragged by while the air in the room thickened. 

Then, the door abruptly slammed open, Jim barging in with several officers while warning in a rather pissed off voice, "Don't move!" 

~*~*~*~ 

Innocents and criminals had scrambled while chaos ensued when Jerome's and his copycats prisoners broke free as reinforcements came. Some from all sides had gotten killed, but no one Wayne knew at least. Jerome had managed to get away as the ruckus provided a distraction. 

Wayne got to go home with Alfred after a night of discussing the events he'd been through with Gordon, Bullock, and Dent, laying out the details as a key witness since he'd been in the center of a lot of the chaotic shenanigans. Since Wayne was a minor, they allowed Alfred to listen in when Wayne permitted him to-- for emotional support. Dent apologetically revealed Wayne would most likely have to attend another court session to discuss all of this, and while Wayne had expected as much, he wasn't exactly keen on having to do such. 

Selina, Ivy, Jonathan, Thomas, and Jen had all scattered to avoid the GCPD, social services, and Arkham guards, and their whereabouts were currently unknown-- even to Wayne. Harley had been taken back home, and Wayne realized her phone had probably been taken away when she didn't text him back for hours-- she'd always been so quick to reply within no more than an hour. 

Wayne had lost everyone pretty much. 

At least Wayne had Alfred now, but even that was uncertain when Jim reluctantly revealed social services would be checking in on them to observe whether Alfred was a suitable guardian or not, because thanks to the gameshow two and two had been put together, so now it was public information that Wayne had been housing the criminals and Alfred had been fully aware of it. 

If social services did take Alfred away, then Wayne wouldn't have anyone left. Perhaps he could go stay with the Kane's... they were the cousins he was closest to, and cousin Kate was one of his best friends. 

Then again, perhaps- perhaps... perhaps Wayne could run away with Selina, Jonathan, Ivy, Harley, Thomas, and Jen if worse came to worst. 

Wayne and Alfred got back around morning time, and Alfred began patching Wayne up. 

"Well... gotta' say, the clown makeup was way more terrifying than the damage underneath, Master Bruce." Alfred chuckled, trying to ease the tension, Wayne keeping his glazed over gaze averted. "Did I ever tell you that I don't like clowns?" Alfred persisted quietly, Wayne not indicating he heard him whatsoever. "Well, in a couple of days, you'll be back to your old self-- I guarantee it." It wasn't clear whether Alfred was trying to assure himself of that or Wayne as the boy didn't utter a single word back. "You ready to tell me what happened?" Alfred tried one more time, realizing Wayne was probably in shock, and if Wayne didn't want to talk, then that was okay, and Alfred would leave it at that. 

For a while, there was just silence. 

Wayne clenched his fist, the areas from the staples that had been lining his arm aching. "When Jerome took me away... I thought they were going to kill you." The boy finally spoke up softly when Alfred paused working on Wayne's injured arm to look up at the boy. 

"Shall I tell you what I thought?" Alfred offered genuinely, staring at Wayne warmly-- trying to get through to the dazed boy. "I thought of how proud I was of you-- of the man that you've become." Alfred hadn't been sure he was going to make it, but he'd felt confident that Wayne had turned out right as rain, and that was the most important thing to Alfred as the boy's guardian. 

"I almost killed him, Alfred." Wayne blurted out ashamed, because that made him the opposite of Alfred's description, didn't it? 

"Ah, but you didn't now, did you? You controlled your anger." Alfred instantly reminded knowingly. 

"It wasn't just anger." Wayne revealed, finally meeting Alfred's gaze, and oh dear Alfred knew that look Wayne was giving him all too well; it was a look Alfred had seen lost men give, but never Wayne-- not until now... "After everything Jerome had done-- after all the pain he caused... the idea of killing him felt-" 

"It felt right." Alfred suggested understandingly. 

Wayne swallowed thickly, admitting, "Yes,", and it felt awful to say that about someone he'd been so close to-- regardless of the reasoning. "it felt like justice..." 

"There's a very fine line, Master Bruce, between Justice and vengeance." Alfred informed, looking the younger over. 

"I know," Wayne assured. "but that doesn't mean there isn't one." 

"No, it doesn't." Alfred agreed somewhat relieved Wayne hadn't dismissed that, patiently waiting for the boy to continue. 

"I knew where the line was tonight, Alfred," Wayne stated. "I didn't cross it." 

"Well that's the first rule." Alfred praised satisfied. 

Wayne blinked, brow furrowing. "What do you mean?" 

"Well, I started training you so you could defend yourself." Alfred began to explain. "Well... we're well pass that, aren't we?" Wayne stared at him intently. "But what's all this training for? What are you gonna' do with it?" 

"I don't know." Wayne confessed, because he wanted to use it to protect his friends and family-- to protect Gotham. To protect Selina, Ivy, Jonathan, Harley, Thomas Jr., and Jen. To protect Alfred. To protect them like he couldn't protect Thomas and Martha Wayne. To protect them like he couldn't protect Jerome. Only problem was, Wayne wasn't exactly sure how to apply his training to that. Join the GCPD? Become a teammate of a justice seeking league? Become a body guard? Work alone as a rogue vigilante? 

"Nor do I," Alfred replied, because Wayne wasn't in on this alone. "but if you keep going, you're gonna' need rules." Alfred was sure to emphasize this part. "Rules that you cannot and you will not break-- never mind the reason, never mind what the circumstance." 

Wayne swallowed dryly, already knowing what his one rule would be. "I will not kill." 

Alfred straightened up, chin raising. "Say it again." 

Wayne met Alfred's eyes, solidifying his rule by repeating more confidently, "I will not kill." 

Alfred hesitated, searching Wayne's eyes to be sure he meant it-- to be sure he was ready. "Then let's get to work." He finally said satisfied. 

Wayne's rule was due to him believing it wasn't his choice to decide who was innocent and guilty, because he could make the wrong call. It would be safer to let the jury and judge decide whether someone was a criminal or not based on what detectives gathered. It also wasn't up to him to decide on the punishment-- there were laws for that. Wayne wanted to bring people to justice, rather than take away their right to a trial by deciding their innocence by hisself. Murder was also lawfully unjust, which was something Wayne did not want to be. 

That wasn't the only reason Wayne chose to abide by that rule, however. Another reason- in fact, possibly even a bigger reason, and even a possible selfish one, was that Wayne... well, Wayne didn't want to hurt his friends. 

Wayne saw what this city did to people. Saw what it did to Jerome. He couldn't help but fear the same would happen to Selina, Ivy, Jonathan, Harley, Thomas or Jen. Possibly more than one... possibly all, at that. The chance was there, and it wasn't exactly a huge chance, but it certainly wasn't a very small one either. 

Not to mention what Charm and Jay Luna had revealed... 

After all, Wayne's friends were already minor criminals, and if they became felons when they grew up, Wayne doubted he'd be able to go against them. So a big part of Wayne's rule came from a self interest. 

A big part of the rule came from the fact Wayne doubted he'd ever be able to kill his friends in the future despite any pain they could inflict on his city and home, the same way Wayne couldn't kill Jerome despite all the chaos he'd caused-- even when Wayne wanted to. 

Wayne wanted to protect this city, of course, but Wayne wanted to protect those close to him more than anything-- that's what started this obsession with justice in the first place. 

Perhaps it was a weakness. Perhaps it was a strength. Perhaps it was both. 

Regardless, it was Wayne's code now. 

~*~*~*~ 

Wayne and Alfred had trained for an hour before Alfred realized it was time to give a break to the traumatized boy still somewhat in shock from being kidnapped for the fourth time by his once-closest friend that now wanted to kill him. 

Particularly when Wayne had been up all night as well. 

So, Alfred sent Wayne off to bed, and it was one of the few times Wayne didn't object to stopping their training, the exhausted boy gladly doing as told. 

When Wayne woke up, it was dusk, and he suddenly felt very, very alone when realizing the mattresses littering the floor lacked the friends he was so very used to waking up to. 

It had been a while since Wayne had slept in his own room... 

Wayne glanced at the imprint on the left side of his bed where Jerome would sleep what felt like so long ago, instinctively pressing his fingertips against the empty dip in the mattress, his brow furrowing as he gave a sigh, hand going into a fist as he pulled away, because there was no use in crying over spilled milk- 

"You almost look like you miss me." An amused voice spoke up, Wayne's eyes widening and snapping over towards the figure sitting in a chair in the shadowy corner of the room. 

Shit. 

"How long have you been sitting there?" Was the question Wayne found himself choosing to say out of the many that came to mind. 

Jerome gave a smirk. "A few seconds. A few minutes. A few hours. Something like that." 

Wayne gave a scoff. "Those are pretty different time periods." 

"Time flies by when you're having fun," Jerome said with a shrug. "easy to lose track of and whatnot." 

"What exactly were you having fun doing? Watching me sleep?" Wayne replied snappily, earning a snicker. 

"I was reading your school journal." Jerome answered, holding up Wayne's composition book that had been resting in the intruder's lap, smirking at the horrified look that earned, and ooh that expression was just about the most terrified one Jerome had seen Wayne give within the twenty-four hours of him interacting with the younger. Apparently the maniac reading his 'diary' frightened Wayne more than any of Jerome's other shenanigans. 

"You're joking." Wayne said, as though saying it would make it so. 

Jerome gave a hum. "So... about Jerona..." Oh dear DC- "Fiery crimson hair... piercing emerald eyes... dark humor... a scar as her defining feature..." He smirked at the way that Wayne's face heated up. "She almost sounds familiar-" 

"Give me that." Wayne demanded both enraged and embarrassed, nearly tripping on the sheets he got himself tangled up in as he hurriedly stood, scrambling out of the blankets pooling around his feet and towards the snickering Jerome. 

"No need to get all flustered," Jerome teased while keeping his eyes on the book as Wayne approached, warningly clicking his knife handle's button, the blade switching out, causing Wayne to halt a few feet away from the taller one at that, the younger quickly recalling this wasn't exactly the old Jerome, and his jests were no longer harmless. "I have to admit-- she sounds pretty cute." If Wayne got too comfy here, their once play-fights could result in not so much play... 

"Well she got some facial surgery recently, so I'm not as into her." Wayne blurted out haughtily, earning an amused but annoyed look. 

"Is there a reason you made me a girl in your little diary?" Jerome snickered, choosing to be nice and dismiss Wayne's comment. 

"It's not a diary," Wayne informed defensively. "it's my mandatory school journal, and considering the last gay kid got sent to counseling, I-" Jerome's brow quirked, Wayne realizing what he'd just said, and shit shit shit- 

It didn't take Jerome long at all to piece together what Wayne was saying. "You had a thing for me." It wasn't a question-- it was more of a knowing statement. A surprised statement, but a certain one, nonetheless, because Wayne was about as obvious as it got. 

"No." Wayne instantly denied, not exactly wanting THIS Jerome to find out about that, because Wayne REALLY didn't want to go through this crush shit again, and particularly not with THIS Jerome. 

"Then why not just write me as a guy?" Jerome challenged intrigued, Wayne looking like a deer in headlights, and oh Jerome found this absolutely hilariously delightful. 

"I changed everyone's genders." Wayne lied, and he really needed to work on his lying- 

"You just said you wrote me like that to avoid being called out for being ga-" 

"I'm not gay." Wayne interjected, and it technically wasn't a lie, because it's not like he said he was straight-- he was bi. 

The corners of Jerome's lips tugged upwards. "I clearly haven't read far enough into this book-" 

"You've read enough." Wayne objected, taking another step forward, stopping in his tracks once again as Jerome placed his elbow against his right knee crossed over his left while pointing his switchblade at Wayne threateningly, left hand keeping ahold of the book. 

"I'm not even halfway through," Jerome mused, eying Wayne over from head to toe while clearly contemplating on something. "although I did notice something interesting..." 

Wayne glared at Jerome both annoyedly and warily. "Yeah? What's that?" 

Jerome flipped back a few pages, almost going to the very first page, scanning it over with his eyes while commenting, "I start off as a guy." At that, Jerome read off, "'I met a guy called Jerry today at a party. He was a comedian, and I usually don't like stand-up comedy that much, but his stuff was actually pretty funny. He turned out to be a jerk, though.'" Wayne had made Jerome a comedian instead of magician, said they'd met at a party rather than charity ball, and he'd left out the part about Jerome kidnapping him. 

"Can I please have my journal back?" Wayne politely requested through gritted teeth. 

Jerome ignored him, turning a few pages to get to the next part about him. "'I ran into Jerry again today. We started hanging out, and I don't really like hanging out with him, but I don't want to be rude.'" They had hung out to exchange answers about the Maniax for fun, but Wayne made it seem like he was just being too polite to say 'no.' 

Wayne worried Jerome wasn't too keen on reading that part, eying the other's knife while defending, "I was just-" 

"'Today Jerry came over to have a sleepover at my place for the first time.'" Jerome interjected after turning a few more pages, Wayne going quiet and swallowing thickly as Jerome flipped a few more. "'Today Jerry and I went trick-or-treating...'" Jerome kept flipping the pages, paraphrasing, "Today me and Jerry did this... today me and Jerry did that..." Jerome got to the page he was looking for, quoting, "'Today, I met Jerry's sister, Jerona." 

Wayne had to force himself to stay in place and not lunge forward to pry his journal away from Jerome's hands, not very well wanting to risk getting stabbed with the knife pointing at him. "Jerome-" Wayne started to object. 

"'Goldie and I broke up,'" Jerome continued, and Goldie was Wayne's name for Silver. "'so I was pretty bummed out, and to top it off there were some bullies looking for me,'" The bullies had been Oswald's rogue men. "but Jerona got them to leave me alone.'" Jerome had refused to tell Oswald's rogue men where Wayne was, and Jerome had gotten beaten up badly because of it. "'I really like Jerona.'" 

Wayne's hands were balled into fists, and whether his face was heating up from embarrassment or anger was unclear. "I know what my journal says-- I wrote it. You don't have to read it out lou-" 

"Ya' wanna' know what I find interesting about this?" Jerome interrupted, Wayne shuffling back as Jerome abruptly stood while shutting the book with one hand, keeping it in his grasp while twirling the knife in his other hand. "For the most part, it's not too hard to figure out what these characters and events you've changed are supposed to actually be," He began musingly, pacing back and forth as Wayne kept his eyes on the weapon. "and I recall a lot of this," He continued, tapping the flat side of his knife against his jeans rhythmically. "but I noticed your journal entries seem out of order." 

Wayne's brow furrowed uncertainly. "What do you mean?" 

Jerome halted, Wayne regretting asking as the other suddenly walked towards him, and oh shit shit shit- 

"What I mean," Jerome began as Wayne scurried back until his calves hit the bed and he fell into a sitting position. "is that I'm aware you say the 'party' is the first place we met," Jerome was right in front of the wary Wayne, leaning over and causing Wayne to lean back, Jerome tapping the tip of his blade against the journal. "as in you say the charity ball is the first place we met," Jerome's knife raised, the flat of it pressing against Wayne's chin and lifting, forcing the boy to meet Jerome's questioning gaze with a glare. "and yet I recall the charity ball being the last place we met. I recall it being the place where you went behind my back, and got me killed-" 

"I already told you," Wayne spoke up bravely, the blade cold against his skin. "you're not remembering things in the right order," Jerome stayed quiet, emerald irises searching bluish gray-- as though he could find a lie or truth in the huge eyes staring up at him. "and Hugo's used that to his advantage to put together a story you misinterpreted with me as the bad guy." Jerome narrowed his eyes at that. "I never betrayed you. I don't know what you believe I did at the charity, but we weren't even friends until well after that." Jerome was quiet, causing Wayne to continue, "If I wanted to go against you, I would have killed you when I had that shard of glass against your throat." Jerome faltered, grin suddenly falling. "What?" Wayne challenged. "Realizing you might be in the wrong after all?" 

Jerome scoffed, not removing his knife as he admitted, "You might possibly have a point." 

Wayne couldn't stop the hope that arose in his chest at that. "You believe me?" For an instant, Wayne's training went to waste, and he let his guard lower. 

Jerome arched a brow at how the boy's stone cold façade suddenly cracked, a pleading expression taking place. 

"I-" Jerome hesitated. "-might be considering that your story could by some small chance be plausible." 

Wayne felt relief begin to rise in him, too, as the blade left his throat without a mark. "So what does that mean?" Was the old Jerome back? 

Jerome straightened up, looking Wayne over quizzically, glancing from the boy, to his knife, to the journal, and then back to the boy. "It means I plan on finishing up this journal, and if you have any more proof about what really went on, you'll show it to me." 

At this point, Wayne didn't care if Jerome read his journal if it meant getting him back completely. "So what-" Wayne started to say. 

"So," Jerome continued, Wayne going quiet. "I clearly can't stay here-- Alfred might have allowed it before, but considering these new circumstances, I doubt..." Jerome trailed off before collecting himself and stating, "I'll come back tomorrow night after I finish reading this, and we'll settle things then." If Jerome was convinced, perhaps they'd have a chance at going back to whatever they'd been before. If Jerome wasn't, he'd just kill Wayne and leave it at that. 

"That's why you came here?" Wayne questioned skeptically. "To just tell me you'd be coming back tomorrow?" 

"No," Jerome admitted, nonchalantly turning away from Wayne and walking towards the door. "I came here to torture you a little. Hear you beg here and there. Make you scream some. Watch you writhe and shiver from blood loss. Oh, and kill you, of course." Jerome held the journal up as he approached the exit, not bothering to look back at Wayne. "I ended up changing my mind." A pause. "For now." He casually added, giving a little wave to gesture towards the stolen book before lowering it. "You've had a lucky night, kiddo. See ya' tomorrow." 

"Wait," Wayne spoke up right before Jerome reached the threshold, causing the criminal to halt. "you might have questions about what parts in the journal symbolizes-- I changed a lot of stuff in it to keep it sounding-" Wayne searched for the right word. "-lawful." 

Jerome smirked at that, but didn't look back at Wayne. "I already told you-- I'm getting out before that butler of yours catches me and tries to get my ass thrown back in Arkham. If I have any questions, I'll save them for tomorrow." 

"I could come with you," Wayne objected, Jerome going quiet. "to wherever your hideout is," Wayne needed more time to talk to Jerome-- to convince him he never betrayed him. "it would give us more time to discuss things so you don't have to make a hasty choice." 

Jerome gave a chuckle, arms crossing, keeping his back to the boy. "You wanna' come to my hideout, huh?" His amused voice dropped to a dangerous tone. "You're not trying to play Mr. Policeman here, are ya', Wayne?" 

"If I wanted you arrested, I could just call Jim the second you walk out my door." Wayne countered. 

"Yeah? And how do I know you're not just trying to fry a bigger fish here?" Jerome said with an eye roll, keeping his sights forward. 

Wayne blinked, brow arching. "Huh?" 

"Why get just little ol' me arrested when you could find my hideout and get my gang arrested, too?" Jerome clarified, listening carefully to Wayne's reaction. 

"Your gang? What are you tal-" Wait a second... "Your copycats are at your hideout, too?" Wayne questioned despite already knowing the answer now. "Oh." Well shit. "Um- maybe you're right... I could just stay here." Wayne really hadn't had many good experiences with copycats. "I'll see you tomorrow nigh-" 

"Ya' know what, Wayne?" Jerome gave a grin, finally looking over his shoulder. "Maybe you should tag along." If Wayne hadn't been planning on Jerome's copycats being there, then perhaps Wayne was being sincere and not a snitch after all. "So we can really have a chance at discussing things..." Wayne looked absolutely reluctant. "If you want to, of course." Jerome snickered at that, looking forward again, beginning to walk off while informing, "Either way, I'm out of here, so if you wanna' come with, then I'd recommend keeping up." At that, Jerome turned and walked down the hall, out of Wayne's sights. 

At first, Wayne just sat there, weighing his options, because going where Jerome's copycats were could complicate things, and it would be safer to just wait for Jerome to come back alone here... in the proper home Wayne was used to. Wayne could also call Gordon to make sure Alfred wouldn't be put in any more danger by Jerome, which could piss Jerome off if the detective caught him, and then things could possibly never get fixed. Wayne could wake up Alfred for advice, but Alfred would probably be ready to tell Jerome to square up with how 'fond' Alfred was of Jerome. 

The most rational thing Wayne could do was stay home, and wait to answer any questions Jerome had since he'd almost certainly be back soon from the looks of it. 

However, Wayne instead found himself running after Jerome, because of course he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone for all the lovely comments you guys have posted the last few chapters! Such sweet comments genuinely mean so much to me, and really help keep me motivated in continuing the fic! 
> 
> I want to particularly thank commenter "IsGonnaBurnInHell"-- your comments are always so lovely and detailed, and it sincerely makes me smile to thoroughly read what all you enjoyed! 
> 
> In any case, this was one of the chapters I've admittedly had the most fun writing! 
> 
> As you can probably tell, the chapters will no longer be aligning with every single episode, and now just primarily align with the Jerome based episodes! 
> 
> Considering the only Jerome based episodes that are currently left now are the season 4 ones so far, that also means the fic's almost done with aligning with the show content, and will soon align with more of the overall Batman concept. Essentially, that means we're nearing the intended part where Wayne and Jerome will grow up into their respectful vigilante and villain selves!


	42. A Deeply Rooted Sour Seed

Jester was expecting Jerome to return with Wayne. Or at least, a piece of Wayne, in any case. Perhaps the entire Wayne, as cold and as stiff as ice. Or, perhaps with a few pieces of Wayne as trophies. Why, perhaps even with no bit of Wayne other than his blood soaked on Jerome's clothes. 

Heck, Jester had been expecting the alternative possibility of a tortured Wayne within an inch of his life being brought in here, so Jerome could give the copycats an entertaining display of seeing the brat's final drops of blood spill. 

Jester even figured there was a chance of an unconscious or restrained Wayne being dragged in here untouched, so the copycats could see the entire torture process from finish to end. 

What Jester hadn't been expecting to see was an unmarked Wayne in good health willingly walking by Jerome's side, and yet that's exactly what Jester saw when Jerome came through the warehouse doors, and it surprised him just as much as every other copycat that had eagerly been awaiting for their boss' return to hear what Jerome had done to the kiddo as punishment. 

When Wayne instinctively shuffled closer behind Jerome as all eyes went towards them, the copycats became intrigued at the way Jerome gestured Wayne to keep up close behind him. That is, all copycats except for Jester, who was less intrigued about what was going on, and more enraged that this brat wasn't out of his and Jerome's way yet. 

"The kid's mine," Jerome declared without a smile, whispers from the copycats filling the abandoned warehouse at the serious statement. "that means hands off," He warned, striding towards a wooden ladder in the center of said warehouse, Wayne hurrying to keep up. "unless you want to lose your fingers..." The copycats exchanged unsure glances. "Got it?" Jerome questioned, voice raising, earning quick and loud answers of confirmation, Jester seething. "Good." Jerome said as he halted beside the ladder, gesturing Wayne up, the boy hesitating and wondering if it had REALLY been a good idea to come here... at all. 

Nonetheless, Wayne did as instructed and climbed up the ladder, Jerome placing the boy's journal between his teeth before grasping at the wooden bars and following. 

Jester wanted to believe Jerome had lured Wayne here. Tricked him here. Coaxed him here. He wanted to believe Jerome had set up a trap for Wayne. However, there was no sense in wanting to believe something so absolutely false; it seemed Wayne still had a hold on HIS Jerome, and if Jerome couldn't break free of that hold, Jester would just have to help Jerome break it... by breaking Wayne for him, until there was no chance of Wayne being fixed again. 

Wayne had had his time with Jerome already, and it had been a long time-- it had barely even been Jester's turn, and Wayne was already being greedy. Jerome was Jester's now-- the copycat wouldn't let a brat ruin that. 

Wayne had nearly ruined Jerome-- that pesky little boy had almost tamed an artist of chaos. Jester had used Hugo to help Jerome break out of Wayne's clutches... to help Jerome see his place was not beside a goody-two-shoes like Wayne. Jester had shown Jerome he was going soft and not having the fun he should, and Jester was not about to allow Wayne to blind Jerome again with a guise of caring for the leader of chaos. 

No-- Jester would be there for Jerome this time, and Jester wouldn't ruin Jerome... wouldn't try to encourage Jerome into being something 'better' when Jerome was already perfect. 

Jester began to come up with his plan as Jerome reached the top of the ladder, and then Wayne, the copycat watching as the two walked out of sight from the wooden platform above. 

"Careful," Jerome casually warned as Wayne followed closely behind him. "some of the boards are loose." 

"I can see some are missing, too..." Wayne commented while attempting to follow the pattern of Jerome's footsteps to make sure he stayed upon sturdy flooring. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, does this not satisfy your prim standards, your majesty?" Jerome sarcastically mocked with a bitter chuckle, turning to face Wayne while backing up as he gave an exaggerated apologetic bow. "My apologies if it's not the proper castle you're oh so used to." He considered threatening to cut out Wayne's tongue if Wayne started talking shit. 

Wayne was fixing to just give Jerome a glare, or grumble about him, or snap something even meaner back. 

But then, Wayne chose to try something else. 

"Why, not at all," Wayne joked right back in an overly fancy British tone, causing Jerome to halt as Wayne gave a slight bow in return. "in fact, I'd say it really adds to the whole 'medieval royal' structure..." Wayne observed the quizzical and taken aback expression Jerome was giving him, trying to see if this sparked back any piece of the old Jerome. "That's what you're going for in a place like this, right? The ancient look?" Wayne added more teasingly than insultingly. 

Jerome felt something ache a little at that-- right in the center of his chest, weighing all the way down to the core of his gut... something felt familiar. 

Jerome found his bitter smirk still sour, but not quite as much so as he instinctively placed a jokingly insulted hand against his chest while giving an exaggerated gasp. "Ancient? The nerve!" He replied in an even thicker British accent. "I'll have you know my castle is a castle of the future!" 

Wayne couldn't help but feel a smile instinctively coming on when Jerome joked back, and he didn't bother trying to stop it from reaching his lips, coming to a halt a few feet away from Jerome. "Castle of the future?" Wayne's smile shifted into a smirk. "Have we just about lost all of our resources in the future?" 

Jerome felt the ache spread when Wayne smiled, and despite how much it hurt there was also something pleasant about it despite it being out of his control. "Oh yes," Jerome joked back cheerfully nonetheless, not breaking character. "I'm afraid global warming caught up with us-- the only wood we have nowadays is recycled!" Was Wayne manipulating him here? Or was this... genuine? "And the only electricity we get is from the occasional lightning storms!" 

Wayne, however, broke character at that, and oh his laugh just about made the ache in Jerome hit full-on, and Jerome found himself wanting to make Wayne laugh more as Wayne chuckled in his regular voice, "Geez-- that's a pretty... dim future." 

"Don't even get me started on how bad plumbing gets a hundred years from now." Jerome continued joking, because he didn't want to break character-- he didn't want to go back to souring and becoming cold... not when he was so close to starting to feel just a little bit like his old self for the first time since Hugo had woken him back up. 

"A hundred years?" Wayne questioned with a smile. "Isn't that a little soon?" Despite Wayne breaking character, he was still smiling at Jerome. 

That made Jerome falter, realizing the fact that the boy he'd been wanting to murder for amusement and revenge the night before was now the boy he was suddenly just joking around with, and recalling the fact that while this is what he and Wayne might have had once before, it was now something they realistically no longer had, and it wasn't something they'd truly have a chance at regaining until Jerome figured all of... well, THIS out. 

Until Jerome figured out whether Wayne was lying. 

Wayne faltered as well, realizing Jerome had suddenly stopped joking and was now just giving Wayne a skeptical look, causing Wayne to clear his throat and mutter, "Um... right-- you lead the way?" 

The bitter rooted seed in Jerome that Wayne had just been gradually easing out bit by bit for a brief few seconds ended up only digging deeper into the criminal, and held on firmly as it soured once more. 

Nonetheless, Wayne had managed to uproot a small part of the stubborn seed that had initially been stubbornly refusing to budge an inch, at the very least. 

That was a start, regardless of how it was near to being insignificant, because before Wayne's efforts had been absolutely insignificant. 

When it came down to it, whatever ideas Hugo had implanted into Jerome through manipulation and tricky wording were a single part of Jerome holding back every other bit of him, and if Wayne could just help Jerome identify and dig out those very misinterpretations, then perhaps the rest of Jerome could fall into place-- perhaps the old Jerome could break through whatever Hugo had done to him. 

It could take time to undo the damage Hugo had done-- a lot of time, at that. It only takes an instant to inflict damage, but the time it takes to heal is anything but an instant. To make matters worse, Hugo had been steadily keeping the damage in Jerome in place, and gradually adding to it until Jerome had lost himself close to completion. Now, Jerome's damage had set, and like an incorrectly set broken bone that had already sturdied, it would be hard to put things back in the right place, but in the long run it would be worth the effort by putting things back to how they'd used to be, and help Jerome more than anything. 

If something's taken apart and then put back together incorrectly, the only way to put it back right is to take it apart again. 

Wayne realized that as Jerome showed him to his room-- the only problem being Wayne had to figure out how to go about doing that... 

"Jeri, War Paint, Styles, Wigs, Smiles, and Mittens used to room up here," Jerome informed, gesturing towards the makeshift rooms consisting of sewn together blankets, sheets, and curtains intended to be the rooms 'walls'. "now, it looks like it's just me, Jester, Jack, Joe, Jokester, and Jeannie up here." Wayne felt his gut sink at Jester's name. "You'd probably like Mittens room most if you wanna' move in there considering he liked the finer things in life, or I could send a few of the copycats out to grab some supplies for you to set up your own place-- there's a few free spaces up here." 

"Are there any rooms close to yours?" Wayne asked hopefully, wanting to be where Jerome could hear him call for help if Jester showed up in the middle of the night to slit his throat or something. 

Jerome gave Wayne a quizzical look. "Jester's room is on my left, Jeri's was on my right." 

"Could I have Jeri's?" Wayne requested, Jerome eying him over questioningly. "Um- so I could... well... you know, just- so I could be close or whatever if- if..." Wayne tried to come up with a good excuse. "if you need me to answer any questions about the journal?" 

Jerome gave a smirk, realizing what was going on, elbowing Wayne while humming, "Aw, you're not scared of my trusty copycats, are ya'?" 

"No." Wayne denied all too quickly, earning a snicker and defending, "As loyal as they might be, you've gotten them to hate me pretty bad..." 

Jerome gave a crackle. "Hate ya'? They love you, kiddo! Back at the circus, they couldn't stop going wild for ya'!" 

"They were cheering for me because I was going to be killed." Wayne countered while crossing his arms. 

"Details..." Jerome shrugged off. "In any case, sure-- ya' can have Jeri's place." The criminal agreed, halting in front of the largest set up at the end of the hall, his walls consisting of red, yellow, and white curtains. "That's Jester's," He informed, pointing towards the room on the left consisting of orange and gray blankets. "and that was Jeri's." He added, gesturing Wayne to go on inside the makeshift room consisting of red and black sheets. "If ya' need anything, tell him." He instructed, giving a nod towards one of three copycats standing outside their makeshift rooms as guards. "In any case, I have some reading to get done," Jerome mused, flashing Wayne's journal as he walked inside his own room. "make yourself at home, kiddo." 

When the curtains closed behind Jerome, Wayne looked up at the tall copycat guarding Jeri's old room, earning an all too friendly grin, causing Wayne to gulp and give a forced polite nod towards them before through the sheets and into his room. 

Jeri's room had the setup of a Hollywood actress' makeup and costume trailer... if the actress only played in horror movies. 

Thanks to Wayne screwing up his sleep schedule due to falling asleep in the middle of the day as a result of Jerome keeping him captive all night, Wayne felt wide awake despite it being midnight. Then again, Wayne's sleep schedule had already been pretty bad, so he couldn't really blame THAT on Jerome. 

Nonetheless, Wayne attempted to make the time go by faster by at least trying to sleep in attempts to catch up on the lack of sleep he'd been missing out on for a while now. However, after over half an hour of just laying there with his eye closed, Wayne gave a frustrated huff, adrenaline pumping as he settled for just staring up at the ceiling for a few more lengthy minutes. 

It was hard enough to sleep in a new place. It was harder when your sleep schedule was messed up. It was even harder when you were sleeping in a building surrounded by murderers-- particularly murders intent on satisfying the guy that had made it rather clear he wanted to spill your blood. 

So, Wayne stopped trying to do the unlikely, and got up, walking around the room and examining Jeri's belongings: large cases of makeup, racks of black & red dresses, and firearms hidden in every nook and cranny with crates of ammunition littering the floor-- the things every gal needs. 

Then, Wayne got an idea, but he hesitated, because it could be an absolutely grand idea! Or, it could be a very, VERY bad idea. Either way, Wayne doubted it would end up being an in between. 

But you never know until you try it, right? 

Now, Jerome had been minding his own damn business as he read Wayne's journal when a crumpled up cloth interrupted his reading place as it fell at the foot of his air mattress, the foreign object catching his eye as he brought his gaze away from the page he was on, eying the cloth with a quirked brow, looking up towards the ceiling questioningly before glancing at the curtain separating his room from Wayne's, realizing the boy had probably thrown it over, causing Jerome to set the journal down intrigued and reach for the cloth. 

'What do you call a fish that tastes funny?" were the words scribbled on the makeup remover cloth in red lipstick, Jerome smirking and realizing Wayne hadn't been able to find a piece of paper or a proper writing utensil in Jeri's room. 

So, Jerome decided to call in his guard and instruct him to get two pencils, patiently waiting for the copycat to return with such as he tore out a blank page from Wayne's journal. 

After a couple of minutes went by, Wayne gave a sigh, figuring Jerome had either not noticed the note, or just ignored it- 

A crumpled piece of paper along with a pencil flew over Wayne, landing a few feet away from the sleeping bag he was on, causing him to perk up and reach over towards the pair of objects, un-crumpling the paper and reading the words, 'A clownfish.' 

Wayne gave a huff, and wrote down, 'You're not supposedly to steal the punchline >:(', nonetheless smiling as he wrote it, crumpling the paper back up and tossing it back over the curtain. 

A few seconds went by before Wayne heard a snicker followed by scribbling, the raven haired boy catching the crumpled paper tossed back. 'Fair enough. Tell me another one.' 

'Okay, what did the egg say to the clown?' Wayne wrote before balling up the paper and throwing it back over. 

A few seconds later, the paper came back, Wayne reading the reply, 'You crack me up ;) Come on, kiddo-- have some originality!' 

Wayne gave a grumble as he wrote, 'Well how about you tell me a joke instead so I can steal YOUR punchline >:P' 

As Wayne waited for the paper to be tossed back, he heard Jerome give a snort of laughter at the childish smiley face before replying and throwing it back. 

Wayne's eyes scanned the words, 'Fine-- how do you kill a circus clown?' 

Wayne quirked a brow, sitting there for about two minutes attempting to figure out what the answer could be before letting out a defeated breath and putting down, 'I don't know... let the lions loose?' 

Jerome patiently awaited Wayne's reply, giving a smirk as the ball of paper finally came back over, catching it and grinning at the guess, writing back, 'Hey, not a bad guess, kiddo! I like that method... but no-- you go for the juggler ;)' 

Wayne caught the crumpled up paper, taking a few seconds to realize Jerome had written 'juggler' instead of 'jugular', rolling his eyes yet chuckling under his breath nonetheless, Jerome grinning cheekily on the other side of the curtain as Wayne wrote back, 'Cheesy much?' 

Jerome snickered at the words, grinning and using his pencil to defend, 'Aw come on, you laughed! How about this one, though... what did one cannibal say to the other while eating a clown?' 

Wayne almost instantly got the answer, cockily writing back, 'This tastes funny!' 

Jerome gave a smirk at the paper, scribbling down, 'Ooh, not too shabby... you're almost good at this >;)' 

When receiving the paper, Wayne gave a huff. "Almost?" He questioned aloud, hearing Jerome give a crackle from the other side of the curtain. 

"You're getting there..." Jerome mused out loud, smile faltering at the ache that began to rise in his chest again at how familiar this felt. 

"Just getting there?" Wayne huffed with a smile, tucking the paper under his pillow, and Wayne was feeling an ache, too, because he'd MISSED this. He'd missed talking like this. He'd missed Jerome. 

Jerome leaned back against the wooden wall of the warehouse, that being the only solid wall he had, staring at the sliver of a curtain separating them. "Mhm..." 

Wayne stared at the curtain, too. "Hey, Jerome?" 

"Yeah?" Jerome sighed, the brief moment of familiarity and joy fading all too quickly, being reminded of how things just weren't like that between them anymore, and as much as it would be nice to go back to how things used to be, they just couldn't-- not after Wayne's betrayal. 

Wayne could hear the briefly lifted venom beginning to settle back into place in Jerome's tone. "What page are you on?" 

Jerome blinked, taking a few seconds to realize Wayne was referring to the journal. "The part where Alfred catches me hanging out with you." Instead of Alfred being enraged Wayne was giving refuge to Jerome AKA his murderous once-captor, Wayne had written Alfred was upset Wayne had invited 'Jerona' over for a sleepover since she was a girl. 

Wayne scooted closer to the curtain, shimmying towards it in his sleeping bag, pressing his fingertips against the wall of cloth. "Do you remember that day?" 

Jerome furrowed his brow, still forcing a smile despite no one being around to see it. "Kind of..." Jerome recalled the major events in his life... snapping when he was nine, but not showing it until he'd killed Lila not too long ago... finding out who the blind fortune teller Cicero was, and later on killing him for never intervening when Jerome needed him to as he was being used as the circus punching bag... detective James Gordon being the one that found him out and got him arrested... 

... 

... meeting Wayne at Arkham. 

Because that's where they'd met, wasn't it? Back when Wayne had hair down to his shoulders, and eyes more blue than gray, and strangely enough a deeper voice. 

Jerome also recalled not really getting that close to Wayne until after he'd refused to give him up to Penguin's rogue men, and Silver had been caught in a lie. Jerome recalled the adventures he and Wayne would go on with the other kiddos, and the holidays they'd spend together. Jerome recalled how Wayne had convinced Alfred and Jim to allow him to watch over his criminal friends in secret. Jerome recalled the troubles Rome and Mayne would give him and Wayne, along with other copycats. 

Jerome recalled being close to Selina, and closer to Wayne. Jerome recalled Wayne being the first person he gave a shit about while also feeling safe around. Jerome recalled valuing Wayne's security above his own. 

Jerome recalled Wayne betraying him. Jerome recalled Wayne being a part of the reason he was killed at the charity ball. Jerome recalled being killed by Theo, but not in the right way. 

Jerome didn't recall that Theo had taken him out in Wayne's home. Jerome didn't recall he'd sacrificed himself for Wayne. Jerome didn't recall Wayne sobbing over him while desperately trying to save him. 

Jerome also didn't recall Jester was not his friend, and this was not the first time Hugo had brought him back. 

Nonetheless, there was a piece of Jerome buried deep in his very core that did recall the truth, and before it could wake up, the bitterness Hugo had smothered it in had to be carefully uprooted away, and that small glimmer of hope is what caused the ache in Jerome's chest to keep coming back when the familiarity with Wayne hit. 

Wayne had- at the very least- gotten Jerome to consider there was a chance he was misinterpreting events that Hugo had manipulated into an order which benefitted him, and that was a start to getting through to that small sliver of the old Jerome, and pulling him back out. 

Before Wayne could reply, Jerome was snapped out of his brooding when someone tapped their foot against the floorboard outside of Jerome's makeshift room, that being how the copycats had to knock with curtains as doors. 

"Come in." Jerome permitted while pushing Wayne's journal under his blanket, Wayne drawing his fingertips away from the curtain he'd been resting them against, listening intently to hear who- 

"So what's the plan with the billionaire brat?" Jester's voice questioned, Wayne holding his breath-- as though he was worried Jester would hear him breathe and realize he was eavesdropping, which really was kinda' hard not to do with paper thin 'walls'. 

Jerome's eyes rolled, giving an annoyed smirk. "Straight to the point, aren't ya'?" He considered hiding the pencil he'd been writing to Wayne with, before realizing a pencil was a perfectly normal thing to have, and why should he care if it wasn't? Jerome could talk to Wayne as he pleased-- he was the boss here! Not Jester. 

Jester wasn't amused. "Are you planning on getting him all nice and comfy here? Luring him into feeling safe? Making him believe things are back to normal?" Jester abruptly clapped his hands together, Wayne jumping somewhat, but continuing to listen intently to the conversation while clasping his hands over his lips to silent his gasp of surprise at the sudden loud noise. "And then bam! You rip it all out from underneath him!" 

Jerome wasn't very amused, either. "A tempting plan, but no." 

Jester waited. He waited patiently. He waited about ten whole seconds. But then, Jerome just stared up at him the entire time, so Jester grit his teeth and laughed in annoyance, "Then what is the plan?!" 

"Not one I plan to share for the time being." Jerome answered with a smile despite his firm tone. 

"I get it if you don't want to share it with everyone, but I'm your best bud, Jerome! You should know you can share it with me!" Jester persisted stubbornly, grin forced. 

"Well maybe I wanna' perfect my plan before sharing it with you." Jerome said with a shrug. 

"Bullshit. Why aren't you telling me the plan? Do you not actually have one?" Jester accused, earning a scoff. 

"Because I'm the boss around here, so I don't have to tell you shit regardless of the reason." Jerome answered, smile irked. 

"You're not my boss!" Jester snapped, Wayne and Jerome both quirking a brow. "You're my damn friend, and I'm sick of you treating me like the rest of your copycats!" 

Jerome gave a snort of laugher. "Don't worry, Jester-- I'm aware you're not like other girls." 

"This isn't a joke!" Jester growled, Jerome's eyes rolling. "You let your soft spot for a kid that betrayed you waltz right into our hideout, and treat that very brat like your favorite loyal pup just because you used to be pretty good friends with him!" 

"What, do you want me to treat you like a loyal pup instead?" Jerome snickered, Jester seething. "Look, maybe I just want a pet-" 

"You're going to keep him?!" Jester questioned in disbelief, Wayne frowning, because he certainly wasn't a pet. 

"I didn't say that-" Jerome defended. 

"You might as well have!" Jester laughed in a strained voice. "Where is the little shit anyways?" Jerome didn't have enough time to stop his gaze from instinctively flickering towards the curtain separating his makeshift room from Wayne's for only a brief instant, causing Jester to furrow his brow, glancing towards where Jerome had looked, and looking back and forth between the curtain and Jerome a few times, jaw dropping in disbelief. "Jeri's old room?! That's literally right next to yours! It's a V.I.P. room!" 

"It's easier for me to keep an eye on him like this." Jerome waved off, Jester glowering at him. "Don't get your trousers in such a twist-- it's not like I'm letting him share my room." 

Jester was tired of this. The more time that went by of not trying to kill Wayne, the harder it would get to do the deed. The brat was wedging and lodging himself back into Jerome's life, and Jester couldn't allow that friendship to spark back and settle into place... not after finally ruining it for good-- or at least, almost good. 

So, Jester acted, because sitting around and doing nothing while this happened wasn't going to help anyone. 

"You know what? No. We're killing him. Now." Jester informed as Wayne's eyes widened at the words and Jerome blinked, leaving no room for argument as he abruptly yanked up Jerome's curtain, Wayne instantly scrambling back and Jerome quickly getting up as Jester switched out a knife from his pocket. 

Jester hadn't even taken two steps towards the Wayne with his back against the wall before Jerome grabbed the copycat by the shoulder and yanked him backwards, Jerome throwing Jester to the floor with one good and harsh shove, Jerome glancing at Wayne. "Go." Wayne's eyes widened, body freezing up. "Now." Jerome warned as a rather pissed off Jester began to stand up. 

Wayne scrambled upright, taking a few wary steps back as Jester looked just about ready to charge him, the copycat growling at Jerome, "He needs to be put down before he can get you feeling all soft around him again!" 

"Back off, Jester," Jerome warned with an irked smirk as Wayne carefully began to make his way over towards the curtain's exit, fearing going too quickly would result in Jester lunging at him. "if anyone's gonna' kill the kid, it's gonna' be me." 

"Then kill him!" Jester nearly shouted in frustration while Wayne hesitantly reached for the curtain. 

"I'll do whatever I damn well please to him whenever I damn well please after I make a decision on where he and I stand." Jerome scoffed as Wayne attempted to subtly make his way out of the room. 

"Where you an him stand?!" Jester questioned in disbelief, Wayne gradually lowering the curtain back into place. "You can't seriously be considering this brat's side of the story right n-" Jester blinked, eyes flickering towards the Wayne on the other side of the raised curtain, Wayne's eyes widening as Jester glared at him. "Hey!" 

Shit. 

Wayne dropped the curtain, scurrying back as Jester sprinted towards him, hearing a loud THUD accompanied by a yelp on the other side of said curtain, a few copycats peeking out from their rooms questioningly at the sound of ruckus coming from their leader's room, the trio of guards outside of Jerome, Jester's, and Wayne's rooms quirking their brows and looking at Wayne unsurely, causing Wayne to swallow thickly while just pointing at the room and nodding, resulting in the guards exchanging glances before lifting the curtain to go inside. 

"Jester-" Jerome warned with an annoyed chuckle through clenched teeth, trying to keep the copycat pinned against the wooden wall at the far end of the room by his shoulders. 

"Just let me kill the little shit for you!" Jester persisted irked. "You won't have to lay a hand on him! Heck, I'll even make it quick!" Jerome looked over his shoulder at the ready guards, contemplating on asking for a little help, Jester snapping, "No, this is between me and you, Jer-" Jester's gaze glanced behind the guards, sights landing on the cautious Wayne staying a few yards away, a sneer meeting the copycat's face. 

Wayne felt his gut sink as Jester harshly shoved Jerome off of him, the boy freezing up as Jester began to come at him, only getting a step or so forward before having his upper grabbed by a Jerome warning, "Jester-" 

Jester reacted on instinct, and just tried to swat Jerome off of him, intending to whack the hand firmly gripping his shoulder, but instead Jester's knuckles came into contact with Jerome's jaw. 

At that, Jester froze, going wide eyed as Jerome's hand retreated to clench at the once again torn skin on his face, and oh shit shit shit. 

"I- I didn't mean to-" Jester started to defend, and oh Jerome looked pissed. "If that- if that kid had just-" Jester desperately attempted to shift the blame. 

The next thing Jester knew, Jerome had lodged a knife into the hand that had hit him. 

"Jester sleeps outside tonight-- toss him." Jerome shortly informed the guards as Jester let out a howl of pain, resulting in Jerome scoffing, "You're lucky it was just your hand and not your throat, Jester." 

Wayne timidly stood off to the side as an objecting Jester was dragged away kicking, Jerome walking over towards the ladder to make sure the guards properly threw the yelling copycat outside before telling everyone staring at the scene to mind their damn business, the whispers about Jerome brawling with his 'best friend' and then kicking him out thanks to the new boy already causing trouble silencing at that, Jerome not smiling in the least as he walked back towards his room. 

"Could I come in with you?" Wayne requested quietly, Jerome halting at his curtain. "I could help patch you up," Wayne averted his gaze and rubbed his upper arm as Jerome looked over his shoulder at him quizzically. "If you want..." 

"There's a copycat here that used to be a nurse in training. She usually takes care of stuff like this." Jerome informed, studying Wayne as the boy shuffled from foot to foot, trying to figure out if the younger was playing at something here. 

"Oh." Was all Wayne said back, causing Jerome to just stare at him a few lengthy seconds, contemplating on the likelihood of this kid claiming he wanted to help the injured Jerome, only to kill him when he was in such a vulnerable state. 

Eventually, Jerome found himself too intrigued by what Wayne could be planning here to say anything other than, "Come on." After all, Wayne hadn't killed him when he'd had the chance to at the carnival, so Jerome saw no harm in trying to figure out what this kiddo's intentions were by just going with the flow. 

Wayne blinked, perking up as Jerome walked into his room, Wayne hesitating as though Jerome was going to pull some kind of trick or reveal he was just joking around, before finally walking in after him. 

"Health kit's beside the door." Jerome informed as he sat down on his air mattress, Wayne furrowing his brow at the word 'door', before realizing Jerome was referring to the curtain they'd walked through, eyes landing on a cardboard shoe box, picking it up and walking over towards the ever so observant Jerome. 

Wayne sat on his knees across from the Jerome sitting with his legs criss crossed, attempting to ignore the unnerving way Jerome was looking him over like he was analyzing him--emerald eyes staring at him like Wayne wasn't really here to help. Wayne opened the box, finding a stapler, super glue, vodka, aspirin, a lighter, duct tape, hand sanitizer, a water bottle, a pair of cooking scissors, and a sewing kit. The only things that looked like they belonged in what was meant to be a health kit were a few bandaids as well as bandages and the disinfectant Neosporin along with some rubbing alcohol and cotton balls. 

"You should be using the sewing kit instead of staples," Wayne informed with a sigh. "if the staples rust, you could get tetanus. Thread would be a lot safer." Wayne examined the skin that needed to be set back in place-- it consisted of the entire area stretching from the right side of Jerome's chin all the way to the right corner of his jaw. "I could sew the new injury, and just wait for the rest of the staples to come loose bit by bit to do the rest little by little, so you won't have to pull all that metal out or anything like that." 

"If you're still around when the rest of the staples get loose." Jerome spoke up with a smirk, earning a look from Wayne, Jerome snickering. 

Wayne chose to not comment on that, just letting out a sigh and picking up the hand sanitizer, pouring some into his hands and rubbing them together before moving onto the sewing needle, taking out the lighter and burning the needle until the tip of it was red hot, afterwards pouring some rubbing alcohol on it to finish sterilizing it and cool it off, setting the cooling needle carefully on his lap before moving onto using more rubbing alcohol to douse a cotton ball. 

"Here." Wayne offered, holding out the vodka. 

Jerome gave an amused hum, taking a swig of the alcohol to ready himself for the stitches, the bottle leaving his lips as he commented, "You almost seem to know what you're doing..." 

"I do." Wayne informed with a grumble, letting Jerome put the vodka back in the box. "... to an extent." Jerome snickered at that, Wayne pouring some of the bottled water over the sewing needle to rinse it off, afterwards threading through a white string. "You ready?" 

"Define ready." Jerome scoffed, already digging his nails into his wrist to brace himself. 

Wayne noticed that. "Stop. You'll bleed if you do that too hard." He reached out, shooing Jerome's hand away from his wrist, Wayne noting Jerome's wrist was already covered with old nail marks containing bits of dried blood. "Grip your jeans instead." 

"Careful-- you sound close to caring." Jerome joked, nonetheless doing as told and settling for gripping his jeans. 

Wayne didn't miss a beat, meeting Jerome's amused gaze while informing in a completely serious tone, "Of course I do." 

Jerome's smile fell, and he faltered at that, gaze averting as Wayne began to gently dab at the injury with the cotton ball, Jerome's jaw clenching at the sting, swallowing thickly as he furrowed his brow at Wayne's words rather than the ache that came with each dab against the torn skin. 

"Would talking help distract you while I do this, or would you rather things just be quiet?" Wayne asked as he set down the cotton ball and picked up the sewing needle. 

Jerome found himself answering on instinct, "You could tell me a story about one of the shenanigans we got into before all of this." Before Jerome had begun hating Wayne. 

Wayne paused, pondering at that before eventually saying, "Okay.", and leaning forward, Jerome's hands gripping his jeans incredibly tightly as the needle pierced skin, eyes squeezing shut and teeth gritting. "The first shenanigan we got into was when I made a deal with you to get information on Theo, and in exchange I had to steal something with you." Jerome didn't recall the part about Theo, but he did faintly recall the time he'd convinced Wayne to steal something. "I did my research and found a shopkeeper that was a criminal, and decided on robbing his place." Of course goody-two-shoes Wayne would want to stay as pure as possible and not dirty his hands with too much crime. "I stole a toy firearm that had the word 'Bang!' come out of it when you pulled the trigger, and you robbed one that said 'Pow!'." The story was familiar, but Jerome hadn't recalled what they'd stolen. "I stole the toy because I'd seen you looking at it," That ache began to rise in Jerome's chest again, because the reminders they used to be friends was beginning to hurt more and more. "I gave it to you afterwards, and you gave me the one you'd stolen." The ache felt like it was spreading to Jerome's very core and weighing down in the pit of his gut. "I hadn't even realized you'd stolen one, too-- I'd been so obvious about stealing mine, and you'd just casually swiped up yours without a trace," Jerome didn't want to listen to anymore of this, but at the same time he didn't want Wayne to stop talking. "I wanted to figure out how you were so stealthy." Wayne admitted with a weak smile and even weaker chuckle, and hearing Wayne laugh like that hurt. Hearing Wayne laugh like he was sad hurt bad. "Then another time we-" Wayne's voice broke, Jerome blinking at that. "-we- um-" Jerome looked at Wayne, the younger' eyes filled to the brim with water. "-we-" Wayne had to bring his shaky hand back, Jerome not smiling in the least at that. "I'm sorry-" Wayne choked out, droplets suddenly splashing down his cheeks, and oh dear the ache in Jerome's chest was so much more prevalent than the sting from the stitches. "I'm sorry, I just-" Wayne let out a sob, Jerome's expression falling. "I just-" 

"It's fine," Jerome interjected, and he wanted to comfort Wayne like he was used to doing, but he couldn't, because Wayne had betrayed him, and Jerome wasn't about to forgive him for that. Jerome was convinced Wayne was at fault here, and he wasn't going to give someone he'd gotten to close to another chance to come right back and backstab him again. Jerome had to keep Wayne at a distance. "I'll finish the sewing," There was only a quarter of it left in any case. "you should go back to your room." Jerome's tone made it clear it was more of an order than request. 

When it came down to it, Jerome's bitterness towards what he believed had been Wayne's betrayal was stronger than the ache of missing Wayne that weighed down his entire being. Hugo had planted a sour seed in Jerome, and the roots were still too stubborn to give in. There was a chance the roots could eventually give with the right kind of persistent yet careful emotional pull, but for now they wouldn't budge. 

Wayne realized this more and more. 

Despite this, Wayne persisted, because he wasn't going to stop just because this could prove to be harder than he'd reckoned. 

"No," Wayne objected, as though it had been a recommendation rather than demand. "I can-" He swallowed thickly, forcing himself to calm the best he could. "I'm almost done." Jerome narrowed his eyes, because he hadn't been asking- "You look exhausted," Wayne added, as though he didn't look exhausted himself. "with an injury like this, you should be getting as much rest as possible until it heals up." Jerome doubted having your face carved off would make a full recovery just from some rest, but the sentiment was there at least. Nonetheless, he had already told Wayne to leave, and Wayne was sitting here argui- "I'll leave right after if you want me to." Wayne offered, because he just wanted to get across to Jerome that he was on his side, and he wanted to be there for Jerome-- he wanted to help Jerome. 

Jerome gave a sigh, because it honestly did always hurt a lot more when he was patching himself up, and while the sting was still incredibly bad when Wayne did it it was at least not quite as bad. Not to mention Jerome was extremely fatigued, and would probably mess up the stitches somehow if he tried to do it himself in this state. Additionally, if he just let Wayne do this, then the boy had promised to leave him alone without any hassle. 

Jerome could always just get the nurse to do it... 

Instead, Jerome found himself permitting, "Hurry it up." He was too tired to even smile, and that was saying something. Jerome felt drained physically, but also emotionally. 

Wayne did as told, being quick but careful, and despite it taking more time he double stitched the skin to be sure it stayed on good. 

Things between Jerome and Wayne had been quiet as the younger one finished patching the taller one up, and they'd remained quiet as Wayne handed Jerome the aspirin, and kept quiet as Wayne put the supplies back into the cardboard box, and were just as quiet when Wayne went to set said box back where it had been laying. 

Wayne was quiet even as he went to leave as Jerome had told him to, but then Wayne paused at the exit, hand on the curtain, a sigh leaving his lips and interrupting the silence. 

"I'm sorry," Wayne said softly, Jerome narrowing his eyes quizzically, assuming the boy was referring to how he'd acted oh so childishly hysterically just minutes ago- "I just-" Wayne swallowed thickly, Jerome rolling his eyes, because why couldn't this kiddo just spit out whatever he wanted to sa- "I miss you." Wayne exhaled shakily, voice breaking, Jerome blinking at that. 

"Miss me?" Jerome scoffed despite the familiar ache Wayne's words brought on, acting as though they were silly things to say. "I'm right here." 

"I meant I miss the old you." Wayne clarified, still not turning to face Jerome. 

"Yeah, well, people change." Jerome laughed in a bitter dismissive tone. "What exactly are you expecting me to do here? Apologize for not letting you walk all over me like I did before?" 

Wayne didn't get angry, or sad, or defensive. He only said, "I was just saying I miss you. That's all." Jerome parted his lips to say something snappy. "You don't have to say it back, or say you don't. I was just letting you know." Jerome's mouth shut at that. "If you need anything, call me and I'll come over. You don't need to be getting up-- you should be resting." 

"I can get up if I feel like it." Jerome scoffed stubbornly. Childishly. Argumentatively. He wanted Wayne to get pissed off at him, so he could get pissed off right back. 

"I wasn't saying you couldn't." Wayne replied simply before just walking through the curtains and leaving Jerome all alone. 

It was frustrating. Jerome wanted Wayne to attack him. To try to kill him. To sneak out and reveal Jerome's hideout. To show Jerome his true colors. To prove Jerome was right. To be a traitor. 

Jerome had wanted Wayne to take the stab at his throat back at the circus, so Jerome could fully accept Wayne had betrayed him the same way Theo had, and Jerome could move on, and finally kill Wayne without a doubt when doing so. 

Yet all Wayne did was things like... this. Things like letting Jerome live. Like begging Gordon to not take Jerome back to Arkham. Not calling the cops on Jerome when Jerome broke into his manor and interrogated him about his journal. Trusting Jerome enough to follow him to his hideout. Even going as far as joking with Jerome here and there. Smiling at Jerome. Laughing with Jerome. And now patching Jerome up. 

Talking about how much he missed Jerome. How he missed what things used to be like with Jerome. Caring about Jerome. 

It was all so frustrating, because the easy and rational thing to do would be to brush off Wayne's friendliness as an act, but Jerome couldn't. Jerome couldn't help but feel like maybe Wayne was being genuine. Jerome couldn't help how he found himself wondering if perhaps he really was misinterpreting his past with Wayne thanks to Theo. Perhaps Wayne was telling the truth. 

Perhaps Jerome had been wrong. 

What made this pesky ache increasingly become more painful, frequent, and prevalent was the fact that if Jerome was wrong about Wayne's betrayal, then Wayne was still sticking with him in attempts to get him back, despite what all Jerome had done to him at the circus. 

Why in the world would Wayne be risking so much for Jerome if he truly chose Theo over Jerome? It didn't make sense. Wayne could have backed off. It would have been reasonable to want nothing to do with Jerome, even if they'd actually been the best of friends after all. Yet Wayne didn't. 

The more Jerome contemplated on it, the more he found himself wondering if he'd made a terrible mistake. 

Nonetheless, Jerome couldn't decide on that quite yet-- he had to be certain of what was going on with no doubt in place before he made the choice to take Wayne's side, or Jester's. 

That didn't mean Jerome had to make a hasty choice, however. In fact, he found himself avoiding having to make that very choice, only reading a single line in Wayne's journal before sighing, setting it down, and getting up. 

"You could knock!" Wayne snapped as Jerome pulled up the curtain separating their makeshift rooms. 

Jerome rolled his eyes. "It's not like you're getting dressed." 

"Well I could have been." Wayne huffed, arms crossing from the place he was sitting criss crossed on his sleeping bag. 

"Well you weren't." Jerome dismissed with a shrug, walking over towards the wooden wall to lean against it considering he'd rather not try leaning against a curtain. 

Wayne glared at Jerome, but chose to not argue. "What do you want?" 

"You sure do quickly go from acting all sweet to being real feisty, ya' know that?" Jerome commented, earning an arched brow from Wayne. "One second you're telling me to call if I need anything, the next you're being a complete grump about me coming to visit you." 

"I told you to not get up," Wayne grumbled, standing as he spoke. "you need to rest." 

Jerome gave a cheeky grin. "Aw, you're not really caring about me getting all better, are ya'?" 

Wayne hesitated, eying Jerome at that, studying him, as though this was a test. "Of course I care about you getting better." 

Jerome smirked at that, looking Wayne over amusedly. "Prove it." 

Wayne just stared at Jerome. "What?" 

"Prove it." Jerome repeated with a shrug. 

"No, I heard what you said," Wayne replied uncertainly. "I'm just not sure what you mean." 

"Do you need me to break it down for you?" Jerome mused. "Convince me." 

"I know what you meant," Wayne said as patiently as possible. "what I don't know is how you want me to-" 

"Be creative." Jerome interjected. 

Wayne stared at Jerome in disbelief. "Okay, fine, what do you want? I can pay for facial surgery so you don't have to keep stapling your skin on, or you can come back to the manor to hide out and we can put all of this behind us." 

"You call that creative?" Jerome challenged with a smirk. 

Wayne looked absolutely exasperated, having little to no idea on what Jerome wanted or expected him to say. "All right... well what do you want? Cold hard cash? Crowned jewels? Designer suits? A pony? A Switzerland castle?" 

"I said convince me," Jerome corrected amusedly. "not buy me." Wayne gave a heavy sigh. "What? Used to buying your way out of problems?" 

"Giving you something is easier than doing whatever emotional shit you're asking for." Wayne defended heatedly. 

Jerome raised a brow. "Emotional shit?" He gave a chuckle. "You're not exactly good at handling people outside of spoiling them, are you?" 

That was true. Wayne sucked at properly conveying his emotions. He usually came across as awkward or stingy when he tried to, rather than what he was-- genuine. Sure, he'd gotten more comfortable around Jerome over time when it came to sappy things like emotional crap, but with how Jerome was now they were back to square one. 

"Well how would you suggest I emotionally get across that I'm not lying about giving a shit about you?" Wayne asked a bit sarcastically. 

"You could stop acting like you have a stick up your ass, for one." Jerome snickered. 

"I'm not-" Wayne set his jaw, giving a long exhale in attempts to calm himself, glaring at the Jerome clearly finding amusement in riling him up. "Should I get on my knees and beg you to believe me?" Wayne's sarcasm was more prevalent there. 

"It could be a start." Jerome cockily answered without missing a beat. 

"No." Wayne instantly replied firmly, Jerome snickering, Wayne not smiling in the least, instead trying to figure out how- 

Oh. Oh, now that... that was an idea. 

Jerome could tell Wayne had come up with something by the look that came upon the boy's face, watching intrigued at how the younger casually kept their eyes locked while nonchalantly walking over towards Jeri's nail styling kit and innocently retrieving some kind of brush or some shit from it. Jerome quirked a brow, Wayne oh so normally approaching him with a glint in his eyes that was a little too nice. 

At that, Jerome suddenly found himself being damn well tackled by the little twerp. 

Shit. 

Jerome let out a grunt as he hit the floor, about to reach for the knife in his pocket, but halting as Wayne pressed the small but sharp nail cubicle against his throat warningly, not quite breaking skin as Wayne said, "If I really was a traitor, I could just slit your throat right now." Wayne paused before carefully bringing back the so called weapon. "But because I'm not, I-" Wayne's eyes widened as Jerome abruptly grasped his wrist holding the stylist tool with one hand, the other gripping Wayne by his hip, Jerome swiftly switching their positions, pinning Wayne under him and holding him down by his wrists so he couldn't use the nail cubicle. 

"Nice try," Jerome mused, smirking down at the other. "but you already let me go back at the carnival-- doing it again isn't anything new." He leaned down, getting into Wayne's personal bubble, closely searching bluish gray eyes for any sign of a lie, earning a glower from the smaller one, Jerome trying to make him crack and confess by getting too close for comfort. "How do I know you aren't just chicken? Not killing me doesn't mean anything if you haven't killed anyone else, either." Jerome smirked at the glare Wayne was giving him. "You could be just waiting for Theo to come rescue you and do all the dirty work himself." 

Wait, what? "Theo?" Wayne scoffed. "Theo is gone, Jerome, and-" 

"Is he?" Jerome questioned musingly, like he knew something Wayne didn't. 

"Huh?" Wayne didn't like the sounds of that. "What are you-" Was Jerome just trying to freak him out? "What do you-" Jerome looked amused, causing Wayne to clench his jaw, not about to play into his hands. "Even if Theo was alive, I'm pretty damn confident he wouldn't help me with how he and I aren't exactly well acquainted, all things considered." Wayne didn't give Jerome the satisfaction of making him squirm under pressure, not in the mood to play a game of trying to figure out whether Theo was really still somehow kicking or not-- not when Wayne currently had a lot of other shit to worry about. 

"Really?" Jerome's voice was suddenly getting a lot more venomous, squeezing Wayne's right wrist and forcing him to release the nail cubicle, the taller male using one hand to hold down both of Wayne's wrists, Jerome's other hand reaching towards his pocket. "Because that's not how I recall it." Wayne's eyes widened as Jerome pulled a switchblade from his pocket and clicked it out, pressing the knife warningly against Wayne's throat. "Now how about we both agree you don't attack me like that again, yeah?" Jerome wasn't planning on cutting Wayne's throat-- at least not yet. He just wanted to get even. It didn't feel very nice being underneath someone with a weapon, and Jerome wanted to make sure Wayne wouldn't try shit like that again. He couldn't let Wayne get TOO ballsy-- Jerome was the boss around here, not some bratty rich kid. 

Wayne's wide eyes narrowed into a glare. "I didn't attack you." 

Jerome scoffed. "You lunged at me." 

"To prove I wouldn't harm you even if I had the chance." Wayne countered persistently. 

"Are you always this stubborn? Because you're REALLY tempting me to let my knife 'accidentally' slip." Jerome scoffed back. 

"You won't kill me." Wayne said a little too confidently. 

That alone was close to being enough for Jerome to prove the little bastard wrong. "Yeah? And just why wouldn't I?" Wayne was walking on thin ice, but Jerome was intrigued as to the foolish kiddo's reasoning. 

Wayne was aware he was walking on thin ice, and it seemed like talking was just resulting in more arguing rather than any convincing. 

So, Wayne tried something else. "Put your knife down." 

Jerome arched a brow. "What?" Wayne wasn't really trying to give him orders here, was he? 

"Put your knife down." Wayne repeated, as though Jerome hadn't heard him. 

Ballsy little... "You don't give the orders around here," Jerome scoffed, nonetheless lowering his knife to rest against Wayne's chest, because he admittedly was kind of intrigued to see what Wayne was planning here. "you're not the boss of this pla-" 

"Shut up." Wayne sighed, sitting up a bit quickly, but not so quickly he risked startling Jerome and getting a knife in him, instead feeling it warningly press against his chest, but halting as Wayne's lips pressed against Jerome's. 

Jerome wasn't sure what he'd expected, but it certainly wasn't that. To be fair, he had been invading Wayne's personal space, and probably- to an extent- should have seen it coming. Nonetheless, it's the last thing Jerome had expected Wayne to do. Jerome had expected Wayne to knee him where it counts, or ram forward to break Jerome's nose, or even spitefully spit at Jerome. Certainly not kiss him. 

The kiss was just shut lips pressing against shut lips. An innocent kiss. A long one, nonetheless, which made it even more surprising considering it would have made more sense to Jerome if the kiss was an act to trick the older one. An act Wayne would fail at, because Jerome's lips had been torn upwards somewhat at the corners, and were chapped, and had specks of red. An act Wayne wouldn't go through with, because he'd have to retreat in repulsion. After all, there's no way that the billionaire brat would actually want to kiss him, right? 

Yet Wayne didn't retreat. In fact, despite Jerome's lips being rather cold, Wayne did quite the opposite, and instead melted into the kiss when Jerome didn't pull back, because Jerome was too taken aback to, and kind of wanted to see where Wayne was going with this surprising gesture. 

Jerome was wide eyed and stiff, unlike Wayne, who had his eyes closed, and was somehow incredibly relaxed under Jerome despite the knife threateningly against his torso. 

Wayne pulled back after a few lengthy seconds went by, opening his eyes to stare up at the Jerome that was FINALLY too speechless to make a quip about Wayne being a traitor, the younger softly saying, "Do you believe me yet?" Wayne didn't expect Jerome to kiss him back or anything like that, of course. He wasn't really sure how he expected Jerome to react-- probably like he always did, in which he'd just tell Wayne the feelings weren't mutual, as usual. Before, Wayne would back off when being told that, but at this point he was kind of trying just about everything to get Jerome back. 

Jerome quickly regained himself at Wayne's question about whether he believed the younger, clearing his throat and admittedly a bit awkwardly maneuvering away from Wayne, the tables being turned as it instead became Jerome that felt too crowded, forcing on a smile and giving an anxious laugh, before suddenly furrowing his brow, lips falling into a sour smirk, and laugh becoming a bitter chuckle, his expression going from unsure and a bit confused to rather irked. 

There was a reasonable explanation for a so called kiss. Jerome felt so silly for getting so worked up about such a thing, even if it was only briefly! 

Jerome wasn't sure whether he and Wayne had been a thing, or whether he'd had a thing for Wayne, or whether this kind of thing was completely new. All he knew was that he REALLY doubted Wayne had a thing for him, because Jerome was still convinced Wayne had betrayed him, and was just trying to mess with him now. 

All the kiss did was further convince Jerome that Wayne was suspiciously up to something, and make him distrust Wayne even more. He was almost certain Wayne was a manipulative traitor now. Wayne had acted like he'd cared about Jerome before, hadn't he? Wayne had acted like he'd cared even when he was aware Theo was planning to kill Jerome, so Jerome wouldn't get suspicious. 

That's all the kiss was. Another act. 

"That doesn't mean shit." Jerome sounded a lot more venomous, even his eyes turning cruel, and body language becoming cold. "Anyone can plant one on anyone-- all it is is pressing one mouth against another mouth. It's not a big deal." Jerome's gaze was averted as he spoke, glowering at the floor, smile still on. "Using cheesy bullshit like that is a cliché way for people to manipulate other people. You're not being original." Jerome wasn't about to let Wayne control him through something so sappy when it was bound to be artificial. "I could 'kiss' you without it meaning shit, too." Jerome finally looked at Wayne, grin sour and glare bitter. "It's a cheap-" Jerome's expression faltered when his sights landed on Wayne's face, and he took in the look Wayne was giving him. "-trick..." 

For a while, Wayne just stared at Jerome through the water brimming in his eyes, before eventually glaring at Jerome, causing held back droplets to stream along his cheeks. "Fine." Wayne said in an icy tone that was more hurt than anything. "Fine!" He said again, throwing his hands up in defeat. "You win!" Wayne scoffed, abruptly standing up at that, and oh wait a second now... was Wayne finally going to fess up and admit to he'd betrayed- "You want to hate me? Fine! Hate me! I don't care anymore. I don't care. I don't care if you hate me, if all you're going to act like from now on is some- some- some... just- just some... pessimistic jackass that's going to doubt every little thing I tell him while expecting me to somehow prove I'm not lying to him, and then turning around and not accepting any of the damn proof I give him!" If Wayne was acting here, he deserved to be on broadway, because he was ALMOST convincing Jerome of his innocence. 

"I-" Jerome started, not quite sure what exactly to say. "Uh..." Well Jerome hadn't expected this, to be fair. 

Wayne didn't wait for Jerome to find his words, instead continuing, "So go ahead! If you're so sure that I teamed up with that jackass Theo, then just hurry up and kill me to get it over with! Or if you're all that convinced I hate you so much, then go on and throw me out of your hideout!" Wayne challenged, Jerome quirking a brow at the offer, just sitting there and staring up towards Wayne at that. "Well go on-- do something." Wayne persisted, trying to blink the tears out of his eyes, but more just kept coming. "If you REALLY don't believe that I give a damn about you even after I refused to kill you for what you'd done to Alfred at the carnival, and if you REALLY don't believe I give a shit about you even after I followed you all the way to somewhere as dangerous as here to try to prove to you that I do give a shit, then-" Wayne swallowed thickly, stifling the sob building in his chest. "-then just go on and do something about it," Wayne's shoulders slumped, his anger seeming to suddenly just slip away, and being replaced by defeat more than anything. "because if there's really no use in trying to get you back, then just-" Wayne's voice broke. "-then just tell me so I can stop trying." 

Wayne couldn't keep this up-- it was exhausting. If it was all for nothing, he didn't see a reason to continue it anymore. 

For a while, Wayne just quietly wrapped his arms around himself in a self conscious kind of vulnerable hug and averted his gaze, tears still persistently dripping down his cheeks, holding in his sniffles and shaky breaths, not making a sound as Jerome just stared at him for a long, long time. 

Then, Jerome finally stood up, and Wayne couldn't help but shuffle back somewhat, because he was admittedly scared; this wasn't the Jerome he knew, and it was clear this Jerome wasn't very fond of him. He was scared Jerome would prove Wayne right, and show him he really didn't care. He was scared this Jerome would be nothing like the old Jerome after all, and wouldn't hesitate to harm him. 

Wayne waited for Jerome to either try to kill him for being a traitor, or gesture for him to get out for being an annoyance. 

Instead, Jerome said something. Instead, Jerome said, "The whole reason I haven't killed you is because I'm not sure you betrayed me." Jerome's voice was quiet and lacked amusement, and there wasn't a smile to be found on his face. He was being serious. 

Simply admitting that out loud made the doubt Hugo had planted in Jerome weaken, but it was still there, and it was still strong. Nonetheless, something else was there, too-- trust. Not exactly a lot of trust... in fact, the trust was small, and faint, and barely even there, but it was there despite it all. 

"Oh." Was all Wayne said back, because that made sense, but he hadn't quite even considered that in the heat of things, and he particularly hadn't expected Jerome to actually admit it. 

Jerome and Wayne finally met gazes, Jerome studying him quizzically, looking him over as though he was searching for something, like a truth, a lie, or an answer. Eventually, Jerome just locked his eyes on Wayne and observed his reaction as the ginger questioned, "Were we a thing or something?" The kiss had caught him off guard, and after seeing how Wayne reacted to him essentially calling it a sham, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly Wayne had been meaning to convey there. 

Wayne hesitated, but truthfully answered, "No." At that, Jerome straightened up, his chin inclining, because he had figured as much. He'd assumed it was just a manipulative tactic- "But," Wayne continued, Jerome narrowing his eyes. "I- um-" Nope. Wayne had already admitted they weren't a thing-- he couldn't backtrack now. Jerome had already caught him there, and for Wayne's own good, he'd better be apologizing for trying to manipulate Jerome like tha- "I do-" Wayne cleared his throat, correcting, "I mean, I did... like you." Jerome arched a brow. "You don't-" Wayne sighed, chewing his lower lip, admitting, "You don't exactly return the feelings, though." 

Oh. Oh, okay... maybe not as manipulative as Jerome had assumed, then. If Wayne was being honest, in any case. 

So Wayne's school journal had been serious-- he really did have a thing for Jerome. 

"I don't?" Jerome couldn't help but ask, because they had seemed really close, and he wouldn't have completely doubted if Wayne claimed the feelings had been mutual. In fact, that would have put the odds in Wayne's favor, so the fact he instead shut those odds down in a seemingly truthful way did manage to make Jerome trust him a little more, even if it was just by a bit. 

"You don't." Wayne confirmed quietly, not elaborating any more on the subject like the whole age thing, because he just wanted to get what felt like the dozenth rejection by Jerome over with as quickly as possible. 

Jerome seemed to get that. Surprisingly enough, Jerome didn't pester or question Wayne about it to get the boy all riled up as amusing entertainment. Instead, Jerome found himself just saying, "All right.", and allowing Wayne to leave it at that. "So..." Jerome mused, generously changing the subject as Wayne rubbed his upper arm and averted his gaze. "wanna' play a game then?" 

Wayne blinked, raising a brow as he looked up at Jerome, not quite sure he'd heard that right. "A game?" 

Jerome inwardly assured himself he was just wanting to play a game because he was bored and looking for a fun way to make the time go by. Yes, that's exactly why Jerome wanted to play a game with Wayne-- not because Wayne was looking up at him with big bluish gray eyes that were glossy and rimmed with red, the tip of his nose along with his cheeks as well as his lips rosier than usual, faint splotches of pink here and there on his face. Jerome totally just wanted to play a game so he could have some fun, and not so Wayne felt better. Jerome wanted to do this for some much wanted entertainment, and not because he was wanting to get Wayne's sniffles, shakes, and brimming tears to stop 

Jerome was one hundred percent doing this for himself. Not for Wayne-- at all. Whatsoever. 

The more Jerome found himself trying to convince himself of that, the more he doubted it, so he stopped contemplating on it and instead confirmed with a somewhat forced grin, "Yep! A game!" 

Wayne was cautious, not sure he wanted to play another game with Jerome after the last experience of the gameshow where the trophy was getting his friends out alive and coming in anything but first place meant getting them killed. 

"Depends," Wayne answered quizzically, arms crossing. "what kind of game?" He was skeptical. "What are the rules?" 

To be fair, Jerome couldn't really blame Wayne for being wary. 

"Truth or dare!" Jerome answered, and Wayne almost instantly objected, because that sounded like a horrible game to play with Jerome when he was even more unpredictable in this state, and didn't care nearly as much about Wayne as he'd used to. "I'll be nice since this is our first time playing and go easy on ya'." Jerome assured before Wayne got the chance to say no, and Jerome was pretty sure they had never played this before, but wasn't certain. "Heck, I'll even be generous and say we can't bring anyone else into our dares as the rule so you won't have to worry about me daring you to harm anyone." 

Wayne almost still refused to play despite the bargaining, but instead found himself considering Jerome's words, before eventually brooding on any possible loopholes, and finally sighing, "Fine, but you can't dare me to do anything like jumping off a cliff, either." 

Jerome let out a hoot of laughter, as though Wayne had just given the world's best joke, Wayne just staring at him completely seriously. "Relax, kiddo, I just wanna' play a game-- I'm not gonna' dare you to off yourself or any shit like that." Jerome didn't want to kill Wayne unless he was sure Wayne had betrayed him, and if Wayne had then Jerome wanted to personally kill the billionaire with his own hands. If the kiddo did the deed to himself or anyone other than Jerome took the honor of killing the rich kid themselves, then that would just take all the fun out of it. 

Jerome wasn't sure if he wanted Wayne six feet under yet, but if he decided he did then it would be by his knife, and not by a dare, or someone else's actions, or even Wayne's own hands. Anything other than Jerome's blade being put through Wayne's throat by Jerome's own hand just wouldn't do. 

For now, however, Jerome wasn't set on killing Wayne, so they could just have fun an play games together. At least, Jerome could have fun-- Wayne was a little too stressed to really enjoy anything. 

"Fine," Wayne sighed, satisfied with the rules, fairly sure there were no more possible loopholes. "let's play." It's not like Wayne had anything better to do in a place like this. 

"We haven't even discussed what the winner wins and the loser loses though." Jerome hummed, Wayne growing even more cautious at that. 

"We're making a bet, too, then?" Wayne questioned uneasily. 

"Of course we are!" Jerome chimed. "Games aren't worth anything without bets." 

"They're worth fun." Wayne objected, really not wanting to risk making a bet with Jerome. 

"Yeah, and they're a lot more fun when you're playing for a reward instead of a loss." Jerome countered cheekily. 

"That's debatable." Wayne grumbled, earning an expectant smirk. "All right," He exhaled in reluctance, aware Jerome wasn't about to stop arguing for this. "If I win, I-" He pondered. "-I want you to come back home to the manor for good, and if I lose I'll give you... I don't know... fifty-thousand dollars in cash?" 

Jerome quirked his brow, looking Wayne over amusedly. "Okay, then in that case... if I win, you stay here-- permanently." Shit. "If I lose, I'll leave you alone forever, regardless of whether or not I find out for certain that you're a traitor." Jerome gave a wide grin, palm stretching out. 

"There's no way I'm agreeing to those terms." Wayne objected, crossing his arms, refusing to take Jerome's hand; he wasn't going to be stuck here with a crazed Jerome and his copycats. Sure, Wayne could accept the terms and just bail later, but that would piss Jerome off, which was one of the last things Wayne wanted to do when Jerome's affection for him was at a minimum. 

Jerome's grin shifted into a knowing smirk, because he had expected as much. "You gave me high stakes, so I gave you the same. Feel free to lower them, if you want." 

Dangit. "How exactly do you lose or win this game?" Wayne inquired broodingly.

"Whoever refuses to do a dare or answer a question first loses." Jerome answered amusedly. 

"What about lying?" Wayne questioned. 

"I'm a man of my word," Jerome hummed. "surely you are, too?" Jerome gave a smirk. "In any case, just don't get caught in a lie that can be disproven." He shrugged and added, "Preferably just don't lie, though-- it takes the fun out of it if you're being a sour sport." Plus, the cold hard truth was usually a lot more interesting than a lie used to make it seem normal. 

"Fine," Wayne sighed, chewing on his lower lip and trying to come up with something that wasn't too dire, not about to risk having to face the possibility of too big a consequence in exchange. "if I win, we take the curtain between our rooms down," That would give Wayne an easier time to get Jerome's attention if Jester attacked him again, and possibly keep Jester from sneaking inside in the first place if Jerome could keep an eye on Wayne. "if I lose, I'll fix up the loose boards and holes on this entire floor." Wayne didn't know shit about woodwork, but he figured nailing some planks of wood over holes and replacing loose boards with new ones would do the trick for the most part... maybe. 

Jerome gave a hum, finding the refined deal fair enough. "Sure." He agreed with a shrug. "Then if I lose, I'll give you a weapon of your choice from our stash, but if I win-" Jerome gave a smirk, wanting to see the wary but not at all expectant Wayne's reaction. "-then you have to give me another kiss." 

Wait, what? "Huh?" Wayne questioned, because there's no way he'd heard that right. 

Jerome observed Wayne, clearly searching for... something. A reaction? Wayne couldn't tell what Jerome was attempting to figure out. 

"You heard me," Jerome replied cheekily. "if I win, I get a kiss." He held out his hand, studying Wayne. "Deal?" 

This was a little too good to be true, because it was a win-win for Wayne. If he won, he got a weapon and easier access to Jerome's makeshift room, which would make him feel a lot safer being in the copycat hideout. If he lost, he had to do some woodwork, but he still gained a kiss from Jerome. There weren't really any risky stakes, and Wayne assumed the reason Jerome wanted to play a game where they gambled the stakes was all about wanting to take some risks. Plus, Wayne had made it clear his feelings for Jerome were one sided, so he wasn't quite sure what Jerome was wanting to achieve on his end for a kiss. 

Something was up.

"What's the catch?" Wayne questioned skeptically. 

Jerome smirked, clearly not about to just straight out say whatever he was up to. "I gave you the terms. Are you in, or out?" 

"You're aware I was the one crushing on you, right?" Wayne questioned just to be sure Jerome wasn't getting that little detail mixed up. "It wasn't the other way around." 

"I heard that part." Jerome confirmed with a hum. 

Wayne glanced at Jerome's outstretched hand before looking over Jerome's amused expression, attempting and failing to figure out what Jerome was getting at, wondering if Jerome was just trying to mess with him or something, eventually hesitantly taking Jerome's hand and shaking, becoming unsettled at the way the grin on the criminal's face came close to stretching from ear to ear as Wayne went against his better judgement and said, "Agreed." 

"You're the guest," Jerome hummed, pulling his hand back. "you get to go first. Truth or dare?" 

Jerome had made it clear no harm to anyone would come from this game, yet he still planned to answer carefully, not sure he completely trusted the new Jerome's word. "Truth." Wayne said, arms crossing. 

"I expected as much," Jerome mused. "all right... let's start off easy," He began to pace around Wayne, looking the younger over as he did so, smirking as Wayne shuffled around and locked his eyes on the taller one, not very well about to let Jerome get out of his sights, feeling like he was being circled by a animal that couldn't quite decide if it wanted to attack Wayne now, or play with its food first. "name the three people you care about more than anything." 

Wayne didn't like that question-- it felt like Jerome was trying to get dirt on him. Nonetheless, Wayne wasn't about to bail at the first round. "Alfred, Selina, and you. Gordon gets a notable mention." 

Jerome gave a nod at that, pondering over Wayne's words. "So the butler, me, almost the detective, and..." Selina. He knew that name. She'd been one of the patients at Arkham that Wayne had gotten along with, right? Jerome recalled being fairly fond of her, too. "She was the gal that would feed all the stray cats that wandered onto Arkham's grounds whenever we had time outside, right?" 

"Something like that." Wayne confirmed, wondering if some of Jerome's recollections had become real memories mixed with dreams that allowed him to make the bare minimum sense of everything. 

"No Theo?" Jerome questioned inquisitively, noting the look of confusion that came over Wayne's face, the younger's expression becoming upset. Interesting. 

"Why the hell would I pick Theo?" Wayne scoffed, Jerome studying him, Wayne still not sure as to why Jerome was convinced Wayne and Theo were so buddy buddy. 

"Dare." Jerome said dismissively, not speaking any further on the subject. 

Wayne furrowed his brow. "Huh?" 

"It's my turn," Jerome answered casually. "I choose dare. 

Oh. 

Wayne briefly pondered, eventually instructing, "I dare you to... I don't know..." Wayne looked around the room. "do a handstand?" 

Jerome snickered. "That's what you came up with?" 

"Well you can either do a handstand or give up." Wayne huffed, earning an amused stare. 

Now, Wayne had expected Jerome to ATTEMPT a handstand, but he hadn't quite expected him to actually be able to do one, Jerome giving a cheeky smile at Wayne's admittedly impressed expression as the older one even showed off a little by just using one hand while musing, "I was in the circus, ya' know." 

"Oh." Wayne said as Jerome maneuvered back into a standing position. "Right..." 

"Truth or dare?" Jerome asked, arms crossing as he looked Wayne over. 

"Truth." Wayne answered, wanting to stay on the safe side for now, earning a huff. 

"I figured as much." Jerome admitted with a somewhat disappointed shrug. "All right, you've named three people you care about... so now name three you hate." 

It was an easy enough question Wayne didn't really even have to ponder on to answer. "Matches Malone," Right-- the alleyway murderer... that was to be expected. "Dr. Strange," Of course... the doc that ordered that murder-- there was no reason to not find that believable. "and Theo." That's what Jerome didn't get. That's what Jerome was skeptical about. That's what made Jerome wonder if Wayne was breaking the rules and lying. 

After all, Theo was the one who Wayne chose to remain by the side of when it came to saving Jerome from being killed or helping Theo look innocent while doing the deed. 

At least, that's how Jerome recalled it. He didn't believe Wayne when he said he hated Theo, but he also didn't completely dismiss the possibility of it. After all, perhaps Jerome really was misinterpreting things. Or perhaps Wayne and Theo had had a falling out, and Wayne was crawling back to Jerome. Perhaps Wayne was even still working with Theo and tricking Jerome.

There were a lot of reasons Wayne could be claiming he and Jerome were still friends, really. 

"Truth or dare?" Wayne spoke up, Jerome snapping out of his daydreaming. 

"Truth." Jerome answered, wondering just what kind of questions Wayne had for him. 

Wayne already had a question in mind. He had quite a few, really. Dares? Not so much. "Are you and Jester really friends?" 

Jerome smirked, head cocking. "Why do you ask?" He gave a tsk, eying Wayne over intrigued. "You're not jealous, are you?" 

"If you don't want to answer the question, you can just give up." Wayne snapped, earning a chuckle. 

"And let you win that easily? Never." Jerome mused, meeting Wayne's glare with an entertained gaze. "In any case, I would say he's more of a form amusement than a friend," Jerome admitted with a shrug. "as fun as having copycats are, I'd say he's the most loyal, and least likely to go against me, so he's the one I keep closest." Jerome's arms crossed, shoulders quirking upwards before lowering. "Plus, his jokes might be stale and cliché, but he at least can give an occasionally good quip." 

"He's like a toy to you." Wayne said, stating it more than asking it. 

"More like a pet." Jerome corrected. "Or at least, a stray pet that wanders around every once in a while that I don't have to worry about taking the full responsibility of, and can shoo away when I don't feel like interacting with it." A pause. "He's about the closest thing I have to a friend, and it's always a plus he didn't backstab me." Wayne gave Jerome a look as the accusatory older one walked over towards Jeri's chair set up in front of the table set where she'd put on her makeup. "Truth or dare?" 

Wayne hesitated, before bravely answering, "Dare.", just to see what Jerome would want him to do, and immediately regretted it at the grin Jerome gave. Shit. 

"You ever had vodka?" Jerome inquired intrigued, Wayne hesitantly shaking his head at that. "Have you ever had any alcohol? 

"I tried wine," Wayne admitted, nose scrunching. "it tasted disgusting." 

Jerome snickered. "What kind of wine was it?" 

"Not... white wine? The red kind." Wayne answered, attempting to sound like he knew what he was talking about, and realizing he'd failed miserably before the last word even left his lips. 

"I meant what kind of red wine." Jerome said amusedly. 

Wayne was about to just shrug again, but instead found himself taking the opportunity to joke, "The grape kind." 

Jerome quirked a brow before feeling his lips tug up into a smirk, realizing Wayne was trying to joke around, giving a crackle of laughter and causing Wayne to smile, because it seemed like the more Wayne could make Jerome laugh, the more Jerome considered Wayne's side of the story, and the more the seeds of doubt Hugo had planted in Jerome would uproot bit by bit. 

But then, Jerome doubled over and started coughing, his laughs diminishing, Wayne's expression falling as specks of red came out of Jerome's mouth. 

This had been happening a lot to Jerome since Hugo woke him up. The knife wound from Theo had gone deep in his throat, and the interior just wouldn't seem to heal, because Jerome was always rambling on and laughing constantly, but it's not like Jerome could just stop doing that-- not when he had an image to uphold around his copycats. 

Whenever Jerome laughed too hard, the barely healed injury would reopen slightly, and it got more and more awful each time. 

Choking on your own mixture of dried and fresh blood simply isn't pleasant, particularly when it's gotten so bad you feel like you're suffocating and about to dry heave. 

In fact, it was so bad Jerome hadn't even realized Wayne was approaching him until the younger was worriedly leaning beside him, one hand rubbing soothingly against Jerome's back, the other pressing against Jerome's chest to help keep him upright. 

Jerome would have found the concern almost sweet, if he hadn't hated the little bastard so much. 

"Easy..." Wayne attempted to calm, and Jerome gave a scoff before coughing more, because it was this kiddo's fault for telling that cheesy joke and making him laugh. Maybe Wayne had done it on purpose. Maybe this was his plan to indirectly kill Jerome so he didn't have to bloody his precious rich boy hands and feel all bad about it. Maybe Wayne was- 

Jerome gave a particularly hard cough, feeling the injury on his stomach suddenly burn with a sharp ache that stung all throughout him, causing him to double over off the chair, hitting the floor as something wet and crimson red began to stain his shirt, and shit- 

"Jerome?" Wayne questioned worriedly, kneeling next to Jerome and feeling his eyes widen at the sight of blood from the stitched wound on his stomach soaking through the cloth, shakily reaching towards the shirt, yet having his hand halted by Jerome's hand. 

Jerome didn't trust Wayne to be anywhere near his weak points. "Hands to yourself, kiddo." He coughed, gripping Wayne's wrist tightly as a warning. 

Wayne gave Jerome a look, because they really didn't have time for this, which is exactly why Wayne swallowed down his stubbornness and reluctantly did as told so Jerome wouldn't strain to keep him away, hand retreating, Jerome grasp loosening. "I'll go get the nurse," Wayne said while standing, referring to the copycat Jerome had mentioned earlier. "is there a health room here? Does she have her own room? Where should I go to find her?" 

"There's a walkie talkie in my room," Jerome informed, voice dry and hoarse, Wayne wincing as the older one coughed again, knowing it was bad with how Jerome wasn't smiling in the slightest, laughing in the least, or making any jokes. "it's already on. Just press the button and tell them you need the nurse up here." Jerome was getting sick of repetitive blood loss. Literally. 

Wayne gave a nod and wasted no time in lifting his curtain to enter Jerome's room, looking around frantically and realizing there was stuff all over the place, Jerome not exactly being the neatest person. 

Briefly, Wayne scanned the room over as he walked around it hurriedly, letting out a sigh when catching no sight of a walkie talkie, antsy mind racing, having trouble focusing on a good way to quickly figure out where the device could possibly be, resulting in him letting out a worried exhale and jogging back over to the curtain. 

"Jerome," Wayne said while lifting the cloth separating their rooms, leaning over to go underneath. "where do you keep the-" Bluish gray eyes widened, hearing a creak on the floorboard from behind him, not exactly wanting to find out if whoever had entered Jerome's room was friendly or not, quickly taking another step forward, curtain falling behind him. 

Well, kind of behind him-- the curtain fell over MOST of him. As in, the curtain didn't quite fall all the way over Wayne's heel. 

As Wayne took another step forward, he felt someone grab his ankle, causing him to let out a noise as he was yanked back by his foot, hitting the floorboards with a WHAM while being harshly dragged back into Jerome's room, causing Wayne to look over his shoulder, eyes landing on an incredibly pissed off Jester that had gotten back inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this part of the fanfic is the first part of a super lengthy chapter that I ended up dividing into three chapters lol! 
> 
> I've already finished the second part, and I'm planning on posting it tomorrow! 
> 
> As for the third part, I'm 1/3 quarters of the way through it, and I'd like to have it done by next Thursday at the absolute latest! 
> 
> I know the scheduling for this fic ended up lagging a while back, so I've been trying to get back into the groove of things, and I want to thank everyone that's stuck with this fic despite that, as well as everyone who's left such kind comments considering those have really helped motivate me to get back into the groove of things!
> 
> Your feedback and patience genuinely means so much :D


	43. Uprooting a Bitter Seed

"You've overstayed your welcome, brat." Jester growled, and his opinion this nuisance had never had a welcome among the copycats in the first place, regardless of what Jerome said. 

Wayne's wide eyed stare shifted into a glare. "I don't have time for this!" Wayne snapped, ramming his leg at Jester and slamming his foot against the other's wrist. 

"Ouch!" Jester yelped, grasp loosening just enough for Wayne to kick out of it, glowering at the little bastard starting to scurry away from him. "You don't have time for this?" Jester scoffed, venom laced in his tone, Wayne grunting as Jester's shoe slammed against his back. "Believe me kid, you have all the damn time in the world for this." Jester laughed bitterly, Wayne wincing as the foot pressed firmly against his back, forcing the boy's arms to give out, trapped between a shoe and the floor. "In fact, this is just about all the time you have left." Jester growled menacingly, a wicked grin taking place on his lips, as he put more weight on his leg, Wayne's eyes watering as his ribs ached against the floorboards. 

"Jester, stop-" Wayne choked out strained, struggling to get up, because he needed to get to Jerome, managing to push himself off the floor somewhat. 

"Stay the hell down," Jester warned, shoe slamming Wayne back into place, earning a choked out sound as Wayne's jaw hit the floor. "I didn't say you could get up-" 

"This isn't the time, Jester," Wayne spoke up hoarsely, having trouble breathing. "Jerome needs the nurse-- now." 

Jester's foot sinking into Wayne's bruising back halted. "What?" He stepped back, glowering at the younger. "Where is he?!" 

Wayne didn't answer, attempting to catch his breath, only glancing at the curtain, causing Jester to waste no time in going over to raise it, eyes widening at the sight of an unconscious Jerome, before shifting his expression of shock into one of fury, glaring at the boy shakily starting to stand up. 

"What the hell did you do?!" Jester interrogated enraged, kicking the brat square in his side. 

Wayne tried to stay upright so he could stand-- he really did. Regardless, the attempt didn't exactly do much when he instead found himself still on the floor, and instead just on his side this time instead of his stomach, Jester's shoe menacingly keeping him in place by his rib cage. 

"Worry about beating me up later!" Wayne snapped through clenched teeth, because right now his spat with Jester wasn't what was important. "Right now, you need to call the nurse and-" 

That earned a kick to the stomach, Wayne's breath being knocked out of him, shoe pressing against Wayne's torso keeping the boy on his back as Jester interjected, "You're not the boss around here, kiddo-- you don't give the orders." 

"All right, fine-- whatever! You're the boss, all right?!" Even Wayne knew there were times to not be stubborn. "You're right, okay? You're right! Now just- please just call the nurse before Jerome-" 

"Ya' know, I was going to play around with you some," Jester mused, and for shits sake this REALLY wasn't the time for musings. "ya' know, torture you a little... do things like chop off your limbs from smallest to biggest, nearly suffocate and drown you before pulling you back right before you pass out at the last second, let you believe you have chances at getting away every now and then before taking those chances away..." Wayne never really wanted to hear things like that, but he particularly didn't want to hear it right now. "Then strangle you, of course." Jester gave a sigh, reaching for his pocket. "But considering Jerome needs help, I guess I'll just have to take you out quickly." 

Before Jester could even push his fingertips into his pocket, Wayne socked a direct punch square in the center of Jester's shin with his right fist while using his left hand to squeeze the sensitive point of Jester's knee, causing the copycat to loose his footing, Wayne taking the opportunity to quickly use his left hand to grab Jester's right heel and yank forward, right hand shoving Jester's left foot up and away from him. 

The cussing Jester lost his balance and fell backwards, crashing against the floor as Wayne wasted no time in using both legs to kick away from Jester before scrambling upright as the copycat did the same, Wayne taking a defensive stance and Jester getting ready to attack, the copycat keeping himself firmly between the curtain and the boy. 

"There's no reason you have to kill me right this instant," Wayne attempted to reason. "right now Jerome's more important than that," He eyed the curtain, aware there wasn't much room to sprint around Jester to get to it, knowing he'd probably be grabbed before he could get there. "he needs help immediately, but you can always kill me afterwards-- I'm not going anywhere." 

"You really wanna' save Jerome?" Jester challenged, reaching into his pocket. "Then just hold still so I can get killing you over with quickly," He pulled out a knife. "because the sooner you're choking on your own blood, the sooner he gets the nurse up here." 

Wayne gritted his teeth. "You don't really give a shit about Jerome," He accused bitterly, earning narrowed eyes. "you just give a shit about doing whatever B.S. feels the most amusing to you in the heat of things." Wayne subtly scanned the room, looking for some kind of weapon. 

"What's the point in doing anything else?" Jester scoffed, striding towards the cornered boy. "Jerome and I are friends because we both find each other entertaining," Wayne backed up, no weapon in sight. "why were you friends?" Jester snickered, less than a foot away from the boy. "You just kept him around so he stayed out of trouble, and he just kept you around because he found you somewhat interesting since he's never met such a self righteous prick." Jester raised his knife, but hesitated, giving a smirk. "Any last words, kiddo?" 

"If you and Jerome were ANYTHING to each other, you wouldn't be sticking around one another solely for amusement," Wayne spoke up, the boy's hand at his side subtly gripping onto the curtain behind him, Jester's grin shifting into a scowl at the words. "and you wouldn't be giving more of a shit about killing me than helping him, jackass." At that, Wayne yanked the curtain down, the makeshift walls connecting Jerome's, Jester's, and Wayne's rooms collapsing. 

Wayne dived to the side under the falling curtain as Jester swiped the knife at him, Wayne attempting to shove the blade away from him by ramming his foot against Jester's side, resulting in Jester falling the opposite way that Wayne was falling, but also nicking Wayne's ankle. 

The curtain partially fell over Wayne and Jester, Wayne quickly kicking it off of him as he hurriedly stood, Jester nearly getting tangled up in it, but managing to stand right as Wayne ran by him, managing to put about a yard of distance between him and the pissed off Jester that determinedly sprinted after him. 

Wayne made his way to the ladder, halting and looking over his shoulder at the Jester coming right at him, knife readily in his hand, Wayne frantically looking around for a weapon to no avail, causing him to let out a frustrated breath and resort to walking forward somewhat, giving himself plenty of room, taking quick note of where the holes in the flooring were. 

Jester ran at Wayne, jabbing the knife at his chest, Wayne sidestepping it, feeling the blade brush against his arm and wincing, jumping away from the next swipe aimed at his face and earning a cut on the chin, dodging Jester's charge at him and missing that attack completely. 

Wayne ran around Jester as the copycat skidded to a halt, the annoyed criminal turning around to face the boy, getting ready to charge him again but being caught of guard by how the defenseless Wayne had torn down a sheet from one of the makeshift rooms, the boy giving a single loud stomp forward and earning an arched brow, as though the kid wrapping the entire sheet around his hand and draped over his arm was somehow in any position to attack. 

The brief surprise gave Wayne enough time rush forward, but as he did so Jester regained himself, tightening his grasp on the knife and raising it, Wayne shielding the area Jester aimed at with the thick sheet wrapped around his hand, feeling the knife scrape against his palm and leave a gash, but at least not going through the hand as he twisted said hand away along with the sheet as his free hand grasped at the knife handle, accidentally gripping some of the blade as well, earning another injury on his other hand, but refusing to retreat, instead keeping his grip and prying it out of Jester's hand, the wound worsening. 

Wayne shoved the knife into his pocket while kicking Jester where it counts, causing the copycat to groan and double over onto his knees, Wayne shoving the criminal for good measure, letting out a shaky breath as Jester fell on his side with a cuss. 

"Stay down." Wayne warned, swallowing thickly as he realized just how exhausted he was, tiredly making his way over towards the ladder, ignoring the stinging ache in his cut up hands and the stares being given to him from the copycats peeking out from their rooms as he began to climb down the ladder, bloody palms burning. 

Halfway down the ladder, Wayne saw a VERY pissed off Jester come to the edge of the second floor, Wayne's eyes widening as the copycat dug around in his pocket, Wayne not exactly wanting to find out what he was searching for, quickly swinging around to the backside of the ladder and out of Jester's view, giving a frustrated huff as the copycat climbed after him from the other side of the ladder. 

Wayne was aware Jester had much longer legs than him, the younger not quite sure he could scurry away from the older one quickly enough, briefly contemplating on what to do before choosing to quickly climb upwards, Jester not realizing what the younger was doing until he found a knife in his outer thigh. 

"Son of a bitch!" Jester growled, Wayne ducking just to be safe while knocking the firearm facing forward out of Jester's hand, causing it to fly towards the floor, Jester grabbing at the pesky boy and letting out a shout as Wayne rammed his foot against Jester's from the other side of the ladder, the copycat swaying and yelping as Wayne kicked his shin while slamming his fist against the criminal's fingers, Jester slipping and plummeting towards the ground. 

Wayne's rule was no killing-- not no broken bones... which Jester probably had from the look of his leg he was clutching at from the ground. 

Now all Wayne had to do was get around the Jester cussing things at him that would make a sailor gawk... 

The crowd of copycats below let out hoots of laughter and cheers along with chants to fight, Jester telling them to shut it as Wayne rolled his eyes, because as far as he was concerned the fight was over. 

Jester proved that to not be the case when he began to crawl towards the fallen firearm a few yards away from him. 

For shit's sake... 

Wayne nearly slipped as he swung around to the front side of the ladder, almost slipping once more as he hurried up it, taking two bars at a time, glancing below at the Jester with his fingertips less a few inches away from the weapon right as Wayne got to the last bar, quickly crawling over the side and atop the second floor as a bang rang out, Jester firing and missing Wayne by less than a foot. 

Jester grit his teeth, reloading at that. 

Wayne didn't bother catching his breath, not very well wanting to be in the way of the Jester that began randomly firing at the floor Wayne was on, rushing away so he wasn't anywhere near the ladder, avoiding the holes littering the floor, quickening as more bangs rang out, holes tearing through the floor yards behind him, not stopping until he was finally back in the torn down room Jerome was still unconscious in. 

Okay, new plan... Wayne couldn't find the walkie talkie to call the nurse, and Wayne couldn't get down the ladder to search for the nurse, so Wayne had to come up with a plan C. 

At least Wayne had a while before Jester crawled his way back up with that leg of his... but then again, he really didn't have that long considering Jerome needed help ASAP. 

"Shit..." Wayne sighed shakily, fingers running through his hair as he began pacing around anxiously. "Shit!" He said again, eyes watering, because he STILL didn't know what to do-- he STILL didn't know how to save Jerome, and now he was going to lose Jerome again if he didn't do something. 

Wayne looked at the unconscious Jerome, feeling sick about all of this, because this couldn't happen again-- it just couldn't... 

"Jerome?" Wayne spoke up shakily, kneeling by the older one, gripping his upper arm and shaking, looking at Jerome's chest when not earning a reply, relief hitting at seeing Jerome was at least still breathing. "Jerome, come on," Wayne persisted, shaking a bit harder. "wake up..." Wayne pressed his hand over the injury on Jerome's stomach, not sure if the other was still bleeding, but wanting to stop it if he was, ignoring the ache in his own wounded hands. "Jerome, please," Wayne's vision was blurry, voice hoarse. "don't do this again..." 

Jerome wasn't waking up. Maybe Wayne should just resort to screaming for help, or attempt to sew Jerome up himself. Maybe he could try to get help from one of the copycats on this floor. Maybe Wayne should- 

"Hey," Someone spoke up, Wayne's eyes widening, turning to face the man standing outside the torn down room, protectively shielding Jerome the best he could by scooting in front of him. "easy," The man calmed, hands raising to show he had no weapons and didn't mean any harm. "easy..." He took a careful step forward, but halted when Wayne scooted even closer back against Jerome. "I'm not looking to hurt you," The man assured, offering a smile, Wayne eying him skeptically. "I just want to help, okay?" 

Wayne swallowed thickly, warily speaking up, "I know you-- you're one of the copycats Jeri introduced us to at the club." 

The man gave a nod of confirmation, Wayne not backing up as the man approached him, but also not backing down, remaining on his guard. "I'm Jack," The copycat introduced, kneeling in front of Wayne. "Jack Napier." He stretched out his hand. "You're Wayne, right?" 

Wayne eyed the hand. "Yes..." He hesitantly took Jack's hand, half expecting to feel a buzzer, but only being met with a firm grip and polite shake. 

"You want to tell me what's going on, Wayne?" Jack asked quietly, bringing his hand back. 

"I-" Wayne uncertainly scooted somewhat to the side so Jack could get a better view of Jerome. "Jerome- Jerome needs the nurse, but Jester..." He trailed off, getting choked up. 

Jack's expression fell at the sight of Jerome, and oh great now Wayne was probably going to be blamed for that by this guy too- 

"Are you all right?" Jack asked much to Wayne's surprise, earning a hesitant nod, causing Jack to smile again. "All right, good," Jack stood at that. "how about you stay here with Jerome while I go get the nurse?" Another nod. "Okay, I'll make sure Jester stays down there, yeah?" Wayne nodded again, Jack smiling once more. "Good-- I'll be right back then." 

It wasn't until Jack had walked off and disappeared down the ladder that Wayne wondered if a friendly guy like that in a place like this was a little too good to be true, so just in case Wayne readied himself by searching Jerome's pockets, cutting his thumb on a blade and wincing while exhaling through clenched teeth, because he'd really messed up his hands tonight. 

Wayne moved where he could press a his left palm back against Jerome's injury, right hand gripping the knife's handle, readily staring at the ladder meters away from him. 

If Jack was really getting help, then great. If Jack had something up his sleeve or Jester made it up the ladder, then Wayne had to be ready. 

So, for minutes that felt like they could be hours, an exhausted Wayne forced his eyes to remain open and unblinking, kept one hand on Jerome's bleeding stomach with the other hand wrapped around the handle of a knife, and waited... 

... 

... and waited, and waited. 

Even as Wayne felt nauseous from all he'd gone through within the last forty-eight hours, and how tiring it had all been, he waited. 

Wayne waited, until SHE came up the ladder, with Jack Napier following behind her. 

She looked surprisingly normal enough-- the nurse, that is. Really, her and Jack were about the most normal copycats Wayne had seen in here. 

Her hair was a natural dirty blonde shade, rather than being a wild color-- such as pink. Her eyes were gentle blue, and there was no dramatic makeup surrounding them... in fact, she wasn't wearing any makeup at all. She was, however, wearing a normal soft violet sweater and a comfy long beige lace skirt that reached her ankles, instead of costume clothing. 

The only things that weren't normal about Jack and the woman walking beside him was that he had a strand of hair dyed green, and she had a strand of hair dyed purple, both strands fading into red tips at the ends. 

Wayne was skeptical-- these two seemed a bit too normal... 

"Wayne," Jack began when they finally got up to the uncertain boy. "this is Jeannie," He introduced, gesturing to the nurse kneeling in front of the wary kiddo. "Jeannie, this is Wayne." 

Jeannie gave a warm, reassuring smile to the cautious teen, Wayne not at all used to seeing such seemingly genuine smiles in here-- generally, they were more of cruel smirks. 

"Hello, Wayne," Jeannie introduced softly, reaching out her hand, Wayne skeptically glancing at the out stretched palm and then back at Jeannie. "it's nice to meet you." 

Wayne hesitated. "Likewise..." He muttered, unsurely setting the knife on the floor before warily taking her offered hand, wincing as she gave a gentle squeeze while shaking. 

Jeannie blinked, arching a brow as her hand retreated, glancing at Wayne's palm and going wide eyed. "Oh dear, that scuffle you got into with Jester certainly cut those hands of yours up..." 

Wayne allowed his hand to fall back to his side. "I'm fine," He said with a shrug. "it's Jerome that needs help..." 

Jeannie gave a nod, glancing at Jerome before looking up at the awaiting Jack. "Help me lift him up onto the bed?" She requested, gesturing towards the air mattress, Jack nodding and doing as asked. 

Wayne waited off to the side as Jeannie worked on Jerome and Jack helped clean up the mess Jester had made, Wayne sitting on the ground and tucking his knees under his chin as Jack began putting some of the curtain walls back up, Wayne's face eventually burying against his knees. 

Wayne wasn't sure how much time went by. Fifteen minutes? Half an hour? An hour? 

Regardless, eventually Jeannie came out after she was done with Jerome to help patch up the small injuries Wayne had gotten from Jester. 

The two remained silent until Jeannie was done wrapping bandages around Wayne's hand, and Wayne softly asked the question he'd been dreading. "Is Jerome okay?" 

Jeannie paused. "He's stable," She hesitantly answered. "he's been losing a lot of blood lately, though... he refuses to rest up like he's supposed to, and that's been taking a toll on him, and it doesn't help he keeps accidentally reopening the wounds before they can finish healing, so..." She trailed off. 

Wayne stared up at her. "So..?" 

Jeannie gave a sigh. "So he's not awake right now." 

Wayne felt sick. "When will he wake up?" 

Jeannie frowned at the vulnerable look Wayne was giving her. "It's... admittedly a bit hard to tell right now," She tried to force a reassuring smile. "he's gotten blood donations from a few of the copycats I verified were clean, though, so I have him hooked up to one of the packets now." 

Wayne's eyes were watering from exhaustion... from everything that had been going on... from- from... from this. "Can I see him?" Wayne didn't want to go through this again-- through possibly losing Jerome again. Wayne felt like he kept on and kept on getting Jerome back right before having him taken away once more. 

Jeannie put on a smile, hand resting against Wayne's upper arm soothingly, giving a calming rub before patting it. "Of course you can." 

So, Wayne got up, grabbed Jeri's chair positioned in front of the makeup set, brought it quietly into Jerome's room, and sat down beside the seventeen year old. 

For a while, Wayne just stared at Jerome quietly. 

"Please get up," Wayne eventually heard himself say softly, not really even considering what he was saying, much less considering if he perhaps shouldn't say it with the current conditions, instead just allowing himself to say whatever came out of his mouth as soon as it came to mind, rather than by carefully choosing what did and didn't leave his lips to shape what he was saying, and just allowing his words to be raw. "please..." Wayne repeated, exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. "Just wake up, okay?" Wayne was talking as though Jerome could listen and simply agree or disagree to the pleas of Wayne asking for him to do a natural human function-- to wake up. As though that was something Jerome could control. "It's okay if you hate me," Wayne was breaking. "it's okay if you want to-" Wayne choked up. "-if you want to kill me." Then again, maybe Wayne was already broken. "It's okay if you want me to leave and never ever come anywhere near you again." Yeah-- Wayne was broken. He'd been broken for a while now... since the alleyway. "I get it, all right?" Wayne's eyes were spilling with water, and his voice was hoarse. "I get that Hugo did something awful to you that made you hate me, and I get if you can't believe me over whatever he convinced you of." A part of Wayne was broken, and Jerome hadn't quite fixed him, because it wasn't like one person could just up and make everything okay after the kinds of things Wayne had gone through. "I get if there's no more I can do here, and you want to just go your own way," Jerome hadn't fixed Wayne, but that didn't mean he hadn't HELPED Wayne. "and if you ever end up believing me for sure, or ever remember what really happened, then you can always come back to the manor if you want to," Jerome hadn't put Wayne back together, but he had helped keep him steady so he didn't break anymore, and he had readily been there as Wayne healed. "because I'll do all I can to make sure you always have a home there." Jerome had helped Wayne as much as possible by putting all the bits and pieces he could gather back together, and then helped Wayne even more by sticking by Wayne's side as Wayne gathered the rest. "So if you want to leave, or if you want to stay, or even if you're not sure yet, that's okay, all right?" Wayne was choking up. "But you HAVE to wake up so you can decide what you want to do, okay?" Wayne reached out, clutching Jerome's wrist, as though he could somehow pull him out of his slumber. "This is YOUR choice, and this time I don't want to convince you to do anything, all right? I just want you to do whatever you feel like you need to do." Wayne couldn't stifle the sob leaving his throat. "So you need-" Only a piece of Wayne had been broken after the alleyway, and now another piece was breaking. "-you need to wake up so you can make that choice." The silence and stillness caused Wayne to let out another sob, too exhausted to stay upright, leaning over and resting his forehead against the mattress, both hands grasping at Jerome's arm, because he couldn't just let go of Jerome-- not again. "Jerome, please-- don't do this... not again; Hugo- Hugo isn't around to bring you back, so you have to-" Another sob. "-you have to get up on your own this time." A series of sobs. "Don't do this-- not again..." Jerome had gotten a second chance, which was something almost no one- if anyone- ever got. That made a third chance all the more unlikely given the circumstances. This time, Jerome didn't have anyone to awaken him if he slipped away to a place it seemed only Hugo could reach for now. "Jerome, please..." 

At that, Wayne stopped talking. Stopped begging. Stopped bargaining. 

Wayne was all out of words to say. Apologies to speak. Confessions to admit. 

Wayne just sobbed and clung to Jerome's arm, because it seemed as though he was going to be left alone once again. 

"Is that all?" A hoarse, quiet, dry voice spoke up, Wayne blinking away more tears at that, sitting up with wide watery eyes that landed on a smirking Jerome. "Come on-- that was a good speech! Keep going... I like the flattery." Cocky. Jerome was being cocky. 

Wayne's shock melted into relief, before shifting into a glare, and oh shit the kiddo was going to sock Jerome square in the jaw from the looks of it-- or maybe just storm out in a rage. Perhaps both... probably both. 

"You jackass!" Wayne huffed, abruptly standing upright, the chair screeching out from underneath him, and okay yeah here it came, but Jerome probably deserved whatever Wayne was about to- "You jackass!" Wayne repeated as he suddenly leaned forward and abruptly wrapped his arms around Jerome, earning a taken aback blink. "You jackass..." Wayne continued, voice wavering as he buried his face against Jerome's neck. "Jackass..." He sobbed, grasp tightening. 

Jerome's smile fell, realizing this was anything but an attack, and letting Wayne cling to him. 

Except, Jerome didn't just let Wayne cling to him, and he wasn't quite sure why he did what he did next, but it seemed to be instinct more than anything as he found himself allowing his own arms to raise, and then hesitate, only to feel Wayne bury his face further against his neck, and then unsurely draping his arms back around Wayne. 

Really, Jerome didn't even just return the hug-- he also found himself doing as much as just tugging Wayne into the bed when feeling Wayne shiver through his sobs, and letting Wayne lay beside him while not bothering to stop himself from soothing, "Easy..." Familiar. This felt familiar. It made the familiar ache in Jerome's chest throb harder than ever, and spread all throughout him. It was bittersweet in a nostalgic kind of way. 

"You're such a jackass." Wayne accused shakily, sniffling as Jerome allowed his hand to instinctively run soothingly through Wayne's hair, trying to calm the younger down. 

"I heard you the first few times." Jerome commented, not angrily or anything like that-- just calmly, as though he was simply stating something. 

"Jackass." Was Wayne's reply, and Jerome should have gotten irked at the reply, but he just found himself smirking amusedly. "How much did you hear?" 

Jerome gave a hum, feeling Wayne begin to relax beside him. "Truthfully? The entire thing." 

"Jackass." Wayne grumbled, Jerome snickering at that. "It's not funny-- you should have told me you were awake." 

"I wanted to listen to what you had to say." Jerome defended musingly. 

Wayne scoffed. "Why? Because you like hearing me sound miserable?" What a jackass. 

"No," Jerome said in a suddenly serious but calming voice, not joking in the least as he continued, "because I was pleasantly surprised you sounded so miserable because of something like this." 

"Of course I sound miserable, jackass," Wayne huffed, Jerome's new name apparently being 'Jackass'. "I've already lost you once-- I can't-" Wayne began to choke up again. "I can't lose you again-" A sob was building in Wayne's throat. 

"Easy..." Jerome soothed once more, and it felt oddly natural to be so... caring, which was something Jerome really didn't generally find instinctive in the least, usually having to act like he gave a shit about looking after someone or something. "I was just saying I hadn't expected you to..." He trailed off. 

Jerome wasn't used to this-- to wanting to look after someone like this. It felt familiar, but as far as he knew it was just such a foreign concept. 

"You still believe that B.S. Hugo told you." Wayne said, and it wasn't a question-- it was a statement. 

"I do," Jerome confirmed, feeling Wayne slump against him, the confirmation resulting in Wayne doubting there was anything he could do or say that would convince Jerome that he was on his side, because that was it-- that was Wayne allowing himself to become absolutely vulnerable and immensely honest so he could give it his all through being more expressive than ever, and Jerome was still in Hugo's grasp... even when Hugo was locked up. "but..." Jerome continued, Wayne holding his breath at that. "... it's less than I did before," Wayne pulled back, staring up at Jerome and trying to not get his hopes too high. "admittedly a lot less," Wayne attempted to not let his hopes continue rising. "which means I do believe you more now," Wayne's hopes refused to be pushed down, taking the risk of skyrocketing. "to an extent." Jerome averted his gaze, because Wayne's hopeful expression he was gazing up at Jerome with just wasn't fair, particularly with those big bluish gray and glossy eyes. "That doesn't mean I believe you more than I believe what Hugo told me," After all, Jerome still personally remembered things the way Hugo said they went. "but I definitely believe you considerably more than I had before, and him a lot less." Jerome was beginning to really accept there was at least a chance he'd misinterpreted things, at the very least. 

Wayne sat upright and stared at Jerome, not quite sure what exactly the taller one was getting at, or if he was just rambling. "So..?" 

Jerome kept his gaze averted. "So I want you to leave." 

Wayne felt his stomach sink. "What?" 

That wasn't where Wayne had assumed this had been going at all. 

Jerome forced an icy smirk to his lips, meeting Wayne's stare and putting on an chilling glare, because being cold to Wayne seemed to be the only thing that could possibly cause Jerome to not cave in and just forgive Wayne before he had the chance to make better judgement and be sure he was being rational, while also having the chance of getting Wayne to just back off if he was being given cold shoulder. 

"I'm beginning to wonder if I'm ever going to be sure of whether you were a traitor, or a friend to the end," Jerome began to explain blandly, giving a shrug, acting casual and cold. "there's a chance I might make the wrong call and regret it." This was for the best-- for both of them. "If I kill you, I could realize you were being honest, and not be able to live with myself. If I take you in, I could risk another backstabbing, and I'm not exactly sure I could survive another one of those." Sometimes you just have to compromise for a safe outcome. "So I want you to get out of here right now, and stay gone." It was almost like Jerome could see Wayne break at that. 

"But-" Wayne started to object. 

Jerome worried if he listened, Wayne could convince him to take back a hard choice by getting Jerome all irrationally emotional, so Jerome interjected, "I'll let you go back to being the billionaire brat, and you let me go back to being the king of chaos," Jerome couldn't allow there to be any leeway here-- he had to be firm... for both their sakes. "I'll stay away from you even if I get the itch to kill you for the whole betrayal thing, and you'll stay away from me even if you want me to come back home and stop ruining this city." Wayne didn't look like he was about to agree to this at all, but Jerome's mind was made. "You get to be the pampered prince of Gotham living in his perfect fancy home, and I get to have fun being a criminal without a care in the world-- it's a win-win!" Jerome gave Wayne an assuring grin. 

Wayne rubbed his upper arm, gaze averting. "There's no way my home would be perfect without you." Oh for shit's sake! Jerome had said ALL of that and Wayne already managed to make Jerome second guess this choice with one sentence! Jerome was supposed to be the convincing one here-- not Wayne! "You've been by my side for so long now, and we've been through so much together that it just... wouldn't even be a home without you." How the hell was Jerome supposed to argue that?! "If you want to go because you feel like that's what would be best for you, then that's- that's... that's what I want you to do." Wayne finally looked up, Jerome faltering at the boy's extremely vulnerable gaze, because Wayne somehow seemed to be determinedly taking an even bigger risk than the ones he'd been forced to take at the carnival. "But don't do it just because you feel like that somehow helps me when that's the last thing it does, and I get that I'm young, but there's a lot of things I can still make my own choices on, and this is one of them." 

Jerome gave a strained laugh, because he was getting less and less sure on what he'd been so certain about before, and was instead getting to where he had little to no idea on what to do here. "You're gonna' be stubborn about this, aren't ya'?" He sighed, also sitting upright, wincing as the injury on his stomach throbbed, earning a nod and letting out a long exhale. "So what, you wanna' stick around then?" 

"Until you make a decision." Wayne confirmed with a nod. 

Jerome stared at Wayne, eying him over. "And if that decision ends up being one where I decide you need to have your throat slit?" Jerome was trying to get Wayne to reconsider. To just walk away. To not take a risk. 

To go his own way so Jerome could do the same. 

Wayne hesitated, staring right back at that, Jerome not quite sure whether Wayne was observing him or contemplating on this entire thing. 

"It would be worth the risk if it meant the possibility of getting you back." Wayne finally said softly yet confidently, and oh how those words made Jerome break even more. 

"You sure you wanna' bet your life on a bad guy, kid?" Jerome sighed with a smirk. 

Wayne didn't miss a beat as he answered, "You've risked your life for me several times, and I want to start repaying the favor.", and that was that. 

Nonetheless, Jerome persisted, "If this doesn't go your way, you're not risking losing money, or just getting a beating, ya' know," He suddenly seemed very, very serious-- not a smile in place. "you'll be risking not waking up any day from now when I make a decision on where we stand." Maybe Jerome could scare Wayne away to safety... 

Of course, Wayne insisted, "I'm well aware of the risk, Jerome, and I already made clear that I consider it worth it if it means a chance of getting you back." 

Stubborn. Wayne was stubborn. A sweet kind of stubborn in this case, but stubborn nonetheless. 

Jerome tried one more time to push Wayne away, however. "A word of advice, billionaire brat-" Jerome smirked at the annoyed look Wayne gave him upon hearing the nickname. "-you stick your neck out too much for someone, and it might just get chopped off." 

"You stuck your neck out for me." Wayne countered with a shrug. 

"If I really stuck my neck out for ya' whenever you were in trouble, then I doubt I'd want you repaying it by going out and getting your ass in even more trouble." Jerome commented with a chuckle. 

"If I'm going to start protecting you and the others like you've all been protecting me, then I can't back down from something dangerous just because I might end up in trouble." Wayne stated firmly while crossing his arms. 

Jerome quirked a brow, a smirk sneaking onto his lips. "You reckon I need protection, huh?" That was absolutely precious-- the little billionaire brat was wanting to become a hero. 

"Well I'd certainly like to be able to at least offer some kind of protection if you ever need some so I won't have to lose you again." Wayne blurted out snappily, earning a blink and pair of arched brows, causing Wayne to avert his gaze and swallow thickly. "Now unless there's anything else you have to say, my mind is made up, and I plan on staying here until you get better regardless of the risks, which I'm already aware of." 

"Well maybe the best way to keep both of us protected would be by you finding somewhere safe to go so you won't have to risk me choosing to kill ya', and I won't have to risk you backstabbing me." Jerome stubbornly said with a shrug, because he was REALLY trying to compromise here so they could both be safe, but Wayne was making it particularly hard to do so. 

For the love of- 

"Truth or dare." Wayne finally huffed. 

Jerome quirked a brow. "Huh?" 

"We never finished the game earlier," Wayne stated, arms crossing. "truth or dare." 

Was Wayne just trying to change the subject, or..? 

"Dare?" Jerome chuckled unsurely, not quite sure what- 

"I dare you to let me stay with you." Wayne said back. 

Oh. 

Jerome blinked, staring at Wayne for a while, before giving a smirk. "Now wait just a minute," He hummed amusedly. "isn't it your turn?" 

Wayne narrowed his eyes. "What?" 

Jerome gave Wayne a smug look. "I passed out before you could finish your turn earlier," Jerome informed cockily. "and you chose dare." 

Crap. 

"Fine," Wayne grumbled, not at all liking the cheeky look Jerome was giving him. "what's the dare?" 

"I dare you to leave." Jerome almost instantly answered with a proud and stubborn grin. 

Dangit. 

For a while, Wayne just glared at the smirking Jerome, seeming more annoyed than angry at the smug bastard. 

Jerome looked so dang cheeky-- like he'd just won the greatest chess game ever played with one move. Over dramatic jackass... it wasn't THAT good of a move-- it wasn't even original! Using a dare had totally been Wayne's idea! 

Wayne suddenly stood up, leaned forward, placed his palms flat against the air mattress, and looked Jerome right in the eye, not very much distance between them at all. 

Jerome arched a brow, wondering what Wayne was up to now, and- 

Wayne leaned forward and closed his eyes, planting one right on Jerome's lips, feeling Jerome tense up, the two staying like that for a few lengthy seconds before Wayne barely pulled back just enough to meet Jerome's taken aback stare and mutter,"You win." 

Jerome gave an intrigued smirk. "What-" 

"I'm not taking the dare," Wayne interjected while pulling back. "so you win," His arms crossed. "the deal was that I give you a kiss and fix up the floorboards if you won." 

Oh. Right. Jerome cleared his throat at that. 

"You're really just going to keep being stubborn about this, huh?" Jerome sighed with a smirk. 

"Yes." Wayne rather seriously answered without missing a beat. 

Jerome was aware Wayne had always been a bit of a stubborn bastard... all right, that was an understatement-- Wayne was an EXTREMELY stubborn bastard. Jerome could be pretty stubborn, too, but compared to Wayne... 

"Fine," Jerome exhaled, smirk remaining. "you wanna' stay? You can stay-- but don't say I didn't give ya' the chance to walk out of here in one piece." 

"Fair enough." Wayne said with a shrug. 

Jerome gave a strained snicker, not quite sure why this kiddo was so casual about this entire thing... it was like he was so focused on sticking with Jerome he almost didn't even consider the very possible consequences this could result in. 

Perhaps Wayne was so confident Jerome would find him innocent because Wayne really hadn't betrayed Jerome after all... or, perhaps it was all a ploy to just make it SEEM like Wayne was innocent. 

Either way, Jerome pulled Wayne's journal back out from underneath his pillow. "Well I'm not going to make a decision on where you and I stand until I've finished reading this thing in any case," He mused. "so I guess I better start finishing it up..." 

Wayne gave a nod, standing at that. "I'll leave you to it then." He murmured, fixing to walk off, yet pausing. 

Jerome raised a brow, intrigued smirk meeting his lips, about to ask the boy what he was being all hesitant about- 

Wayne leaned forward, arms wrapping around Jerome, face burying against the crook of the older one's neck. "I'm really glad you're okay..." Wayne said softly, holding onto Jerome tightly. 

Jerome faltered, smile falling, and for a while he just sat there taken aback. 

The familiar ache returned, this time engulfing Jerome completely, and Jerome wasn't sure how much more of this bittersweet familiarity he could take. 

Before Jerome had anytime to react, Wayne pulled back, and Jerome almost instantly felt the ache numb out. 

Wayne walked over towards his 'room' without saying another word to the watchful Jerome, the younger feeling absolutely exhausted, yet still being courteous and reaching down to grab the one fallen curtain that hadn't been put back up, about to set it back in place between their rooms. 

"What happened to your hands?" Jerome questioned with a quirked brow, noticing the bandages around them as Wayne started to raise the curtain. 

Wayne paused, curtain lowering as he looked over his shoulder at Jerome, staring at the awaiting crime boss for a while before furrowing his brow, gaze averting with a frown, holding the curtain close as he chewed on his lower lip broodingly, hesitating at that. 

Well, Jerome was bound to find out one way or another, and Wayne doubted he'd stop pestering Wayne about it until he got an answer from someone... 

"Jester got back in while you were passed out," Wayne answered quietly, turning to look at Jerome. "he- um... he and I got into a little bit of a fight..." Wayne didn't want to risk putting all the blame on Jester-- not when Jerome was convinced Jester was his best buddy... Wayne didn't want to end up saying something that made Jerome take Jester's side-- not with the little yet significant progress Jerome and Wayne had made. 

Jerome stared at Wayne, not smiling in the least, and oh dear that wasn't a good sign... 

"He attacked you?" Jerome questioned, Wayne hesitantly nodding truthfully, Jerome just looking at him for a while. "Keep the curtain down tonight," Jerome eventually instructed, earning a blink. "you can just put it back up some other time." Jerome wanted to keep an eye on Wayne. 

So, Wayne did as told, and set the curtain back down before making his way over towards his sleeping bag, and finally getting a much wanted rest. 

Jerome, meanwhile, got to reading the journal. That is, Jerome got to reading one sentence of the journal, before hesitating, and then just setting it down, and calling it a night. 

Jerome realized the quicker he read the journal, the quicker he'd have to make a choice on where he and Wayne stood... 

... 

... A choice on whether Wayne was killed, or kept. 

Jerome began reading Wayne's journal like that everyday-- one sentence at a time. Neither of them said it, but they were both fully aware Jerome did it so he had the excuse of keeping Wayne around longer without having to make a final decision, because they both knew the instant Jerome got to the last sentence, he'd have to choose whether he did or didn't believe Wayne-- whether Jerome did or didn't believe himself... 

Whether Jerome trusted Wayne and believed Hugo had gotten him to misinterpret things. Whether Jerome didn't trust Wayne and believed he recalled everything perfectly well. 

Jerome found himself wanting to trust Wayne more and more, but he had been so sure Wayne had betrayed him, and he recalled himself playing along with Theo and Wayne's little game at the charity ball only to find out there was only room for two players when it became clear they'd planned to kill Jerome off to make Theo look like the hero of Gotham's favorite poster child, rather than them all escaping. 

Although the more Jerome went over that again and again in his mind, the more something about it just didn't seem right. The more it seemed like he'd gotten SOMETHING mixed up. The more it seemed like Theo had certainly taken that stab, but Wayne had seemed so genuinely afraid that there was no way Wayne could have been in on whatever Jerome and Theo had planned. The more it seemed like the Charity Ball had been before Jerome and Wayne had even become friends, rather than the final moment of their friendship. 

The more it seemed like Jerome was recalling how he'd been killed for an instant all wrong. 

But how could that be what happened when Jerome so vividly recalled meeting Wayne in Arkham back when Wayne had had that long hair that reached his shoulders, and eyes once more blue than gray, and a voice lower pitched? 

Why in the world was Jerome recalling Wayne so much more differently than Wayne was now? 

Jerome went back and forth, one second fully believing Wayne, the next being sure he recalled everything too clearly to be wrong, and sometimes just not being sure what to believe. 

So, Jerome prolonged having to make a choice by reading one sentence of the journal at a time. 

"How much have you read?" Wayne would sometimes tiredly ask at nighttime despite knowing the answer, looking over from his place on the sleeping bag at the Jerome resting on the mattress a few yards away. 

"Another sentence." Jerome would answer as though it was the most normal thing in the world to read a book by reading one sentence a day. "Now get some rest." Jerome would recommend rather than order as he'd satisfy his itch to read the rest of the journal by re-reading the things he'd already read a dozen times before. 

The more time Jerome spent around Wayne, the fewer orders he'd make, and the less he'd act as though he was Wayne's boss. 

"You should get some rest, too." Wayne would say with a yawn. 

"I will." Jerome would promise, because it helped Wayne sleep better when he wasn't fretting about Jerome, and for some reason Jerome found himself giving a shit about that. 

In reality, Jerome found himself rarely getting any rest, constantly staying up to make sure no one tried to sneak in and slit Wayne's throat in his sleep. Jerome didn't tell Wayne that, though. He lied and said he just had trouble getting a good night's sleep a lot nowadays when Wayne would ask why Jerome always looked so tired. 

The more it became apparent Wayne really was concerned about Jerome, the less Jerome found himself hating Wayne. 

After a few days of that, Wayne got used to hanging around the hideout with Jerome and his copycats, and other than Jester, Wayne could get along well enough with Jerome's group, particularly with the boundaries Jerome set up to make sure Wayne didn't get put in harm's way. 

No one was allowed to touch Wayne-- no hugs, no placing a hand on his shoulder, no ruffling his hair, no pinching his cheek, and no pats on the back. If Wayne initiated the hug, that was the only exception. 

No one was allowed to point any kind of weapon towards Wayne-- not even jokingly. 

No one was allowed to go into Wayne's room unless Wayne permitted them to, and whenever Wayne let them in Jerome always acted like he was doing something while actually watching from the corner of his eye to make sure they didn't try anything funny. 

No one was allowed to give any food or drinks to Wayne except for Jerome, who would personally go out and steal meals for the younger to make sure nothing was poisoned. 

No one but Jerome was allowed to tag along when Wayne went to the 24 hour gym down the street to shower. Jerome would always lock the door behind them after making sure no one was inside, keeping guard outside the stall just in case. 

"For someone who hates me, you really like to make sure nothing happens to me." Was the kind of stuff Wayne would comment when Jerome would follow Wayne by his side whenever Wayne went anywhere outside of their room to make sure none of the copycats tried anything. 

Jerome would usually just snicker and shrug it off, but sometimes he'd smirk and say something like, "I don't hate you, I just don't trust you yet." 

The 'yet' was what would get Wayne to stay here and take a chance on possibly getting Jerome back. 

A few days of comments like that spoken so casually went by, and Jerome continued making sure his copycats stayed in line around Wayne. 

One day, Wayne made a comment about sneaking back into his manor for a few pairs of clothes, because he had to wear Jeri's clothes whenever he dunked the only pair he had into a bin of soapy water for cleaning before taking it out and letting it air dry. Jeri had liked irritatingly tight leather a lot, and Wayne most certainly did not, not to mention she was quite a bit taller than him, so none of the clothes fit properly. 

Jerome snickered at how silly Wayne looked in leather skinny jeans that he had to roll up to his ankles so he didn't trip over their cuffs, and the tacky bedazzled V-neck shirt he wore with it. 

Wayne gave a glare and didn't reply, continuing to sit cross armed inside his room where he waited for his clothes to finish drying, and would refuse to go outside until they did, because Wayne knew he damn well looked ridiculous despite Jerome's half assed reassurances that he didn't. 

It took about a day for the clothes to dry, so Wayne would wash them every three days, generally just being bored out of his mind while waiting around for them to dry twice a week. Wayne had gotten used to living like this when he'd stayed at Selina's place, but that didn't mean he enjoyed it. 

At least at Selina's place he'd had five pairs of clothes... 

Wayne went to sleep one night in Jeri's rather uncomfortable apparel, his jeans and shirt still drying along the makeshift floss clothes pin he had attached to his only wall that was a real wooden wall, rather than made of sheets. 

When Wayne woke up the next morning, it was next to a nicely folded stack of clothes beside his sleeping bag, the tags still on them. 

"Did you get me these?" Wayne asked surprised, sitting up and looking at the Jerome that was flipping through a magazine a few feet away. 

"Get you what?" Jerome mused nonchalantly, not bothering to look up from the stolen magazine to look at the stolen clothes. 

Of course Jerome had gotten them. 

"Thank you." Wayne softly said, Jerome glancing at him and hesitating, not giving a nod or saying 'You're welcome', but cracking a smile at the very least, that being answer enough. 

The clothes were a size too big, but it was better than being a size too small. 

Wayne noticed Jerome started doing that kind of stuff a lot afterwards-- leaving presents beside Wayne's sleeping bag when he was resting, and not admitting to it the next morning, as though the stolen goods just magically appeared there on their own. 

Nonetheless, Wayne would always thank Jerome, and Jerome would return the thanks with a smirk, still never admitting to giving Wayne the supplies, but Jerome didn't have to confirm such, because Wayne knew fully well that it was him.

It was just little things Wayne received, but nice things. Things Wayne began to notice had to do with something he'd spoken to Jerome about-- like a heavy blanket when Wayne had spoken up about the warehouse being cold, and gloves when Wayne grumbled about getting splinters in his palms from the ladder, and a flashlight when Wayne had fallen on his ass after stumbling around the warehouse at nighttime in attempts to find the exit so he could get some fresh air after a nightmare about the alleyway. 

Wayne found he had nightmares about the alleyway a lot more when he was feeling strained, and despite Jerome subtly making things more comfortable for Wayne, the younger was still incredibly stressed out about whether the Jerome he once knew would ever fully return. 

It was the fourth time Wayne turned on his flashlight to go get some fresh air after a nightmare that he heard Jerome mutter, "Do you always have bad dreams?", before Wayne could leave the room. 

Wayne halted, not expecting Jerome to be awake, because Jerome had always been asleep when he'd had to go out at nighttime before. 

"I have them sometimes," Wayne answered vaguely with a shrug. "about as much as anyone else, I guess..." 

"This is the fourth night in a row." Jerome countered knowingly. 

Wayne arched a brow. "How do you know that?" He questioned rather than denied. 

"I'm a light sleeper." Jerome lied, not admitting to how deprived of sleep he'd been ever since he'd started staying up to make sure no copycat ever came in and tried anything on Wayne. 

Wayne was skeptical about the answer, but didn't say so, instead just averting his gaze and shifting from foot to foot, rubbing his upper arm while admitting, "It's fine-- I have them a lot." It wasn't quite a lie, because Wayne did have nightmares about the alleyway quite a bit, although he was well aware they'd been particularly frequent thanks to everything that had been going on lately despite Jerome's recent efforts to keep him comfortable. "I- um... I should go outside now and just... get some fresh air or something, or... whatever." 

Jerome looked Wayne over, eying the younger broodingly for a few lengthy seconds, Wayne just standing there patiently waiting for Jerome to say whatever it was he was clearly contemplating on. 

After a while of Jerome scanning Wayne over as though he was reading the younger like an open book, Jerome finally said, "Do you want me to come with you?" 

Wayne blinked, brow raising, shifting from foot to foot, not quite sure what he expected Jerome to eventually say, but knowing it wasn't that; Jerome almost seemed to make the offer out of kindness, but Wayne was aware Jerome just didn't like letting Wayne out of his sights. 

"It's fine." Wayne assured, fully aware Jerome was just wanting to make sure Wayne wasn't trying to sneak out to go find some cops to bring to Jerome's hideout like a little hero. 

But then, Jerome said, "I was awake," He sat up, rubbing some sleep out of his eyes. "the times before when you'd get up to go out for some 'fresh air'," Wayne averted his gaze at that. "I gave you the flashlight so you had an easier time navigating your way outside." 

That was the first time Jerome admitted to giving Wayne a gift, because before when Wayne would ask where something new and oh so convenient like the flashlight had come from, Jerome would claim to not know. 

"Oh..." Was Wayne's reply, shifting from foot to foot. 

Jerome hesitated, noting Wayne's reactions. "I'm just saying that I've been aware for a while now that you've been going outside, and I know that if you'd wanted to, you would have already ran off to call the cops," Wayne chewed his lower lip, shuffling around somewhat. "so if you want to keep going out alone, I won't stop you, but I can go with you if you want me to." 

Wayne hesitantly looked back up at Jerome, head tilting. "Why are you offering to go with me?" 

It was Jerome's turn to avert his gaze, clearing his throat and rubbing the side of his neck before murmuring with a shrug, "I'm just offering in case you're worried about the copycats giving you trouble, or whatever... I haven't kept you alive and well this long just to have one of them screw it up." 

Wayne was aware Jerome was exhausted, because Jerome had been looking drained a lot lately, so Wayne said, "Is it okay if I stick to just having once a time a night to have some privacy?", because Wayne wanted Jerome to get some rest. 

Jerome nodded, and Wayne got some fresh air alone that night. 

Wayne also got some fresh air alone the next night, and the night after that. 

However, on the fourth night it became apparent Jerome wasn't bothering to get any sleep until Wayne was safely back inside, so Wayne ended up changing his mind and asking Jerome to accompany him so Jerome wouldn't get too anxious about him being out of sight. 

It would have been one thing if Jerome was antsy due to not trusting Wayne to not go off and do something that could get him in trouble, but Wayne was aware it wasn't a control trust issue, and was more of Jerome just wanting to be sure his copycats stayed away from Wayne. 

"Let's go for a walk." Was the kind of thing a Wayne restless from nightmares would often suggest after a while of them just standing under the night sky. 

Jerome would usually do something like roll his eyes, or let out a dramatic exhale, or give an annoyed chuckle. But then, Jerome would always nod and follow Wayne despite his exhaustion. 

Generally, they wouldn't go more than a quarter of a mile at most, because Jerome would always be getting evidently fatigued despite acting like he was wide awake, and Wayne would claim he was ready to go back for Jerome's sake, and Jerome began catching onto that, yet neither commented on it. 

Sometimes, they'd stop somewhere on their walk, like a coffee shop that was open late at night to order sweets, or a nice park to listen to the sounds of crickets, or the rooftop of a building to admire the city's view. 

Places to give them a change of pace and scenery. 

Jerome found Wayne would do things like claiming he only wanted a coffee and then having his stomach growl after they sat at a booth, or leaning against Jerome tiredly at a park, or shivering atop a rooftop. 

Surprisingly, Jerome would even pay the barista, rather than rob them and start a scene, which was really saying something considering Jerome just loved starting shit. Jerome paid with stolen cash oftentimes containing red fingerprints on them, but still. 

Jerome often found himself giving Wayne half his scone, or carrying Wayne home on his back, or giving Wayne his jacket, and while Jerome would jest about letting Wayne starve, or leaving Wayne there, or allowing Wayne to freeze, Jerome always found himself doing quite the opposite. Jerome found caring for the younger could be irksome, yet Jerome also found something that was a lot stronger than the annoyance was wanting to make sure Wayne was fed, well rested, and warm. 

When it became apparent to Wayne that Jerome was taking better care of Wayne than himself, Wayne spoke up about it after realizing the reason Jerome wasn't getting very good rest was because he was constantly trying to stay up to make sure Wayne wasn't in danger. 

Jerome had of course denied that very real truth, yet went quiet at Wayne's next words. 

"I could sleep with you," Wayne offered, Jerome not replying at that. "in your bed or whatever, instead of staying all the way over here," Jerome just stared at him. "we could set up a pillow fort between us." Jerome was quiet. "Or I could just drag my bed over to yours?" Wayne suggested. "If that would help you sleep better..." Jerome quirked a brow. "I mean, at least then you wouldn't have to worry as much about your copycats approaching me if I was right next to you or whatever... they'd probably find it too risky, and if they didn't you could still get to me a lot faster." 

Jerome continued not saying anything for a while, and Wayne averted his gaze while clearing his throat, because he should have realized they weren't back on that level of friendship yet- 

"All right," Jerome finally spoke up, Wayne blinking and looking at him. "if you're sure you're good with that..." 

Needless to say, Wayne almost instantly nodded, because bit by bit, he was taking every chance he could to get back to being by Jerome's side. 

The line of pillows were lined up between them, and for the first time in a while, they both got a good rest, and so they continued that arrangement. 

It was bittersweet, nonetheless. As glad as Wayne was to be regaining some familiarity with Jerome, it still lacked complete familiarity considering Jerome would scoot over to his side of the bed and turn his back to Wayne, and Wayne wouldn't dismiss the line of pillows so he could lean on Jerome and sleep better. 

It was very different from how things used to be. Sure, Jerome had began sleeping by himself a while back, but they'd at least occasionally share the bed when Wayne had had a particularly traumatic experience occur so Wayne would feel safe. 

It was evident that while Jerome was letting Wayne somewhat back in, he wasn't about to just up and let him in completely. 

Regardless, for a while, at least things felt normal. Or at least as normal as they had felt since Wayne had lost Jerome, found out he hadn't actually lost Jerome, been gaslit into believing he really had lost Jerome, been kidnapped by Jerome, and then been brought into the copycat gang by Jerome. 

That is to say, things were about as normal as they could be with how the copycats weren't as consistently hassling Wayne, and Jerome wasn't being a complete arse to Wayne... 

... 

... but then a copycat just HAD to step out of line. 

You see, for the most part, the copycats saw Wayne as a pet. A pet that would be fun to torture, yet they knew better than to try with how he was Jerome's pet, who they could admire like some kind of trophy, but not take apart piece by piece much less touch, because Wayne was Jerome's possession to play with how he wanted without sharing-- not theirs. 

Wayne couldn't tell if Jerome had the same view or not. 

Was Wayne fond of that mindset the copycats had on average? No, not really, but it was better than the mindset of viewing Wayne as a pest that was doing no more than distracting Jerome and needed to be terminated. 

It was a copycat which viewed Wayne as a pest rather than a pet that got Jerome VERY pissed off. 

Jerome and Wayne had been eating with the rest of the chaotic leader's followers when one of his copycats approached them with two slices of some kind of creme pie-- one for Jerome, and one for Wayne. Jerome had dismissively reminded the copycat that he and he alone picked out Wayne's food considering he didn't trust his copycats to not slip some weird shit into Wayne's meals. 

When the copycat persisted, Jerome got suspicious, and said he and Wayne would take the pies if the copycat ate a piece of Wayne's pie first. The copycat hesitated, but agreed. 

Before the copycat could get a bite, however, Jerome got a different idea and told the copycat to wait, because it was one thing for his overly loyal copycats to bring harm to themselves for what they believed was for the good of Jerome. 

It was another thing for their copycats to bring harm to Jerome. 

So, Jerome decided he'd eat a piece of Wayne's pie instead, and persisted when the copycat objected. Jerome even went as far as to snatch the plate and fork, raising a piece of the dessert to his lips, and knowingly halting when the copycat admitted to poisoning Wayne's slice. 

Surprisingly enough, Jerome didn't kill the copycat right then and there, nor did he send the copycat off to be tortured. Instead, Jerome lived up to his unpredictable reputation, and did something even more surprising. 

Jerome asked in a calm and musing voice, "What should we do with this guy?" 

At first, Wayne didn't realize Jerome was speaking to him, and when Wayne did, he wasn't sure he'd heard Jerome right. "Huh?" 

So, Jerome elaborated, "Kill him, torture him, give him a beating, go after his loved ones, chain him up somewhere awful... etcetera etcetera..." 

The copycats had gone quiet, Jerome's patient emerald gaze set on the wide eyed Wayne, expecting at least some kind of answer. 

Jerome NEVER asked anyone to assist him with making a choice like this... then again, he never really asked anyone for their opinion on anything, much less something like this. 

"Let him go?" Wayne found himself blurting out, because what else was he supposed to say? 

"Let him go?" Jerome inquired airily-- calmly... too calmly. "He just tried to kill you." Jerome stated without a smile in sight as Wayne nodded quickly. 

"He didn't though," Wayne attempted to reassure. "it's not like I ate it," Wayne determinedly kept to his rule of not killing. "I'm fine." 

For a while, Jerome just stared at Wayne, the copycats exchanging unsure glances. 

Then, Jerome abruptly grabbed his steak knife off of the table and jammed it right into the disobedient follower's jugular, Wayne's gut sinking as the copycat fell to the ground choking on his own blood while Jerome calmly stood and said in an eerily serious tone to the gurgling copycat, "If you make it through this, you can go." Jerome stood and casually gestured for the wide eyed Wayne to follow him back to their room. 

Of course, the copycat didn't make it through it. 

However, Jerome did begin doing that more often with Wayne-- began giving Wayne the choice to choose the punishment of copycats that Jerome found irksome. 

Wayne found that he could offer exile rather than just asking Jerome to let them go without punishment, and Jerome would agree, but if Wayne did that too often then Jerome would choose to just kill them, so sometimes Wayne would suggest a beating instead, which wasn't ideal, but was better than being tortured, isolated for months, or killed. 

Jerome would ask Wayne what they should do to a copycat only when they had a crowd of Jerome's followers listening to Wayne's verdict, and Wayne began to realize the copycats were beginning to view Wayne as less of the king of chaos' pet, and more as a prince that was almost their leader's equal. 

Of course, Jester didn't take kindly to that at all, but when Jester spoke up about it, Jerome nonchalantly asked Wayne for his opinion on the matter, and Wayne found himself blurting out, "Screw off.", to Jester, because he had had quite enough of Jester. 

Wayne regretted this when recalling Jerome believed he and Jester were best buddies, but then Wayne looked at Jerome, and Jerome smirked at him, looking Wayne over amusedly. 

"You're just gonna' let him talk to me like that?!" A frustrated Jester laughed in disbelief. 

"With all the shit you give him, I'd say it's about time Wayne gives you some back." Jerome answered with a shrug. 

Wayne felt like Jerome was trying to make him feel a little too at home... 

It was apparent Jerome was getting attached to Wayne, but Jerome couldn't just let go of that misguided hatred Hugo had made him clutch onto, so instead Jerome was ignoring that problem by simply not addressing it. 

Jerome was taking every measure he could to avoid having to make a final choice on where he stood with Wayne so he wouldn't have to risk killing the boy he was becoming intrigued towards. 

Jerome was also taking his increasing care for Wayne, and using it to make Wayne feel at home among him and his copycats, rather than having to let Wayne go back to his comfy mansion. 

Jerome was trying to dismiss having to choose between killing Wayne for a possible betrayal or taking a step back and telling Wayne to get out for his own safety, by instead going with an alternate option. 

An option in which Jerome and Wayne started anew here-- where they could both live like kings. 

"We could both rule this miserable city," Jerome mused one night while they shared his bed. "it would be perfect all things considered," He continued casually. "I mean, I'd say we balance each other out pretty well." Jerome chuckled nonchalantly. "I'm willing to get the job done regardless of who gets in my way, and you're merciful even when you've been pushed too far." Jerome gave a confident smirk. "You can keep me from committing overkill, and I can keep you from getting pushed around when you're trying to be too high up on your high horse and refusing to get rid of a problem." 

Wayne sat up somewhat, looking over the line of pillows between them. "Or we could just go home." 

Jerome's smirk instantly soured. "Oh, right, sorry-- should have realized this shit warehouse wasn't good enough to be a rich brat's home." He snapped back sarcastically, refusing to meet the stare Wayne gave him. 

Jerome should have figured Wayne would say as much. Why did he even bother damn well trying? It was a nice wish, at most, apparently... 

"My home isn't the mansion," Wayne then said softly. "it's wherever Alfred, Selina, Jonathan, Ivy, Harley, and Jen are..." Jerome gave a scoff, swallowing thickly and feeling his eyes begin to sting a little from what he told himself was just the cold air, stomach sinking and jaw clenching, gritting his teeth while gripping the sheets- "... home for me is wherever you are, too, Jerome." Wayne added, and somehow the boy saying exactly what Jerome had wanted to hear just made Jerome feel even worse. 

"Well what if this is where I wanna' stay?" Jerome questioned defensively. 

"I'm aware this is currently where you want to be," Wayne began to reply. "that's why I'm here, too." Jerome went quiet. "If you're set on staying here, that won't change anything I just said." 

"So what, you'd stick around if I chose to stay?" Jerome snickered skeptically. 

"I'd continue to visit your warehouse." Wayne answered instantly. 

"Glad to know you'd still hang around every once in a while." Jerome said under his breath, brow furrowing and smile becoming forced. 

At least Wayne was being honest, but it wasn't what Jerome wanted to hear. 

"Yes, Jerome, I would still hang around here," Wayne sighed, because Jerome kept taking his words the wrong way. "the same way I'd still hang around at the manor for Alfred and Jonathan, and the same way I'd still hang around Selina's place for her, Ivy, Harley, and Jen," Jerome didn't look at Wayne, keeping his eyes on the ceiling. "and the same way I'd hang around here for you, because this place might not be my home, but you sure as hell are, just like the others." 

Jerome didn't stop himself from stealing a stare at Wayne, because Jerome- Jerome... hadn't expected to hear Wayne say something like that, despite how Wayne kept saying things like that again, and again, and again. 

And it hurt. It hurt to hear Wayne say that when Jerome still didn't know what to risk letting himself believe. 

But hells did it feel good to hear Wayne say that. 

"We really could do it, you know," Jerome mused, turning on his side and propping himself up by his elbow to face Wayne with a grin. "rule this city together," Wayne wondered if Jerome had heard a word he'd said. "and those friends of yours could be a part of whatever we turn it into." Wayne just stared at Jerome. "I'd have my copycats, and you'd have your friends." 

Wayne gave a sigh, and turned his back to Jerome to lay on his side, earning a frown. "I don't need to rule this city when I have you and the others, Jerome, because that's plenty enough for me." 

Jerome's frown shifted into a taken aback expression, and at that, Jerome stopped persisting. 

Their nighttime conversations after that contained no hint of Jerome's offers for corruption. 

After what Hugo had done to Jerome, Jerome had initially wanted to torture Wayne, but that had progressed in wanting to give Wayne a quick kill, to wanting to have one of his copycats do the dirty work, to wanting to let Wayne choose which of those punishments for his betrayal he got, to wanting to beat Wayne until he was black and blue, to wanting to just push Wayne out of his sights forever, to being unsure of what he wanted to do to Wayne. 

Then, Jerome found himself wanting to just forgive Wayne, or believe Wayne, but Jerome couldn't risk putting too much faith in the younger again, so as an alternative Jerome had instead wanted to corrupt Wayne. 

Jerome wanted to take Wayne apart moral by moral until Wayne could be free from them. Wanted to offer his hand to help Wayne get off his high horse and join him at rock bottom. Wanted to show Wayne how to have some actual fun. Wanted to teach Wayne the proper way to REALLY make someone writhe and scream while killing them and spilling their blood, and then what to use to get the stains out. Wanted to watch Wayne take what Jerome had taught him, and carry it out on a copycat that stepped out of line. Wanted to make it clear the only kings in his warehouse was him and Wayne. 

Wanted to maybe even give Wayne a little makeover so he matched what Jerome was envisioning for him. Maybe gel Wayne's hair back some. Tattoo a golden star with black dust on Wayne's cheek. Put some dark purple lipstick on Wayne's lower lip, but not the top, because that would probably be a little too feminine for Wayne's tastes considering he wasn't as pizzazz induced as the ever so extroverted Jerome was. Engrave Jerome Valeska's name into Wayne's wrist so every damn person in Gotham would know to not mess with Jerome's little pet project. Give Wayne a gray t-shirt with Jerome's signature graffiti smiley face on it painted in gold, and a black leather jacket, along with some nice black pants with a silver belt and some nice black boots. Heck, maybe even some long lash mascara on one eye or some smoky eyeshadow on both eyes since Wayne seemed to be into gothic shit. A silver ring and gold choker would be what would REALLY made the look though, because as far as Jerome was concerned it wasn't a look without some snazzy accessories. Oh, and a single bat earring, of course, since Wayne seemed like he'd be a fan of vampires or some shit. 

That's what Jerome wanted to do to Wayne before. He wanted to take Wayne apart, put a signature of chaos on every bit and piece of the boy, and then put him back together by molding him into something new that Jerome found satisfactory. 

But now? Now Jerome didn't want to change Wayne in the least. Didn't want Wayne to look like one of them-- like one of the bad guys... like one of his copycats. Didn't want to corrupt Wayne. Didn't want to do anything like that. 

While that was all well and good, now Jerome was back to just wanting to undoubtedly believe Wayne, which meant he was back to being frustrated by how he couldn't just up and do that on a whim, which meant he was once again considering whether the risk was worth it. 

Jerome had stopped trying to convince Wayne to stay with him and the copycats for good at nighttime, and began instead using that time to contemplate on whether he trusted Wayne enough by now to take his word over what Jerome had once been so certain occurred. 

One time Jerome had apparently contemplated on that too much, because he found himself jerking upright in the middle of the night while waking up from a vivid nightmare where Wayne had betrayed him once again, but it had been Wayne to stab Jerome's throat rather than Theo. 

Jerome felt sick. Breathless. Wary of Wayne despite realizing it had only been a nightmare that he was now awake and away from- 

"Jerome?" Wayne spoke up with a yawn, Jerome tensing at that. "What's wrong?" 

"Nothing," Jerome assured shakily, swallowing thickly while pressing his fingertips against the stitched area on his neck. "go back to sleep." 

Wayne did not go back to sleep, of course, because Jerome hadn't sounded very convincing. "Did you... have a nightmare or something?" Wayne uncertainly asked in concern while sitting up sleepily, because why else would Jerome jerk awake like that? 

"I'm fine," Jerome assured a bit snappily without answering, but that was answer enough. "I'm just not feeling well." 

Wayne stared at Jerome with heavy eyelids, vision somewhat blurry, feeling rather tired, but not wanting to just shrug Jerome off and go back to sleep. 

So, Wayne hesitated, before not persisting on the matter, and instead just scooting the line of pillows between them to the side, Jerome quirking a brow as Wayne shifted around so he could lay back down next to criminal.

"What are you doing?" Jerome questioned unsurely. 

"Goodnight.", was Wayne's reply while he shut his eyes. 

For a long while, Jerome just stared at Wayne with an arched brow. 

Eventually, however, Jerome hesitantly laid down, and Jerome felt Wayne rest his forehead against his upper arm, and suddenly this felt very, very familiar in a way that felt very, very safe, and very, very trusting. 

So, Jerome found himself quickly drifting back off, and calmer than he'd been ever since Hugo had done all those little experiments on him. 

The next night, the line of pillows were gone, and they remained gone the night after that, and the night after that, and the night after that. 

Jerome's walls had been breaking. Initially, he'd desperately attempted to keep the cracks in the walls sternly plastered. Now, he was finding himself gladly helping Wayne tear his walls down. The entire thing felt familiar-- like he'd had enough awful experiences and enough little to no good ones to build sturdy walls to keep out anyone and everyone long before he'd met Wayne the first time. Like this is how it had felt to have the younger tear down his walls before. 

Jerome had made a kingdom of foolery within his walls, and Wayne was one of the only- if not the only- ones to come inside and manage to get Jerome to stop hiding behind walls of distracting entertainment that were keeping him trapped, and to step outside of those walls to see the world was more than just horror... and jokes used to get through that horror, because the world also apparently had some genuine good in it that refused to be smothered by the bad, and Wayne was proof of that. 

Despite how fantastic this was to realize with how skeptical Jerome had been when it came to believing the world that hadn't cared about him could have any real good in it, it was equally dreadful to realize that if it turned out Wayne had betrayed him after Jerome had already opened up to him once, then that would prove anything good in the world could sour after all, and Jerome would just have to go back to finding the bitterness in the world funny so he didn't sour, too. 

Jerome found himself often avoiding that dreading possibility by just focusing on the nicer one, in which he and Wayne would talk as though nothing was wrong with the predicament they were in. 

One afternoon, they'd been acting as though everything in the rather abnormal Gotham was normal, sitting atop the rooftop of the warehouse at an angle where they couldn't be seen by pedestrians below, Jerome laughing about jokes he told before even getting to the punchline while Wayne gave slight smiles at the cheesy jests. 

Jerome had been sharing an apple with Wayne, using his knife to cut slices of the fruit for the younger when suddenly the weapon slipped from his fingertips. 

They'd both grabbed at it, but Wayne had accidentally gripped the blade, causing him to cuss and jerk back, Jerome's eyes going wide and allowing the knife to slip from his grasp and slide off the roof so he could instead quickly check Wayne's bleeding hand. 

Wayne had cussed under his breath a few times and dug his heels into the roof as Jerome grasped his wrist and attempted to look over the injury despite Wayne's childish objections, but eventually Wayne settled for just pleading Jerome to not touch the wound when the older one pried away the younger's hand that Wayne had been trying to hold closely tucked under his arm. 

Jerome kept from rolling his eyes as he assured Wayne he wouldn't touch the gash he examined, which at least looked as though it would just need a disinfecting and some bandages, but no stitches. 

Wayne had proudly insisted he was fine when Jerome asked him if he was okay, which Jerome found was a lie when he looked up and was met with glossy eyes. 

When emerald irises met bluish gray ones, Wayne realized they were rather close, and started to avert his gaze, clear his throat, and shift away somewhat to give Jerome some space. 

Before Wayne could do that, however, Jerome also realized there wasn't a lot of distance between them, and dangit Wayne felt incredibly silly whenever he got all flustered around Jerome and Selina, but Wayne was getting flustered as usual, and- 

Wayne's eyes went wide as Jerome leaned forward instead of back, and oh so suddenly Jerome's mouth was against Wayne's, and Jerome's hand was still gripping the wrist of Wayne's bleeding hand, and Jerome was kissing Wayne in a way that was excitingly unexpected and sending sparks all throughout Wayne despite how it was just lips simply brushing against lips. 

It made Wayne feel like butterflies were suddenly fluttering to life in his stomach, and his gut was doing the kind of flip flops it would do on a rollercoaster, and warmth was sparking and spreading all throughout him, and okay Wayne had always found those cliches kind of silly, and unrealistic, and odd, but now Wayne was actually experiencing them and they felt amazing enough to drown in, because he'd never been anxious in a good way like this. 

Jerome realized Wayne's lips were a bit cold, so he instinctively raised his free hand to rest against Wayne's cheek somewhat cold cheek, trailing his palm down to cup Wayne's neck, smirking as Wayne let out a soft noise of surprise and leaned into the touch. 

Wayne shivered, uncertain as to whether he did so from the cold or the rather nice sensation Jerome's warm hand brought against his skin, absolutely melting into the kiss as Jerome dipped forward somewhat. 

All the other kisses had been so anxiety inducing with how they consisted of that in which Wayne wasn't sure what to expect, or how suddenly the kisses had occurred like blurted out words, or how confusing the unexpected kisses were, or how Wayne had always been the one to uncertainly initiate them. 

This kiss though? Wayne had time to enjoy this kiss and actually experience it outside of focusing on internally freaking out. 

This kiss hadn't been TOO out of the blue-- it had at least had some buildup. Although there was one little problem with this kiss that made Wayne rather reluctantly pull back. 

Jerome kept his hand cupping Wayne's neck, staring down into questioning bluish gray eyes and patiently waiting for Wayne to finally say, "Why- um... why are you-" 

Jerome raised a brow. "Didn't you tell me you used to have a thing for me?" 

The tips of Wayne's ears reddened. "I do- I mean- I DID- well..." Jerome smirked, Wayne's cheeks heating up at how Jerome looked him up and down amusedly. "I DO have a thing for you, but-" Jerome's head tilted in amusement, and Wayne's entire face was close to being a rosy shade of pink. "-but you definitely don't return the feelings!" Wayne huffed embarrassedly. 

Jerome gave a hum and corrected, "I didn't return the feelings," Poor Wayne looked completely flushed at that. "maybe that's changed." Jerome's thumb ran his thumb over a sliver of skin on Wayne's neck, causing the younger to nearly become putty. 

"Maybe you shouldn't be making risky choices on significant stuff like that when you're still recovering from what Hugo did to you and in an incredibly unstable state." A flustered Wayne countered. 

Jerome gave a shrug and pulled Wayne a bit closer by his wrist. "Maybe I like being risky." 

Wayne wanted to let Jerome pull him closer, he really did, but for Jerome's sake he pulled back, because he doubted Jerome would be behaving like this if Jerome was completely back to his old self and recalled everything about his past and friendship with Wayne... like the whole age thing. 

So, Wayne jerked his wrist out of Jerome's grasp, causing Jerome's hand to retreat from his neck, the younger insisting, "Maybe you shouldn't make a choice on whether or not you have a thing for me until you have all the facts!" 

Jerome smirked and leaned forward, face dangerously close to Wayne's. "Maybe you've given me enough facts." 

Wayne started to shift away from Jerome. "Well maybe you should consider that just one fact could change tha-" Wayne's eyes widened as he shifted at an awkward angle, loosing his balance on the slanted roofing and letting out a strangled noise in the back of his throat as he slid down the surface he attempted and failed to plant himself against. 

Wayne instinctively reached towards Jerome, Jerome already reaching for his wrist, tugging the boy back up the surface he'd slightly slid down. 

Now, Wayne had almost thanked Jerome, but then he noticed the smug smirk Jerome was giving him, and realized Jerome was still grasping his wrist, not to mention they were rather close to one another again. 

"Stop that." Wayne grumbled, face heating up again, aware he was in a somewhat awkward stance with how he was on his knees with his back facing the edge of the roof, having to be careful with how he moved around to make sure he didn't lose his footing, Jerome's grasp on his wrist helping balance him. 

Jerome smirked as Wayne's gaze averted, oh so innocently chuckling, "Stop what?" 

Wayne gave Jerome a slight glare, because he knew that Jerome knew exactly what he was talking about. "Being all..." Wayne trailed off. 

"Being all what?" Jerome hummed, tugging Wayne closer by his wrist. 

Being all flirty. 

"What are you doing?" A flustered Wayne muttered whence being pulled closer. 

"I'm just helping you back up." Jerome answered amusedly, faces once again only inches apart. 

Jerome was making it VERY hard for Wayne to do the right thing and dismiss his advances. 

"I don't need your help." Wayne muttered quietly, attempting to give Jerome a serious look, rather than looking at Jerome's smirking lips. 

Jerome gave a hum. "Didn't say you needed anything," He rubbed his thumb against Wayne's wrist, feeling the younger's pulse race. "just suggested you could possibly want a little help." 

"I don't want anything from you." Wayne lied, trying and failing to sound firm. 

"Oh really?" Jerome quietly chuckled amusedly. 

"Yes," Wayne said softly. "really." 

Jerome smirked, leaning forward somewhat. "You can tell me to back off..." He offered. 

Wayne didn't. 

Instead, Wayne let Jerome pull him into another kiss, and practically became putty in Jerome's hands, absolutely melting into Jerome, essentially falling apart at the affection. 

Wayne only allowed the kiss to last for a few seconds, however. Less than ten, at that. 

Initially, Jerome figured Wayne was just pulling back for air, and started to lean forward again. 

"Don't." Wayne reluctantly objected, Jerome halting. "Don't..." Wayne sighed, gaze averting as Jerome quirked a brow. "If you were in your right mind then- then you wouldn't want to..." Wayne trailed off. 

Jerome stared at Wayne, no longer smiling, looking more concerned than anything. "Are you all right?" He asked, realizing Wayne was being serious, wanting to make sure he hadn't overstepped any boundaries. Wayne nodded and swallowed thickly. "Okay," Jerome muttered, carefully releasing Wayne's wrist, making sure Wayne had his balance. "I'll back off until I finish reading the journal and get all the facts." 

Wayne hesitantly looked up at Jerome. "Or you could just let me tell you why you wouldn't return the feelings." 

Jerome gave a cheeky grin while laying down on his back. "Where's the fun in that?" He'd rather figure this puzzle out himself. 

Wayne sighed, but ended up laying next to Jerome as day turned to night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to AO3 writer TheHiddenFiles! She's the best pen pal I have online, and honestly one of the best friends I have in general. 
> 
> She's also been here for me lately during a very sorrowful time for me that involved an event I'd never really experienced until recently. She listened to what was going on, and then helped me feel a bit better through just talking with me and whatnot afterwards, and I genuinely feel like she's played a very significant part in helping me cope. 
> 
> She recently updated her Valeyne fic "The Wildcard", which you can check out in the link below! 
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/8130245/chapters/31132839


	44. Replenishing a Tainted Seed

A few days later had been a relatively normal day. Or at least, as normal as a day among Jerome's copycats could be, in any case. Primarily, it consisted of Jerome writing some chaotic plans down pertaining to how to cause havoc in Gotham city, but not getting very far with how Wayne would keep bothering him. At least, Jerome used to claim it was bothersome, but now he just listened whenever Wayne would talk to him, staring at the younger and tilting his head as Wayne spoke, rather than rolling his eyes, scoffing, and turning his attention somewhere else like he used to. 

Nowadays, Jerome looked at Wayne as less of a bother, and as more of a distraction. Not a bad distraction, per se-- just a distraction. Something that would distract Jerome from impulsively stirring up risky trouble. Something that would distract Jerome from dreadfully contemplating on how he'd eventually have to choose whether he believed Wayne and admitted his wrongs, or whether he became convinced he was right and Wayne was a traitor he had to end after all. Something that would distract Jerome by making Jerome smirk or snicker, rather than making Jerome give an annoyed chuckle as he generally did when being distracted. 

Wayne was a pleasant distraction, to say the least. 

Jerome had told a joke as he and Wayne laid sideways on the air mattress with their legs hanging off the edge while they stared up at the ceiling, causing Wayne to look at the older one, attempting and failing to hold in his laughter, Jerome grinning and adding another line to the joke through his own laughs, causing Wayne to roll his eyes and give a soft slap to Jerome's shoulder at the cheeky look of success on Jerome's face from getting the oh so proper Wayne to laugh at a silly joke like that. 

Wayne suddenly buried his face against Jerome's shoulder, giving a sigh as a smile remained on his lips, eyes closing as he said with a soft chuckle, "I've missed this..." 

Jerome faltered at that, grin falling, aware Wayne was referring to... well, THIS. To the two of them just being able to enjoy one another's company and just being able to laugh with each other like this-- to just being friends like this. 

Jerome cleared his throat, once joking demeanor suddenly becoming very serious despite the smile he kept on, nudging Wayne gently while muttering, "Yeah... yeah, me, too." 

Wayne hadn't expected Jerome to say it back in all honesty. Sure, things between him and Jerome were gradually but certainly getting back to how they'd once been, but Wayne was still never sure about just how much progress they'd made considering Jerome would oftentimes be seeming to open back up one second, and then closing Wayne off the next. 

"I've missed YOU." Wayne added quietly, staring up at Jerome a bit uncertainly-- anxiously... noting the questioning raised brow. "I've missed the old you." 

Jerome wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning either-- he was just eying Wayne over. "I'm not exactly sure I'm all the way back to the old me." It wasn't a funny statement, or a joke, or a jest, or an amusing set of words... it was just honesty-- honesty that felt odd to actually admit... particularly out loud. 

The side of Wayne's hand absentmindedly touched the side of Jerome's, doing so more due to instinct brought on by comfort than anything. A while back, friendly showings and acts of affection between the two had become normal. Then, Hugo had yanked Jerome away to pull at his strings, and everything between Jerome and Wayne had seemed to rot and turn cold with the doctor's influences. However, there had been a sliver of weak hope that had prevailed and survived between the two boys. Now, that hope had been rekindled after being nearly put out several times, and it was stronger than ever. 

Now, Wayne and Jerome were becoming familiar with one another again, and it was like something in their very cores couldn't stop pulling, and gravitating, and tugging the two teens towards one another's sides. Their bond was healing, and mending them closer. 

"You're a lot closer to being the old you now, than you were to being the old you before." Wayne said softly, and it hurt-- it hurt to not have Jerome completely back. 

But hells did it feel damn good to have most of him back. 

Progress had been made, and it was still being made. 

Jerome didn't argue with that. Instead, he just said rather seriously, "I missed you, too.", and found his pinky seeming to have a mind of its own as it rested over Wayne's, the older one tensing upon fully registering the small yet significant gesture he'd just done and the simple yet significant words he'd just said, considering retreating and pulling away, but instead relaxing as Wayne nudged him gently. 

Wayne wasn't quite sure why a finger simply touching a finger was so significant-- why it made his pulse speed up, and his throat nearly close, and his stomach absolutely leap, and the beats his chest suddenly become much quicker and harder. Why his little crush he'd previously been effectively getting under control for a good while had lately been suddenly spiraling out of control. 

To be fair, Wayne felt like he did a rather good job of keeping on a fall façade as he only quietly swallowed thickly and chewed the inside of his cheek. 

You can imagine how much Wayne's spiked senses and his awareness of his surroundings spiked even more when Jerome gave a quiet sigh and leaned forward, their foreheads gently touching, emerald eyes sliding shut as bluish gray ones widened, Jerome feeling the calmest he'd felt for a long while-- something about Wayne relaxed him, and it felt nice... 

Perhaps Wayne's crush was worsening thanks to there being something a bit off about the way Jerome had begun acting around him... not a bad off, per se... just... off-- as in something new was there that Wayne wasn't used to since it hadn't been there before. 

Something new and more genuine than joking that was a something which Wayne got the feeling was only there because Jerome was misinterpreting that very something thanks to not having all the facts. It was a something that Wayne REALLY wanted to accept, but kept having to reject-- for Jerome's sake, because if Jerome was in his right mind then he wouldn't be... 

... 

... "Jerome?" Wayne spoke up softly, burying his face against the crook Jerome's neck. 

Jerome craned his neck, gladly allowing the younger to nuzzle against him, smiling amusedly as Wayne scooted closer against him. "Hm?" He hummed, keeping his eyes shut. 

"Let's run away." Wayne found himself commenting, keeping his face buried against Jerome's neck. 

Jerome blinked, quirking a brow. "What?" 

Wayne looked up at that, Jerome taken aback by the rather serious look despite how Wayne was generally so serious, because this time the smaller one looked EXTRA serious... 

"Lets run away." Wayne repeated, Jerome realizing he had in fact heard the younger right. 

Jerome stared at Wayne for a few lengthy seconds, not quite knowing what to say to that. "What- uh..." He gave an unsure laugh. "What are you-" 

Wayne gave a sigh, suddenly sitting upright before standing, Jerome watching the other walk forward and pace a bit before Wayne crossed his arms and looked at the taller one to say once more with a shrug, "Let's run away." When Jerome just stared at him, Wayne continued, "We could get out of here-- out of this city," Wayne began to pace around again. "you wouldn't have to worry about Hugo getting ahold of you again, and I wouldn't have to worry about-" Wayne swallowed thickly, gaze averting. "-about losing you again." Jerome frowned at that, looking Wayne over as the billionaire quickly added, "We could go to Switzerland- no... Bhutan! Or we could even go to France! You said a while back that you've always wanted to go to France, right?" Wayne didn't wait for an answer before continuing, "In any case, we could go wherever you want to-- I have more than enough funds to get us set up somewhere nice." Wayne put on a smile, it being unclear as to whether it was a smile meant to convincingly reassure himself or Jerome of the plan he was offering. "I could bring Alfred, and Selina and the others, and you- heck... you could even bring a few copycats if you want-- like Jack and Jeannie!" 

"Wayne..." Jerome finally spoke up, not smiling in the least. 

Wayne didn't hesitate to halt at hearing his name spoken, smile falling as he looked at Jerome while the criminal eyed him over, Wayne's gut sinking, the younger already feeling silly for even suggesting something like that when Jerome still wasn't completely sure about where he stood with Wayne-- as though Jerome would just up and trust Wayne so blindly when they weren't in the clear yet. 

"It-" Wayne cleared his throat, looking towards the ground. "It's not a very good idea, is it?" He muttered, and it was a rhetorical question. 

Jerome furrowed his brow, studying the smaller one, hesitantly murmuring, "What about Theo?" 

It wasn't a no... 

Wayne blinked, looking at Jerome taken aback. "Huh?" 

Jerome kept their eyes locked, examining Wayne's expression, wanting to see how Wayne would react as he repeated, "What about Theo?" 

For a while, Wayne just stared at Jerome. Eventually, Wayne gave a scoff and threw his hands in the air while quite simply saying, "I don't give a shit about Theo! He can stay in this crime infested city and for all I care, and rot away like everything else does here!" 

Wayne didn't bother sugarcoating his answer. 

Jerome quirked a brow at the outburst, Wayne averting his gaze to the side and chewing his lower lip while going quiet, silence filling the thick air between them. 

Wayne wasn't sure how many seconds went by, or even minutes, because it certainly felt like minutes in which he and Jerome just stared at one another, Wayne hesitantly glancing at Jerome and then not daring to break his gaze away as the criminal observed him, Wayne's expression uncertain and antsy while Jerome's was skeptical and hesitant. 

Eventually, Jerome said something. Eventually, Jerome replied. Eventually, Jerome gave an answer. 

Eventually, Jerome muttered, "All right..." 

Wayne blinked, attempting to not get his hopes up as he questioned, "...'All right'...?", because that answer was surely too good to be true... 

... 

... wasn't it..? 

Jerome hesitated, but gave a nod while adding, "I'll go," Jerome paused, noting the way that Wayne's shock melted into relief, and then the most joyous expression Jerome had ever seen cover the stoic boy's face. "on two conditions..." 

Wayne's expression fell, because he should have expected that-- he should have expected it wouldn't be that easy. Expected there would be a catch. 

"Okay..?" Wayne uncertainly inquired, ready for the worst... ready to be given terms he just couldn't agree to. 

Jerome stood, walking towards Wayne and still getting used to how Wayne was the only person that was fully aware of just who Jerome Valeska was, yet didn't back up in fear whenever the villain approached him like everyone else in this city did, which Jerome had found annoying at first when figuring it was the boy's way of being defiant, but now he just found it endearing the naïve billionaire trusted him that much; it was almost sweet-- like having a loyal pup that didn't understand its so called perfect owner was actually a cruel person that caused harm to the world around him thanks to how all it could focus on was how its owner doted on it. 

The only differences were Wayne was completely aware of the things Jerome had done, and Jerome had gone from viewing Wayne as a pet to be played with for nothing more than entertainment less and less, and... well... viewing Wayne as... something else more and more. 

Jerome just wasn't sure what that something else was yet. A friend, perhaps? To be fair, Jerome wasn't exactly used to having those-- at least not genuine ones, in any case. 

Jerome halted in front of Wayne, less than a foot in between them, wanting to catch and examine every little detail that flickered along Wayne's face to study his reaction to his next words. 

"I kill Theo." Jerome stated, wanting to REALLY see just how attached Wayne still was to that bastard. 

Wayne's eyebrows raised, because it was almost a perfect request since Azrael was already dead thanks to Oswald, so accepting Jerome's offer wouldn't result in any actual blood shed. 

Jerome hadn't expected Wayne to say, "Deal.", so quickly and confidently, the king of chaos quirking a brow while Wayne wasted no time in asking, "What's the second condition?" 

Well that had been... surprisingly easy; Jerome had expected Wayne to be at least a LITTLE reluctant about Jerome killing literally anyone considering the billionaire was such a goody two shoes. Nonetheless, Jerome wasn't about to complain; perhaps he'd rubbed off on Wayne a little... 

Wayne's answer had been good enough for Jerome, so Jerome gave a smirk and continued, "The second condition is you let me take you on a date." 

Poor Wayne nearly choked on air, breath catching in his throat, because Jerome's conditions were far from being anything but a win-win. 

However, as excited as Wayne was about Jerome's recent (confused) affection towards him, he was also aware Jerome was only behaving this was because he wasn't aware of all the circumstances between them... like the whole age thing... 

So, Wayne did the right thing (which certainly wasn't the fun thing) and said, "If you let me tell you why you wouldn't return the feelings in your right mind, then I'll go on a date with you if you still want to go." Wayne bargained. 

Jerome rolled his eyes, arms crossing. "Well maybe I'm not a fan of being in my right mind." After all, it was proving to be so much more FUN to be able to do and say whatever he pleased even more so than he recalled ever doing so before. 

"That's my offer." Wayne stated with a shrug. 

Jerome gave a heavy sigh, smirking nonetheless. "You just want to ruin all the fun we could have, huh?" 

"I want to be a decent person and make sure you regret as little as possible whenever you get back to normal." Wayne corrected, Jerome scoffing while cracking a smile nonetheless. 

"You just have to be so self righteous all the time, don't you?" Jerome groaned with a chuckle. 

"Oh I'm sorry that me looking out for you is such a horrible thing to do." Wayne sarcastically grumbled, because he REALLY did want to date Jerome, so it wasn't like he wanted to say no, and Jerome's arguing didn't make it much easier. 

"We already agreed I'd figure out whatever bummer thing you're referring to on my own." Jerome persisted. 

"You're literally just procrastinating disappointment," Wayne exhaled irked. "I don't see why I can't just-" 

"How about this," Jerome interjected, not wanting Wayne to spoil their agreement. "I take you on a date, and if you still want to tell me why things wouldn't work out if I had all the facts afterwards, then you can," Jerome gave a grin. "that way I can see if the cons of whatever you reveal outweighs the pros to our little date." Jerome's expression turned smug. "Or you can turn the offer down and I can turn down yours about running away." 

For the love of- 

"You're really not going to let this one go?" Wayne questioned despite already being aware of the answer, earning a cheeky smile and letting out a long breath. "Why are you so persistent on this when I'm the one that liked you?" 

"Maybe I've started returning the feelings," Jerome answered with a shrug, and Wayne was trying to not get his hopes up, but Jerome was been making that pretty damn hard. "then again... maybe not, depending on whatever you have to say," He added with the stare Wayne gave him. "either way, I'd say a date to see how things go and then an explanation on what you have to say would clear things up..." 

Wayne gave a slight glare to Jerome. "You are the most persistent jackass I've ever met." 

Jerome gave a snicker. "Hey, if you don't want to go on the date because YOU don't want to, then by all means-- we can call things off," He offered, Wayne considering his words. "but if you don't go on a date just because you're worried about me, don't sweat it-- unless you're like... my cousin or something, I'm not about to regret this." Jerome's expression fell. "Wait, we're not step brothers or long lost siblings, are we?" 

"What? No-" Wayne started to answer. 

"In that case, have we come to an arrangement?" Jerome hummed with a smirk, stretching out his hand, Wayne glancing at it with a frown before looking back up towards the grinning Jerome, just staring at him for a while. 

Then, Wayne gave a sigh and shook the offered hand, Jerome's smile widening. "Fine." It was clear that was the best negotiation Wayne was going to get, because Jerome could be a stubborn ass, too, so Wayne took the compromise and agreed to it. 

"I'll pick you up at seven-- sharp." Jerome teased with a grin and cheeky wink. 

"Well I certainly hope it'll be seven sharp," Wayne commented, hand pulling back. "considering we share the same room now, I doubt there would be a good excuse for lateness." Wayne was joking... in a slightly serious kind of way. 

"Don't worry-- I'm a VERY punctual guy." Jerome assured with a smirk. 

"I'll take your word on that." Wayne mused, almost smiling at the grin Jerome gave him. "What exactly are we doing for this little 'date' in any case?" 

"It's a surprise," Jerome hummed, and Wayne liked Jerome-- he really did... but anytime he heard the ginger claim something was a 'surprise' Wayne couldn't help but become a bit nervous about what exactly the unpredictable other could have in store. "I'm going to go get things ready." Jerome informed while exiting the room with a hop in his step, leaving behind a very worrying Wayne. 

Wow. Jerome was seriously going on a date with Wayne... 

"You can't be seriously going on a date with Wayne!" Jester scoffed in disbelief as Jerome had his copycats help him set things up. 

"You know, Jester, I'm usually not a serious kinda' guy, but yeah-- I am 'seriously' taking Wayne on a date." Jerome dismissively replied while giving one of the copycats a list of things to go out and steal for the event. 

"Since when do you have a thing for that brat?!" Jester bitterly laughed in aggravation. 

Jerome gave a shrug, not really paying any mind to Jester. "I'm just interested in seeing whether we click well or not when it comes to stuff like this." 

"You click terribly." Jester snapped, earning a look. 

"Oh come on now, Jester-- you're not jealous, are you?" Jerome mocked in attempts to get Jester to embarrassedly back off. 

"Jealous?" Jester questioned with a forced smile, throat clearing at the stare Jerome gave him. "No, I'm- I'm definitely not-" Jerome quirked a brow. "I'm not jealous!" Jester said defensively. "I'm just-" Jerome eyed him unsurely. "I'm just worried about you!" 

Well that had been an... interesting reaction. 

"Worried about me?" Jerome questioned, arms crossing. 

"Yes! Worried about you!" Jester confirmed with a strained laugh. "That little brat has you wrapped around his pinky all nice and snug-- he's playing you, and you know it! One minute things are all nice and sweet, and the next... BAM! He leads Theo right to you, and they both take you out together RIGHT after you've gotten all nice and comfy and trusting! You're practically setting yourself up to be backstabbed again!" 

"Is that so?" Jerome said in an extremely calm voice that was oddly a little too relaxed. 

Jester's grin turned into an anxious smile despite him saying as confidentially as he could, "Yes, it is so! That brat is totally messing around with you again!" 

Jerome gave a nod, arms crossing, not smiling in the least. "Mhm..." He stepped forward, looking at the ground for a few seconds as he continued nodding, considering Jester's words, eventually looking back up towards Jester, there being very little distance between them, Jerome invading Jester's personal space. "Tell me something, Jester," Jerome locked his gaze with the copycat's, studying him. "did you ever actually see Wayne betray me?" 

Jester faltered. "What?" 

Jerome didn't back down. "You just seem so certain that Wayne betrayed me... surely you saw him do it." 

Jester opened his lips to say something, before shutting them, and the reopening them to stutter, "I-I-" He cleared his throat, not daring to look away from the ever so watchful Jerome, swallowing thickly. "I saw what happened at the Charity Ball." He answered, chin raising as he straightened up. 

Jerome nodded, still not smiling, keeping his eyes on Jester. "You saw what happened at the Charity Ball..." He leaned forward, Jester sinking back. "and just what exactly happened at the Charity Ball, Jester?" 

Jester was aware Jerome was trying to intimidate him, and it was working. "Theo-" Jester's throat and tongue was incredibly dry. "Theo stabbed you, and-" Jerome wasn't even blinking. "-and Wayne just left you there-- without trying to do anything... without attempting to help." Jester was trying to sound so sure about what he was saying, but his voice was wavering and weak. "Theo got to look like the hero, Wayne got to look like the victim, and you got to look like the villain that they left behind." 

"Right, right..." Jerome didn't budge, Jester nearly getting the shakes. "tell me something though, Jester-- how exactly did you come to the conclusion that Wayne and I even knew each other before the Charity Ball?" Jerome seemed to look right through Jester. "I mean, really-- you certainly seem so sure that Wayne was in on whatever Theo and I were in on, instead of the kiddo just being some poor passerby-" 

"You believe him," Jester weakly laughed in disbelief. "you believe the brat." Jester couldn't come up with a way to answer Jerome's question without incriminating himself, but he got where Jerome was going with this, so he tried to change the subject to that somewhat so he wouldn't have to answer the question. 

It had been answer enough for Jerome. 

Jerome pulled away, hands going behind his back as he straightened up, chin inclining. "I'm certainly considering his side of the story," Jerome confirmed, turning his back to Jester. "and he has a name." He was getting tired of people calling Wayne 'brat'-- it was getting old, and one thing Jerome hated was old jokes that were overused. "Oh, and Jester?" Jerome added, looking over his shoulder. "You've tried enough shit with Wayne-- if I find out you've bothered him again from here on out, you're getting overdosed on laughing gas." 

At that, Jerome promptly walked off, leaving Jester to soak in the threat. 

It seemed Jerome was returning to the stick in the mud that Wayne had turned him into before Jester and Hugo had fixed and freed the ginger into what he was meant to be... 

... 

... and Jester just couldn't have that happen-- he couldn't let Wayne ruin Jerome again... Jerome was in Jester's grasp now, and Jester wasn't about to let go and give him back and just let the greedy Wayne have him again when it was Jester's turn. 

So, Jester went to talk to the one man he was almost certain could ruin the bridge Wayne had started to build back between him and Jerome. 

Jester still hadn't returned by seven. 

Jerome wondered where the copycat had stormed off to, although he wasn't complaining considering he didn't exactly mind Jester not being there for his and Wayne's little date-- it made it all the more likely there wouldn't be someone there attempting to kill Wayne, and considering attempts to murder would probably be considered a bit of a downer on romantic outings, Jerome wasn't complaining. 

In fact, other than Jester it seemed Jerome had managed to get most of his copycats to go from viewing Wayne from being a pest, to a pet, to a prince, to practically Jerome's equal that they didn't dare mess with. 

It was almost sad Wayne was so set on being such a law abiding citizen... Jerome truly did feel as though he and Wayne could rule this city side by side absolutely perfectly. Jerome, inflicting chaos upon anyone who stepped out of line-- and Wayne, being there to show such precious mercy whenever Jerome started to go a little to far. They really would balance each other out... Jerome, making sure Wayne was never walked all over, and Wayne being sure to keep Jerome just grounded enough. 

Alas, Wayne was clearly more of a knight than a prince... he obviously had no interest in ruling this miserable city-- he only had the intent to protect it. 

Jerome found it admirable. A bit annoying at times, and rather amusing, but mostly admirable. 

Regardless, Jerome wasn't so sure that he really wanted to take this sad, sad city and turn it into something entertaining-- at least not with Wayne by his side... Wayne would have to change if Jerome did that, and Jerome wasn't quite sure he wanted Wayne to change. 

After all, Jerome couldn't help but feel as though one of the reasons he and Wayne had such a strong gravitational pull to one another was because they were polar opposites, and Jerome didn't want to risk taking that connection and changing it into something less meaningful. 

When it came down to it, Jerome didn't want to tamper with... whatever it was he and Wayne had. 

Jerome was all smiles, Wayne was all glares. Jerome spent his time having the time of his life, Wayne spent his time taking everything so seriously. Jerome wanted to show people the funny side of things through tough love and amusing acts of cruelty so they saw things from his view, while Wayne wanted to protect everyone from the kinds of things he'd been through. Jerome tried to joke around in hard situations in attempts to make them seem not so tough, and Wayne tried to help people get through rough times through empathy. Jerome was unpredictable and spontaneous, and Wayne was calm, collected, and rational. 

There were, of course, things they had in common, however. 

They were both orphans, for one-- even if it was thanks to slightly different reasons. They had both been traumatized... despite it being in somewhat different ways. They both wanted to change this miserable city into something else-- even though Jerome wanted to turn it into something fun, and Wayne wanted to turn it into something safe, which were two very contradicting things since fun things often weren't safe things... 

They both cared about each other-- deeply. They both had a bond... a strong one. They both wanted to be there for one another, and help one another, and look out for one another. 

They both had never quite had such a close friend like the other. 

What Jerome and Wayne had was complex, and neither were exactly sure on just what it was that they had, or what it was it would develop into since it was still becoming more and more significant as their actions shaped it, but it was... something like a bond, and it was something that was pulling Jerome back towards Wayne-- even when Jerome was being manipulated by Hugo. 

Hugo had broken many things in Jerome, but the bond was still there, and not beyond repair. 

The bond was what was also keeping Wayne by Jerome's side despite the risks. 

Of course, the bond was what was kept Wayne stubbornly refusing to listen to Charm's warnings about how he was sticking to Jerome's side rather than pulling away, and only delaying something that would be harder to accept with time. 

Lately, Charm had been showing up in Wayne's dreams a lot more in attempts to steer him on a path he was trying to avoid, so Wayne was rather tired considering he'd been getting less and less sleep in attempts to avoid her. 

However, Wayne had a date, so the peculiar emotion of absolutely brimming with pure raw excitement while also feeling as though he was going to hurl with gut wrenching anxiety had his senses rather alert, despite his exhaustion. 

Wayne had felt this before-- it was nothing new. He'd felt it when he'd first kissed Selina, and when Silver had first kissed him, and when he'd admitted his feelings to Jerome who knows how many times... 

Nonetheless, considering Jerome was still not exactly himself, and considering everything that had been going on lately, and considering Wayne was living in a hideout with Jerome's copycats, and considering all the shit Jester had been giving him, and considering Wayne was exhausted thanks to his attempts to avoid Charm, and considering Wayne was about to go on his very first date with Jerome Valeska, Wayne couldn't help but feel an amplified emotion of utter excitement accompanied by feeling sick to his stomach. 

It certainly didn't help when Wayne heard a familiar voice say, "You're only making this entire ordeal harder." 

Wayne jumped, snapping out of his worrying, eyes widening at the sight of Charm hovering over the floorboards, and oh no way... 

"You're following me outside of my dreams now?!" Wayne scoffed in disbelief, keeping his voice low. "Or am I just going crazy at this point?!"

"Jerome has given and given and given you the chance to take the bond you've formed and break it in order to go your separate ways," Charm spoke, not replying to Wayne's comment. "you need to take that chance and allow the future to unfold as it intends to." 

"Go away!" Wayne whispered urgently. "I'm going on a date-- I don't need you following me around and whispering this bullshit into my ear right now!" 

Charm wasn't amused. "You can build a dam to allow the waters of the future to gather and delay, however they will eventually overflow." 

"Why don't you go talk to a motivational speaker about this crap instead of me?! At least he'd get use from it and be able to put it on motivational posters to make a little cash or something!" Wayne snapped under his breath. 

Charm crossed her arms. "In the short run what you're doing can be viewed in your current eyes as a relief, however in the long run this will only result in a greater ache-- the closer you get to those you now call friend, the harder it will cause each of you to fall when you must eventually go your own ways." 

"I heard you the first dozen times!" Wayne huffed, keeping his voice low. "If it's not clear, one of the last things I want is your advice-" 

Charm swooped forward, Wayne scrambling back as she leaned towards him. "You doubt I have set foot in the future I've told you of?" Her voice practically boomed, the room nearly shaking, Wayne going wide eyed. "I showed you glimpses of what's to come out of mercy so you have the chance to pull away now rather than later when the sting will hold more significance. "She met Wayne's gaze, the billionaire tensing as black fog with tints of green swooped around the room menacingly. "Do not mistake my tipping generosity towards you as ignorant nagging, boy." 

Wayne swallowed thickly, saying in a much meeker tone, "I- I'm not- I'm just- not- um..." 

Charm raised her chin, straightening up while retreating, the flickering lighting in the room returning to normal, the fog dissolving, the rage returning to calmness almost as quickly as it had come about. "The longer you try to find another path that is not there, the more defeated you'll become upon realizing the only way out of this is by your own path, which does not have ways around this solid event that's sure to come." 

Wayne eyed Charm cautiously. "Okay." He quietly spoke up, not exactly wanting to piss her off again, deciding to just agree with whatever she said even if he didn't know what the heck she was talking about half of the time. 

Charm looked Wayne over before giving a sigh. "Heed my warning, Wayne, and allow Jerome to become what he is destined to be, while allowing yourself to become what you're meant to be-- know that trying to stop these things will not result in anything other than failure, for eventually Jerome will become a king of chaos, and you will become a knight of Gotham," A pause. "and you will no longer be by one another's sides when that day comes, for you'll instead be busy instead being at one another's throats." 

Wayne's mixture of excitement and dread had pretty much just turned to dread, because what Charm was saying was being a real bummer... 

"You're-" Wayne furrowed his brow, swallowing dryly, hands going into fists as he sat up. "You're making it sound like Jerome's a lost cause," Wayne said as surely as he could. "but he's not-- he's trying to become better, and he's returning to his old self, and-" Wayne determinedly met Charm's gaze, confidentially insisting, "-and so is everyone else!" Charm quirked a brow at that. "Selina, Ivy, Jonathan, Harley, Jen... even Thomas-- they're all taking what the world's thrown at them... what this CITY'S thrown at them... and they're throwing it right back and refusing to let Gotham knock them down to its level," He stood up, bravely approaching the taken aback Charm, causing her to even hover back somewhat every so slightly as he stomped towards her. "they're just good kids surrounded by bad people, and I see them refusing to turn into the awful people around them-- I see them making sure they're NOTHING like the people that have caused them harm, because the last thing they want to become is the ones that they hate," Wayne halted in front of Charm, meeting her surprised stare with a taken aback glare. "so don't you DARE tell me they have to turn out like the ones that have ruined their lives!" 

For a while, Charm just stared at Wayne, and he was pretty sure the shocked expression she was giving him was just about one of the only expressions she'd ever given him since they first met; it was almost weird to see her as anything but cool and collected. 

After only a few seconds, the shock faded into something akin to what would be best described as impatience, because she had grown weary of having to explain this again, and again, and again. 

So, she tried a not so subtle and not so sugarcoated approach. 

"You're wrong," Charm said simply, leaning forward to Wayne's eye level, continuing to hover about a foot or so off the floor. "because the truth is, Wayne, each of those dear friends you named which you oh so adore do become exactly like those they despise," Wayne's expression fell, her own expression more serious than ever. "they become the kinds of people that inflict the kinds of horrors they've experienced onto the citizens of your cherished city," Charm looked Wayne right in the eye. "they become villains." 

"But-" Wayne started to argue. 

"Do you want to know why they become villains, Wayne?" Charm interjected, Wayne going quiet. "Because unlike you, they don't have an Alfred-- they don't have someone to lean on and show them a path of healing through heroism, rather than a path of vengeance on the world that they blame for showing them more cruelty than love." 

"They have me," Wayne countered, staring right back at Charm. "and I plan on giving them a shoulder to lean on when they're tired, and a hot meal when they're hungry, and a shelter when they're cold, and a home when they're lost, and a friend when they're lonely." 

Charm gave a sigh, hand stretching out. "Don't you understand any of what I've been trying to tell you, Wayne?" She reached towards his cheek. "Don't you understand why they become villains?" Her palm hovered less than centimeters away from his cheek. "They become what they become because you leave them to sour in this city just like everyone else does, and they lose you much like they've lost all others that they once loved." 

Wayne's very core churned and sank, his blood seeming to go ice cold. "I would never leave them-" 

"Oh," Charm said, giving Wayne a sympathetic look. "but you do, Wayne-- you do." She started to place her hand against Wayne's cheek, but before it could make contact a knock was heard outside the curtain as a shoe tapped twice against wood, and Charm suddenly puffed away in a poof of black fog tinted green, leaving Wayne just standing in the middle of the room as Jerome pulled back the curtain. 

"You ready for our-" Jerome cheekily started to chime with a grin before giving a blink, expression falling. "-date..." Wayne was just standing in the center of the room with rather watery eyes. "Hey," Jerome murmured concerned while stepping forward, curtain falling behind him. "are you all right?" Wayne looked sick-- like he was in shock. "What's wrong? Did one of the copycats-" 

Wayne suddenly just rushed forward, Jerome tensing as the younger tightly wrapped his arms around him, face burying against Jerome's chest, letting out a shaky sigh while breathing out in a quiet wavering voice, "Where should we run away to when this is over?" Wayne wanted to get as far away from this cruel city as he could-- it was rotten, and threatening to make his friends rot with it, and he was doing all he could to prevent that from happening. 

Jerome quirked a brow. "Oh- uh... well..." He cleared his throat, hesitantly returning the hold, arms wrapping around Wayne. "As soon as I've killed Theo and we've finished our date, we can go wherever you want to." 

"Let's just get on a plane, gather up everyone we want to take with us, and go as soon as that's done then," Wayne pleaded, swallowing thickly. "we can figure out wherever we're going whenever we're already up in the air." 

Jerome wasn't quite sure where this behavior was coming from all of a sudden. "I mean, considering you have your own private jet or whatever, I guess we do have the luxury of just being able to up and do that... so sure." Jerome chuckled quietly, clearing his throat as Wayne just let out another shaky breath. "Hey..." Jerome murmured, pulling away and feeling Wayne reluctantly release his grasp, Jerome looking down at the younger. 

Wayne looked up at Jerome, feeling vulnerable, and sick to his stomach, and afraid, and uncertain, and- 

Jerome cupped Wayne's cheeks, the younger tensing up slightly before hesitantly relaxing and melting into the touch somewhat, giving another shaky inhale and long exhale as he met Jerome's stare, swallowing dryly and letting Jerome's thumbs brush away the liquid gathering at the corners of his eyes. 

"What's wrong?" Jerome questioned, studying the stressed Wayne's worried expression, trying to figure out what was going on; had Jester pulled some bullshit trick again? Had a different copycat bothered Wayne? Had Wayne had another nightmare? Did- 

"I'm scared I'm going to lose you again." Wayne finally just admitted without acting like everything was all fine and dandy, his voice breaking, eyes brimming with water. 

Jerome faltered, not smiling in the least at that, just staring at the incredibly vulnerable Wayne staring up at him so worriedly. 

Then, Jerome leaned down, and this time Wayne didn't reluctantly inform Jerome that Jerome wouldn't even be remotely interested in him like that if Jerome had all the facts, because Wayne had made the deal of just having one 'real' date with Jerome before he'd finally tell Jerome why things wouldn't work out, so for now Wayne just let Jerome have his little date before he'd have to break the news and they'd be back to square one. 

Not that Wayne was at all complaining about the date, of course. 

For now, Wayne took what he could get for the brief amount of time he and Jerome had together before things would go back to normal... or at least, as normal as things could be, all things considered. 

Wayne wasn't sure how much time he had left with Jerome-- with HIS Jerome... with the real Jerome-- the old Jerome... 

... 

... with the Jerome that was his friend. 

Because it sounded like Wayne might possibly not have a lot of time left with the Jerome he knew before things went south, and they had to go their own ways as changed people that were far from friends. 

Wayne just wanted to enjoy the time he had left with the Jerome that was his friend. 

So, when Jerome kissed Wayne, Wayne kissed back, and when Jerome felt Wayne kiss back, Jerome kept one hand cupping Wayne's cheek, the other lowering to run soothingly along the side of younger's neck, causing Wayne to shuffle closer and raise his hands to search for something to clutch onto and settling for gripping Jerome's upper arms, and for a while they just stayed like that before Jerome eventually leaned forward to deepen the kiss somewhat, smirking as Wayne gladly straightened up somewhat to do the same, lips hesitantly moving together, Wayne letting out a shaky exhale as a flushed blush meant his features, the fifteen year old going on the tips of his toes while tugging on the seventeen year old's arms to pull the taller one closer, Jerome gladly dipping down more so, pressing a few more kisses against Wayne's lips, and geez Wayne's knees felt nearly just about ready to buck and give out since he still couldn't believe Jerome Valeska was actually kissing him, Wayne almost forgetting to breathe as he quickly returned the nearly countless kisses being pressed against his lips, fingers grasping at Jerome's sleeves. 

Then, Jerome pulled back, and Wayne stared up at him. 

It had been a simple kiss-- a relatively short one. About ten seconds. Generally, Jerome was admittedly more of the assertive type when it came to any display of affection, but with how vulnerable the poor Wayne looked, Jerome figured it would be best to be a bit more easy going. 

"You all right?" Jerome muttered, looking Wayne over, wondering why the poor thing looked so upset, still cupping Wayne's cheek, Wayne leaning into the touch. 

This was about as close to the old Jerome as Wayne had gotten-- the older one was actually being considerate... actually giving a shit about Wayne, and then showing it. 

"I just want to get out of here." Wayne said quietly, feeling more mentally exhausted than physically as he pushed back into Jerome's grasp, the taller one's arms instinctively wrapping back around the younger, Wayne's brow furrowing and face burying against Jerome's chest, Wayne's arms tightening as though just holding onto Jerome right for an instant could keep away the break and separation that Charm had foretold. 

Jerome blinked, throat clearing. "Oh. Uh... well... we don't have to have the date here-- we can totally go somewhere else-" 

"No," Wayne spoke up, hands grasping at the back of Jerome's shirt tighter. "I meant I want to get away from Gotham." 

Jerome wasn't quite sure Wayne was so eager to leave Gotham all of a sudden-- this had come on pretty quickly; Jerome recalled when the younger was so set on helping this city... now, Wayne seemed to not want anything to do with it. 

Regardless, Jerome put on a reassuring grin, letting Wayne cling to him. "How about we have our date tonight, and I'll kill Theo first thing in the morning, and then we'll be out of this city before noontime?" 

Of course Jerome would just casually mention murdering someone in a comforting tone... 

Wayne pressed his face further against Jerome's chest, quietly just saying back, "Okay.", because Wayne was too tired to say anymore on the matter. 

Jerome's smile fell, being replaced by a frown. "You don't seem to be in a very good mood... should we just reschedule the date for whenever we get to Switzerland-- or France, or... Bhutan or wherever?" 

"I'm fine," Wayne lied with a strained sigh, breathing in deeply, keeping his face pressed against Jerome's chest. "I'm just tired of living in this damn place-- all it does is take, and take, and take." It had taken so much from Wayne... it had swallowed up his own flesh and blood, and sent his friends scrambling into hiding, and it had even nearly taken Jerome. 

Wayne wasn't about to simply sit back and watch as he let it take away everything he cared about-- he wasn't about to just let Charm be right. 

Jerome looked down at Wayne as best he could with the younger being tucked and nuzzled up under his chin. "Wayne..." He muttered quietly, not quite sure what to say. 

"I don't want it to take you away, too." Wayne's voice was hoarse, and it broke as he spoke, and he didn't care he wasn't being all stoic and calm and collected-- he was too tired to care about anything other than Jerome. "I don't want to lose anyone else-- I don't want to lose YOU." 

For a while, Jerome was quiet, seconds or perhaps even minutes going by, the criminal just holding onto Wayne for a good long while, letting the younger practically cling to him, as though Wayne would fall if Jerome did as much as dare to take a small step away from the boy heavily leaning on him. 

Then, Jerome quietly said in a very serious tone, "Its already tried to take me away from you once-- I don't plan on letting it try again, and even if it did, I doubt..." He trailed off. 

Wayne swallowed thickly, not wanting to pull away. "Does that mean you believe me?" 

"Yes." Jerome answered honestly, and there was still doubt, and Hugo still had a hold on him, and there were still misinterpretations. 

However, more than anything there was trust. 

More than anything, Jerome believed Wayne when Wayne said he'd never betrayed him. 

There was still a long way to go, but the progress was significant. 

"I missed you." Wayne sighed shakily, because this was him-- this was the Jerome he knew. Maybe Jerome wasn't fully back to his old self, but for now, this was good enough. 

"Missed me?" Jerome chuckled, brow raising, pulling back to eye over the younger. 

"I missed you being like this." Wayne clarified, somewhat reluctantly allowing his hands to drop away from Jerome and return to his own sides as he took a step back and cleared his throat. "In any case... I um- I like your suit." 

Jerome blinked and quirked a brow before smirking, absolutely beaming at the compliment and taking the change of subject, a wide smile that nearly stretched from ear to ear reaching his lips, the older one perking up. "Oh?" His smile shifted into another smirk, giving a slight bow accompanied by a wink, earning a vague smile from the boy. "Why, Mr. Wayne... I'm absolutely humbled." He straightened up, giving a spin to show off the white suit with a red rose, green buttons, and purple stitching, smiling widely as Wayne tried and failed to stop his smile from twitching into a more apparent smile. "I was almost worried you'd say it didn't flatter my figure!" Wayne let out a soft chuckle, Jerome grinning. "So would you say the color scheme matches my eyes, then?" Wayne had to cover his mouth, letting out another laugh, Jerome flashing a smile. "Enough about me though, Wayne-- I absolutely ADORE your attire!" 

Wayne smirked, teasing back, "Oh yeah I definitely put a lot of work into this-- it's not everyday that someone gets to see me in a black turtleneck, black pants, and black shoes." 

"Oh no no no," Jerome cheekily joked right back. "generally you dress so festively!" 

"Yes, well, I do apologize for not wearing my usual brightly colored attire." Wayne chuckled, smiling softly, and oh it felt nice to just joke around like this... 

"And I apologize for not wearing my usual emo attire." Jerome snickered. 

"Oh piss off," Wayne laughed, breaking character. "I don't dress emo-" 

"Ah, right-- the proper term is gothic, isn't it?" Jerome chuckled, Wayne smirking while rolling his eyes. "In any case..." Jerome extended his arm like a proper gentleman. "shall we?" 

Wayne smirked back, staring at Jerome for a few seconds and earning a cheeky grin, the younger taking a moment to really soak in the fact that he was actually getting the old Jerome back, before gladly stepping forward and linking their arms together, allowing a beaming Jerome to lead him to their date destination. 

Wayne had been so anxious and excited about the date and so stressed out and tired about everything else going on that he hadn't even realized how unusually quiet it had been-- at least, not until Wayne noticed the entire warehouse was nearly empty after he and Jerome made their way down the ladder to the first floor of the relatively empty warehouse. 

Wayne's brow quirked, noting the varying setups and muttering, "What exactly are we doing tonight?" 

"Whatever you want to do!" Jerome answered with an enthusiastic grin. "We can have dinner," He cheekily suggested, gesturing towards a dining table missing a leg, its surface layered with covered foods. "or watch a movie," He informed with a smirk, pointing towards a cracked flatscreen television and a ripped up couch with a paused movie ready to play displayed on the screen. "or play board games," He offered with a hum, giving a nod towards the stack of games containing blood stains on the outside of the boxes. "or we could dance." He mused, emerald eyes landing on the chipped radio, Wayne following his line of sight, noting each activity seemed to have its own signature touch of maniac charm... 

"Dance?" Wayne questioned skeptically, because Wayne practically had two left feet. 

"Not much of a dancer?" Jerome mused with a smirk, and he'd guessed as much, but he had still wanted a variety of good ol' classic date setups for Wayne to choose from. 

"The only dance I can do is the Chacha considering it has instructions on exactly what to do for every lyric." Wayne admitted, earning a snort of laughter. 

"We could always dance to that." Jerome teased, earning a smirk. 

"Oh that sounds absolutely romantic." Wayne sarcastically commented with a chuckle. 

The right corner of Jerome's lips tugged upwards. "Ooh, so your the type that prefers something really romantic, huh?" It was a joke, but he studied Wayne's reaction, wondering if he could get any truth from the younger out of a jest-- after all, the best jokes always held at least some truth. 

Wayne was aware of when Jerome was testing him through jokes that were more than just jokes-- aware of when Jerome was looking for some kind of reaction. 

"I might." Wayne answered vaguely with a shrug. 

Jerome smirked-- so Wayne was going to make him work to find out what he wanted to know... fair enough; Jerome didn't enjoy games that were TOO easy to beat anyways. 

"Oh?" Jerome mused, stepping forward, noting how Wayne's arms crossed and the way that the younger straightened up, Wayne's chin inclining, refusing to back down to Jerome's casual advance even as the older one stared down at him from only a few inches away. "So what, then? You prefer pretty rose petals on a silk bed, glasses of rich wine in a jacuzzi bathtub, the lights dimmed all nice and low in a fancy Cadillac under the night sky, etcetera etcetera... all that jazz?" Wayne shifted his footing somewhat, quietly swallowing dryly, eyebrows just barely raising and eyes just barely widening, jaw slightly setting, lips vaguely thinning into a line, trying to not react noticeably, yet Jerome caught every single reaction, wanting to bottle up and display on his shelf the PERFECT look Wayne was giving him. "Because if you'd rather, then I could steal a Cadillac, and I know where we could go for a nice warm bath, and I certainly have a bed." Wayne's breath caught in his throat. 

Wayne couldn't do it. 

Poor Wayne literally choked and coughed on air, Jerome grinning at how Wayne had to take a step back, the taller one letting out an amused laugh at how Wayne's face heated up. 

A jokingly flirtatious Jerome was one thing. That, Wayne had gotten used to, before Jerome had realized Wayne actually had a thing for him, and backed off from teasing the younger upon realizing such. A seriously flirty Jerome was an entirely different thing, however, and not something Wayne was at all used to. Was Jerome being a genuine flirt thanks to misinterpreting a lot crap due to to not having all the facts? Yes-- yes he was... but that didn't make Jerome any less sincere in his advances as he was; a naturally charismatic and teasing Jerome made Wayne fall for the older hard enough. An intentionally flirty Jerome though? Well that just made Wayne fall all the more harder! 

"I'm good," Wayne denied in a voice just a bit higher than usual, a rather entertained Jerome looking the flustered boy over with a smirk. "we- um- how about we stick to just having dinner or something?" That had just escalated a little quickly and unexpectedly, and Wayne wasn't sure on how to react to it. At least it was a joke... it was a joke, right? Jerome wasn't being serious? It was hard to tell sometimes, dangit. 

Jerome gave a cocky grin, satisfied that he'd finally gotten a clear answer pertaining to what the younger wanted to do-- dinner it was! 

"I was just teasing," Jerome assured with a chuckle upon seeing just how flustered Wayne had gotten, amusedly eying over the riled up boy that was staring up at him before jesting with a wink, "I save that stuff for the second date." Wayne's entire face heated up, Jerome grinning at the reaction while jokingly snickering, "Or, if I like them well enough, then I only save it for until after the first date is over-" Wayne gave a shy groan, embarrassedly covering the blush spreading over his cheeks by just burying his face into both of his hands, absolutely just wanting to hide. "Okay, okay, I'm just kidding," Jerome laughed, Wayne grumbling something under his breath. "come on-- I know when to stop joking around; let's get some food." Jerome chuckled, not wanting to tease the billionaire TOO much... as entertaining as his reactions were, Jerome wanted Wayne to enjoy himself and not just hide behind his hands the entire date. 

Wayne let out a long exhale while he lowered his hands in attempts to cool down, giving the cheeky Jerome a slight glare that was more embarrassed than angry, Jerome holding in his snicker at the way that Wayne cleared his throat and averted his gaze, the younger shuffling around while crossing his arms.

How amusing... Wayne had been so brave and ballsy around Jerome even when Jerome hadn't been in his right mind and was set on getting cruel and torturous revenge on Wayne... now, all it took to get Wayne all quiet and meek around Jerome was a little bit of flirting and teasing. 

Jerome gestured for Wayne to follow him towards the long table absolutely covered in food, being a proper gentleman and pulling Wayne's chair out for him before pushing it back in while the smaller sat down, and it was quite odd for Jerome to be a proper... anything. 

"I stole all the food," A grinning Jerome informed assuringly while walking around the table, as though him robbing anything was supposed to somehow be reassuring and not stress Wayne out more than he already was. "so none of it should be poisoned." 

Wayne stared at the Jerome sitting down. "Should be?" Wayne questioned, that last part seeming pretty significant. 

"Yep!" Jerome confirmed with a grin. "It should be fine! I've kept a pretty close eye on it and everything!" Again, the 'should be' didn't exactly make Wayne feel all that safe... however, if Jerome was eating it, too, then Wayne doubted any of the copycats would want to risk poisoning their king, and Jerome had proven he seemed to be fairly efficient when it came to monitoring any food Wayne consumed under these circumstances, so... 

"This is a lot for just two people." Wayne commented as his eyes scanned the labels of the foods covered with round metal lids. 

"I wanted you to make sure I got whatever you were in the mood for!" Jerome said with a shrug and grin. "There's hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza, lobster, steak, sushi, fried chicken, smoked salmon, pulled pork, grilled cheese, tomato soup, chili, salad, spaghetti, lo mein noodles, fried rice... you name it!" 

"Are there any vegan options?" Wayne asked with a very serious stare. 

Jerome's expression fell. "Oh. Uh- I mean- well... hm... I could totally go get some tofu or something if that's what you-" Jerome went quiet at the smirk Wayne couldn't hold back, a grin of realization meeting Jerome's lips. "You jackass, you're not a vegan," Jerome snickered amusedly as Wayne gave a soft chuckle. "I literally saw you eat a burger yesterday-" 

"I'm sorry," Wayne laughed, having to cover his mouth, and oh joking around like this again like they used to felt absolutely wonderful. "but your face-" 

"What's wrong with my face?" Jerome questioned rather offended, suddenly looking and sounding very, VERY serious, arms crossing, chin inclining as he straightened up defensively. 

Wayne's laughter ceased, his eyes going wide. Oh dear DC. "No, I didn't mean- I just- I wasn't talking about the staples and stitches or- or scars or- or- or whatever- I was- I wasn't- I was just- I meant-" Shit shit shit-- nice going, Wayne... "The expression you made was funny-- that's all! I wasn't-" Jerome smirked, it being Wayne's turn to blink in realization before giving a groan, smiling nonetheless as he huffed, "Don't do that!", while chucking his cloth napkin at the other. 

Jerome gave a snicker, catching the napkin midair with his right hand. "Oh so you're allowed to joke around and I'm not?" He mused, tossing the napkin back towards Wayne with a chuckle. 

"Exactly." Wayne confirmed teasingly and earning an amused smile, catching the napkin with both hands. 

"Aw, why?" Jerome chuckled, noting Wayne's hand reached for the covered food labeled 'lobster', as expected. "Don't like my jokes?" Wayne's fingertips froze on the round metal lid at the words, and Jerome's smile faltered, because it had been a joke, but geez with a reaction like that... maybe Wayne really didn't like Jerome's one defining trait when it came to his entire personality revolving around a brand of comedy that just didn't click with a lot of people- 

Wayne stared at the antsy Jerome for a while, the younger doing so with a rather serious expression, the older one keeping on a forced smile as Wayne just eyed him. 

"Of course I like your jokes," Wayne finally said with a small but sincere and reassuring smile, and geez Jerome absolutely felt like he won the lottery whenever he got that signature smile. "you're- um-" Wayne suddenly furrowed his brow, gaze averting, smile falling, Jerome frowning at that. "you were one of the only people that could actually make me smile and laugh after what happened in the alleyway..." Wayne used to smile a lot and laugh a lot, even if it was a little shyly, before he lost- before he lost... "You- um-" Wayne swallowed thickly. "you still are one of the only ones that can..." Wayne trailed off. 

Wayne was a rather serious person now, because he'd been a part of a rather serious event, which had rather seriously changed him. 

However, Jerome was one of the only people that could make Wayne not feel so serious. 

Wayne suddenly didn't feel very hungry anymore, his hand starting to retreat from the round metal lid covering the food, halting as Jerome reached out to grab his wrist, bluish gray eyes hesitantly meeting emerald irises, and Jerome was attempting to be reassuring or comforting or whatever it was exactly that one would call it when attempting to basically just make a person feel better despite not exactly being very good at that kind of thing since that kind of thing just wasn't very funny, and was usually more of a serious kind of thing, which was definitely more of Wayne's forte, and not something Jerome had a lot of familiarity in. 

Jerome had intended to tell a joke to make Wayne give that familiar smile and familiar laugh, because Jerome felt like that's what he should do considering he felt like Wayne didn't need to be so serious right now and should instead let up some so the billionaire could actually enjoy himself during what was meant to be a good night. 

So, Jerome started to joke, "There's two guys trapped in a mental asylum that want to escape, but all they have is a single flashlight-" 

Then, Jerome noticed the way that Wayne ever so slightly tensed under his touch, and glanced down at where he was gripping Wayne, noticing the trio of staple scars Jerome had given the younger at the carnival after kidnapping him. 

Oh... 

At that, Jerome retreated, releasing Wayne's wrist and jerking his hand back-- as though he'd burn Wayne if he held any longer, and shit shit shit this night was suddenly not at all going as planned... 

"Shit," Jerome weakly laughed in a strained voice and an apologetic tone. "shit," He repeated with a forced smile, stressed hand shakily running through his hair. "I- uh- I didn't- I shouldn't have- I'm-" Jerome had been getting closer to Wayne, and the closer he got the more he attempted to avoid contemplating on all the awful things he'd put Wayne through when he was far from close to Wayne. 

It was becoming more clear than ever that Jerome couldn't avoid facing the consequences of what he'd gone and done-- regardless of whether he'd been in his right mind or not, because he'd still done it. 

"It's fine," Wayne waved off softly, bringing his own hand back, rubbing his fingertips against the scars. "they've practically healed-- I barely even feel any sting there anymore..." It was more of an instinctive flinch than anything, only being slightly tender. "Seriously, don't worry about-" 

"I'm sorry," Jerome chuckled hoarsely, suddenly feeling rather sick, voice cracking somewhat. "I- uh- I'm-" He swallowed thickly, emerald eyes averting, Jerome feeling anxious-- Jerome feeling absolutely awful... Jerome feeling guilt. "I'm sorry for doing that shit in the first place..." He finally apologized with a quiet laugh that didn't at all sound like a laugh. 

Was that a good apology? Jerome felt like that had been a pretty shitty apology... it was like he suddenly couldn't get his words out-- it reminded him of when he was trying to tell a joke, but couldn't quite recall the punchline, and in doing so messed the whole joke up into becoming a ruined concept that was no longer funny. 

Jerome felt like his apology was coming out all wrong, and he couldn't do anything about it-- he couldn't even begin to fix the damage what he was really just beginning to realize he'd gone and caused, after attempting to shrug off his actions for so long, only to fail at doing so at one of the worst possible times-- this night was supposed to be a success... it was supposed to be something he and Wayne could both smile and laugh about. It was supposed to be anything but upsetting. 

"You don't have to apologize," Wayne assured softly, rubbing his upper arm, looking Jerome over concerned. "I know you weren't in your right mind and-" 

"That doesn't matter," Jerome scoffed, because he wanted to apologize, but at the same time he didn't just want Wayne to accept his apology-- to say everything Jerome had done to him was okay just because Jerome said 'sorry'... to act like Jerome hurting him was fine if Jerome felt bad about it. "I still hurt you," Jerome said with a bitter guilt ridden laugh, not finding this funny at all. "whether I was in my right mind or not, I still-" 

"I'm okay," Wayne softly tried to assure. "all right? Regardless of what happened then, I'm okay now-- that's what matters." 

Jerome's smile wasn't a smile-- it was sad, and regretful, and everything a smile isn't. "Considering I put a hit on your guardian, kidnapped you, injured your arm with staples, and tried to murder you, I'd say that matters, too." 

"It's fine," Wayne tried to joke, putting on a smile, attempting to make Jerome feel better by just kidding around some. "I'm used to you holding me hostage by now." When Jerome's forced and weary saddened grin fell only to be met by a sickening frown, Wayne cleared his throat, his own smile falling. "Right, um..." If Jerome Valeska didn't want to joke around, then that meant things were REALLY serious. "Okay..." Wayne sighed, hand running through his hair as he chewed on his lower lip, brooding on what to say. "If-" Wayne swallowed thickly, straightening up and inclining his chin, locking Jerome's gaze. "If you had gone and done all of those things because you were drunk, or had drugged yourself up, or were just pissed off at me for some reason, or acted out because of anything like that, then that- well... that would have been one thing," A pause. "but that wasn't the case at all." Wayne leaned forward, elbows resting on the table. "You were manipulated by Hugo while you were in a vulnerable state, and he used your instability to convince you to misinterpret the past you and I had, and it was Hugo that got you to believe that I'd been a part of a plan that involved an attempt to kill you off." Wayne made sure Jerome was listening to him, the criminal staring at him with a furrowed brow. "I don't blame you for wanting to get back at me when you were convinced I had used, betrayed, and tried to kill you-- I blame Hugo for convincing you of that." 

For a while, Jerome just stared at Wayne, a few quiet lengthy seconds going by that felt close to being minutes. 

Then, Jerome said in a very, very serious and quiet tone, "I'm still sorry for..." For hurting Wayne regardless of whether he'd been manipulated into doing so. 

"It's okay," Wayne said softly. "I know you're you again." 

It almost made Jerome feel better to hear Wayne accept the apology that the older had had trouble phrasing right and getting out... 

... 

... almost. 

"I'm not sure I'm all the way back to being me," Jerome laughed quietly-- weakly... hoarsely. "and I'm really not sure I'll stay me if I ever do get back." Did that make any sense? It sounded like it made sense to Jerome... Then again, some things only make sense to mad people, and sound like gibberish to sane ones. 

It made sense to Wayne. However, Wayne hadn't exactly had the most sound of mind since the alleyway. "I trust you." Wayne assured. 

That wasn't what Jerome needed to be reassured about. "Well I'm not sure I trust myself around you." Jerome admitted, forcing a smile that was the saddest smile Wayne had ever seen. "Hugo's gotten me all messed up," Jerome chuckled in a stressed voice. "what if something sets me off and I go back to not being in my right mind?" 

"Then I believe I can handle you." Wayne said confidentially, earning a scoff of disbelief, Jerome shaking his head at that. "I held my own against you at the carnival-" 

"You shouldn't have to hold your own against me!" Jerome snapped with a sour laugh. "I shouldn't risk putting you through anything like that again-- you don't deserve that at all, Wayne." A shaky sigh left Jerome's lips straining to continue smiling. "I-" Jerome gave a laugh, because the world had a funny way of reminding him of how everything he came into contact with was wrecked with chaos, and resulted in him being so damn alone in the world. "I hurt you, Wayne," Wayne tried to object, but Jerome didn't let him. "I tried to take everything from you-- I wanted to make you suffer," Jerome felt sick to his very core. "I don't want to risk doing that another time and having you act like it's okay just because I wasn't in my right mind again and it's not my fault or whatever the-" 

"Jerome-" Wayne interjected. 

"I'm not about to risk us starting a charade of me testing how many times it takes to attempt killing you until I succeed," Jerome interrupted. "you don't need to be putting yourself in danger like that-- not when it's avoidable." Jerome wasn't even bothering to force a smile, or trying to laugh anymore. "You should go home where you're safe-- not stay here where me or one of my copycats could snap at any minute-" 

Wayne abruptly stood up, the chair screeching out from underneath him, his hands going into fists, it being unclear as to whether his eyes were watering due to the cold warehouse air, or something else. "Why are you so set on shoving me out like this?!" Wayne snapped, and oh how clear it was becoming that Charm could very well be right about Wayne losing his friends-- about losing his family... about losing Jerome. "You're progressing, Jerome-- you're getting better!" Wayne felt like everything was slipping out of his control, and he couldn't hold on. "The last thing you need to be doing is kicking me out so you can sit here with no one but your copycats that could give less of a shit about your wellbeing, and would rather you plan another scheme that distracts you from healing!" Wayne had wanted this to be a nice night, but it was turning out to be absolutely awful. "I get that you want to look out for me, okay? I appreciate it, all right? I really do... but you've got to realize that I can also make my own choices on a lot of things, and I can choose my battles in doing so, and right now I'm choosing to stick beside you, because-" Wayne crossed his arms in a vulnerable self hug, the water in his eyes nearly spilling over, throat becoming choked up, voice hoarse. "-because you've done so much for me, and protected me, and been there for me, and risked so many things for me, and-" Wayne's voice went soft, wavering as he said, "-and I want to help you, now." 

Jerome stared at the boy taken aback. "Wayne..." 

"Jerome, I-" Wayne averted his gaze towards the floor, letting out a shaky breath. "I'm aware of the risks, and I'm willing to take them, because-" Wayne hesitated. "-because I-" Wayne swallowed thickly, looking up to stare at Jerome determinedly. "-because I care about you more than I've ever cared about almost anyone, and I believe I can hold my own, and I believe things can go back to how they used to be." Wayne locked gazes with Jerome. "I don't expect this to be easy, and that's okay if that means there's a chance at having things go back to normal, because one of the last things that would do me any good is losing you again." Wayne gave a slight sniffle, swallowing dryly while sitting back down in his seat. "So, how about we just finish our date, you do whatever you want to do to Theo afterwards, and then we both go to Switzerland where nothing bad from this awful city will ever reach either of us again?" 

Wayne averted his gaze to the table, swallowing thickly while gripping at the hem of his sweater tightly, still breathing somewhat shakily, clenching his jaw as he patiently waited in an antsy fashion for a reply-- for Jerome to agree to stick with him, or for Jerome to deny his request and stubbornly tell Wayne he should leave. 

Wayne waited for a good while-- possibly a minute, at that. Or at least, it seemed like at least a minute passed with how the seconds seemed to stretch by. 

Then, Jerome- who had been eying Wayne over as he contemplated on something for a good long while- finally said, "France." 

Wayne blinked, finally meeting Jerome's gaze at that. "Huh?" 

If Wayne was really so set on running away together, then... 

... 

... then... 

... 

Jerome leaned forward in his chair somewhat, using his arms to prop himself against the table's surface. "Let's go to France instead!" He offered, a friendly grin meeting his lips, Wayne arching a brow. "We'll get a plot of land, and I'll build a house-" 

Wayne felt a smile come on. "Or, I could just buy a house." 

"No way!" Jerome denied in a snicker. "I'll totally build one like those guys in the old western movies do!" Wayne gave a laugh, Jerome absolutely beaming at that. "I'll chop down the wood and everything-" 

"We're going to France-- not the Wild West." Wayne reminded amusedly. "Do you even know how to construct a building?" 

"How hard can it be?" Jerome said with a shrug, earning a smirk. "While it's being built, we'll just have a tent and some gear, and we can camp out under the night sky and all that shit!" Wayne raised a brow, giving another laugh nonetheless. "Then, when it's done being built, there will be a nice room for Jack and Jeannie, and a fancy one for that butler of yours, and rooms for however many friends you wanna' take, and then there will be a huge room for you and me!" 

Wayne tilted his head at that. "Oh? So we'd share a room?" 

Jerome gave a cheeky grin, rubbing the side of his neck and giving a laugh before clearing his throat. "I mean, I could build you your own room, if you want?" 

Wayne placed his right elbow on the table, propping his chin in the palm of his hand. "What else would we do in France?" He inquired with a smile. "Other than build a house." 

Jerome perked up even more at the question. "We'll start up a bakery, too-- that shit would make us rich as hell in a place like France!" Jerome answered, as though they wouldn't already be rich as hell so to say. "Then, I'll get a job as a stand up comedian, and you'll get a job as- I dunno'... whatever you wanna' be-- like a detective!" Wayne felt the corners of his lips tug upwards. "We'll have a canine, too! Not a guard dog, though-- those are too common... how about a guard hyena?" Wayne quirked a brow, smiling nonetheless. "Oh! And we can explore the catacombs whenever we're feeling a little bored-" 

"You are aware that entering the catacombs outside of guided tours is illegal, right?" Wayne chuckled. 

Jerome gave a ballsy wink. "Then we just won't get caught trespassing!" 

Wayne gave a slight laugh. "What if we get lost when we're too deep to receive a cell signal and our flashlight batteries are almost out of juice?" 

Jerome gave a cheeky shrug. "Then I'll get to be the heroic figure that swoops you off your feet and rushes us both out of the treacherous catacombs to escape back to freedom!" Wayne blinked, feeling the tips of his ears go pink, smile becoming a bit shyer, Jerome smirking at the reaction and teasingly adding, "You could always thank me with a kiss afterwards." 

Red spread over Wayne's cheeks, arms crossing as he muttered, "Well what if I ended up being the one rescuing you?" 

Jerome gave a hum. "Then I suppose I'd just have to be the one thanking you with a kiss instead." 

Wayne's entire face heated up, and he was aware things between him and Jerome would probably be off for good after this date-- after Wayne revealed just why this entire thing they had just wouldn't work once their little outing was over... but being aware of that didn't make it any easier to not get so flustered when Jerome said those kind of things regardless. 

"Isn't that kind of cliché?" Wayne tried to wave off, because he wanted to flirt with Jerome-- he really did... but he was trying to be considerate of what the old Jerome would want, and Wayne doubted the real Jerome would want him flirting back. 

Jerome arched a brow. "Not a fan of cliché romance tropes, huh?" 

Wayne gave a shrug, averting his gaze while rubbing his upper arm. "Just seems kind of cheesy is all." Jerome frowned, unsure as to whether he was coming on a little too strongly and making Wayne uncomfortable or something- "So why France?" 

Jerome blinked. "Huh?" 

Wayne returned his gaze to Jerome's. "Why do you want to go to France so badly?" 

Jerome took the hint to change the subject. "I dunno'," He hesitantly said with an uncertain laugh. "it's..." Jerome gave a shrug, swallowing thickly. "... it's silly." He forced on a smile. 

Wayne raised a brow, certainly not expecting that answer, because Jerome had never been the type to be afraid of being a little 'silly'. "What do you mean?" Jerome just averted his gaze, giving another shrug. "Come on, Jerome-- I won't laugh." It was an odd thing to promise the guy that generally just wanted to make people crack up. 

For a few lengthy seconds, Jerome was quiet, pondering on something while he chewed on the inside of his cheek, eventually seeming to get an idea as he perked up with a smirk and looked back at Wayne. "I'll tell you why I want to go to France if you tell me why you're acting all standoffish." Wayne gave a scoff, feeling somewhat insulted at Jerome's choice of words, causing Jerome to go wide eyed and quickly correct, "Wait, no-- that came out wrong! I just meant I assumed you'd be all for a little flirting considering-" 

"I know what you meant," Wayne assured in a sigh with an eye roll. "and I'm 'acting standoffish' because as much as I want to return the sentiment, I'm trying to make sure you regret as little as possible here when you get all the facts." 

"I really don't see what kind of 'facts' could make me magically stop having a thing for you." Jerome scoffed. 

Wayne gave Jerome a look, because he was TRYING to look out for Jerome, and Jerome REALLY wasn't making this easy. "Believe me-- you were pretty strict about staying just friends thanks to these facts before." 

"Just what the hell are 'these facts' then?" Jerome laughed irked, because he couldn't figure out what Wayne was referring to. 

Wayne stared at Jerome for a few lengthy seconds. "You literally told me to save telling you the facts for after the date." 

"Well then screw what I said," Jerome chuckled annoyedly, too dang intrigued at this point, wanting to find out why Wayne was so set on trying to get Jerome to not return the feelings despite how Wayne claimed to have a thing for him. "you're more than free to tell me now, all right?" 

Finally. 

Wayne attempted to hint towards what he was referring to. "What's the youngest you'd ever date?" 

Jerome raised a brow, just staring at Wayne for a while. "Did you lie about your age?!" Oh dear DC if this little shit turned out to be twelve or something... 

"What? No!" Wayne answered a bit defensively. "Just-" He let out a weary exhale. "Just answer the question." 

"Two years." Jerome said with a shrug. "I'd date someone two years younger." Considering he was almost an adult, he didn't exactly want to date someone fresh in high school, much less younger than that. "Why? Are you not fifteen?" 

"I am fifteen," Wayne answered as calmly as possible. "and you're-" 

"Seventeen." Jerome knowingly stated while crossing his arms. "Right?" 

For the love of- 

"Yes, but-" Wayne tried to further explain, because he'd just turned fifteen, and Jerome was about to turn eighteen, less than a month between their birthdays. 

"But what?" Jerome scoffed. "Unless rich boys are just naturally bad at math, there's a two year difference between seventeen and fifteen." It was meant to be a joke to help lower tensions, but it just resulted in Wayne glaring daggers at him unamused. "I don't see what that has to do with this-- I still don't get why I wouldn't return the feelings." 

"Well maybe if you'd just let me explain for one minute instead of interrupting me every few seconds-" Wayne started to say as calmly as possible. 

"There's no need for you to explain any further, Wayne," A new voice spoke, Jerome tensing and bristling, Wayne's eyes going wide while his very core dropped, because they knew that voice. "you've done more than well keeping Jerome blissfully occupied through ignorance," A man walking forward praised. "now it's time for you to leave his side, and return to mine," He came to a halt, gesturing for the frozen up Wayne to walk forward. "you no longer need to pretend to be his loyal ally any longer." 

Theo. Theo was there. 

Jerome felt rage hit him-- regret fill him... betrayal swallow him. 

"What the hell is he talking about?" Jerome growled, glaring at Wayne accusingly with icy cold eyes that nearly made Wayne shiver, not smiling in the least. 

Shit. 

"I- I don't- I don't know!" Wayne tried to assure, and how in the world was Theo alive?! Oswald and Butch had blown him to pieces with a damn bazooka! 

"Is in not obvious?" Theo mused calmly, head tilting. "The boy was under my command when he acted as your hostage so he could assist me in playing the part of the hero by allowing me to 'save' him through killing you, just as he's been under my command ever since." 

Jerome sneered, glowering at Theo before returning his sights to Wayne. "You piece of-" 

"No!" Wayne objected, because that wasn't what happened. "I- I didn't- I wouldn't- I never-" 

"Wayne and I couldn't have you telling the world of our scheme in using you as a scapegoat to make me appear as a hero, and Wayne a victim," Theo continued. "and so I had Wayne lure you into a false sense of safety." 

"Jerome," Wayne desperately tried to deny, because he couldn't lose all the progress he'd made with Jerome-- not like this. "I would never-" 

"It wasn't hard," Theo interjected, Jerome's ablaze gaze snapping back towards Theo. "all it took was a phony journal with the events you and Wayne went through together written in the wrong order and portrayed in a much nicer way, along with a bit of doting on you here and there so you felt all nice and cared for, and then the next thing Wayne and I knew, you'd gone and grown fond of MY boy." 

"That's not what-" Wayne started to argue. 

"And so here you are, Jerome," Theo interrupted while extending his arms, keeping Jerome's attention on him. "all alone in your warehouse with none of your copycats to protect you," His arms lowered. "simply because you trusted this boy enough to be alone with him, without realizing that very trust is what I intend to be the end of you." Theo directed his attention towards Wayne. "You did well isolating this pest, my boy-- I will be sure to completely exterminate him this time for the both of us." 

Wayne wrenched up, chair screeching out from underneath him, hand reaching out towards Jerome's shoulder. "Jerome, please-" 

Jerome yanked upright as well, shoving Wayne's palm away, causing the younger to cautiously bring his hand back and hold his wrist to his torso, shuffling back just a bit, staring at the sneering Jerome with a furrowed brow and uncertain eyes, the warehouse suddenly very, very quiet. 

Then, Jerome brought his right palm up to his face to cover it, and let out what sounded like a hoarse sob. 

Oh dear, what a mess this was. 

"Jerome..." Wayne softly spoke up taken aback, and concerned, and shit shit shit he didn't want to see Jerome like this-- he'd never seen him like this. 

Wayne took a step forward, yet halted upon realizing the next sound Jerome made didn't sound like a sob-- it sounded like a laugh. 

Jerome lowered his hand somewhat as he let out a series of quiet stifled laughs, and oh... Jerome was... smiling... 

... 

... although Jerome's eyes were glazed over and glossy. 

Then, Jerome's head tilted back, and he let out a loud crackling hoot of laughter, Wayne feeling sick to his stomach, because he could tell the progress he'd made with Jerome and the past they'd once had was slipping, and so was Jerome, and Wayne didn't know how to stop it. 

Jerome let out a few more breathless laughs before giving an amused exhale, and he was smiling again, but it was a smile that was cruel, and cold, and empty. "Well, I guess I have to say... bravo, Wayne," He gave the younger a sour smile. "you really had me going there for a good while!" Wayne didn't know what to say, because Jerome just wouldn't listen when he tried to tell him that Theo was lying. "I mean, seriously-- I must be Gotham's biggest sucker... falling for a cheesy act like that..." A bitter airy chuckle left Jerome's lips. "I mean, one thing at least makes sense now, though," Jerome snickered, his smirk cold. "you were definitely right about me not returning the feelings," Jerome gave a shrug, giving Wayne an icy stare. "I'm not really into backstabbing brats." 

Wayne felt an ache weigh down on him. "Jerome... please... just listen to me-" 

"Nah," Jerome interjected with an annoyed chuckle. "I'd say I've done more than enough of that by now." Jerome went for the steak knife, Wayne cautiously backed up, and Theo rushed forward. 

From the hidden sidelines, Jester grinned as he watched Theo burn down everything the two boys had built together, and Jester was sure he'd gotten the right man to do the job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to thank everyone for all the lovely feedback I got-- I'm truly humbled! It really meant a lot to see each of you write such kind things! Seriously, each nice comment I receive on this fic really has helped motivate me to continue writing, so it honestly means a lot when I get to read what you guys took the time to say! 
> 
> I wanted to also take the time to thank a few people in particular! 
> 
> TheHiddenFiles and IsGonnaBurnInHell, your lengthy and detailed comments genuinely meant so much! As always, I was so excited to read your feedback to find out what you enjoyed and if there were any helpful critiques :D 
> 
> Fiqas, welcome to the fic! I'm humbled you took the time to read it, and so glad you enjoy the characterizations :) 
> 
> Bro, something I really enjoy is when people recommend songs that fit a chapter, character, ship, or fic, so I was really excited when I saw you recommended "Awake My Soul" for this chapter-- particularly when I saw it was by Mumford and Sons! I gave the song a listen, and I totally agree and absolutely love it! 
> 
> Predacon and jeromeXbruce, I'm glad to read you guys are enjoying the fic, and found myself smirking at the comments about Jester, because I enjoy making characters that readers love to hate ;)


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